Izumi Japanese Restaurant

We were grubbin' like fools throughout December due to it being my birthday month. I signed up for tons of ibirthday club restaurants and Izumi Japanese Restaurant offered 50% off your entire bill (up to $20 max discount). We liked this coupon because there was no minimum purchase or party size required AND we wouldn't have to order within a certain price range to get the most *bang* for our buck.

Before driving to dinner, I visited the website which stated drink specials and half off selected rolls between 7-9pm. I called ahead to make a reservation, but should have taken note when the response was "we're so slow tonight." There was only one other patron there on a Monday night. We chose a corner booth and ordered a couple of rolls that caught our interest.

Hollywood Roll ($10.95) - Shrimp Tempura Roll topped with Seared Tuna w/ Crab & Crunchy

There was seared tuna on top, which was cooked a little too much for my taste. That factor plus the crunchy panko sprinkles and drab crab meat made it a bit dry overall for me.

Super Spider Roll ($11.99) - Softshell Crab, Spicy Tuna, Avocado, Cucumber with Eel on the outside

The topping of eel tasted as expected, covered with the typical sweet eel sauce. On the other hand, the spicy tuna inside was a bit on the watery side. I don't think I've ever tasted this anywhere else, or at least not to this degree! It made me question the freshness of everything, especially when combined with slow nights...

French Kiss Roll ($9.50) - Real Crab, Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp Tempura, Avocado, Cream Cheese

This was the best roll of the three, but by no means a winner. There were good sized chunks of fish in here although they didn't stay together too well. Dennis hates cream cheese but even I ended up pushing it out because it didn't seem to fit in.

We were also surprised to be served salad before receiving the rolls. Apparently it just comes with your meal. It was very basic with lettuce and some shredded carrots. The salad dressing tasted like thousand island to me though I could be wrong since I rarely eat creamy dressings.

Yellowtail + Salmon Kama ($9.95)

Usually we'd expect an appetizer like this to be served before the rolls as well but it came out last. Also, the pricing was crazy on this... for a single yellowtail or salmon kama, it was 7.95 but put both together and it was only 9.95! Luckily it was also the BEST part of our meal after all the mediocrity. There was plenty of fatty meat in both pieces and a decent saltiness to enhance the taste. We were already feeling stuffed from the rolls but we tried to eat as much of the "good" meat as possible.

For dessert, they brought out orance slices, which helped to clear our palates.

We were the last customers in the restaurant and the staff was already busy cleaning up the place 30 minutes before closing. After finishing, we tried to catch the eye of our waitress for a couple of minutes. She never seemed to look our way plus at one point she was completely out of sight (cleaning the kitchen?). Finally we caught the attention of the sushi chef and HE had to call her over to get our check. So thumbs down for the sparse service. And just 'meh' for the food in general except the kama.