Sushi House Goyemon

Was delicious.

Sushi is Lauren's and my favorite thing right now.  Seriously, I wish we had more money so that we could go more often.  We decided that we would splurge just a bit because it was our anniversary and we deserved to treat ourselves after sticking this whole thing out for two long years. :-) 

I really loved Sin City Sushi as you'll remember from a few posts ago, but we decided to spread our wings a bit.  We decided this time that we were going to go with the all you can eat option--not for the option of gorging ourselves on the stuff, but hoping to try a little bit of this and a little of that--and Goyemon's AYCE menu includes EVERYTHING on their menu including appetizers, salads, drinks, and even desserts.  Yes, please!

We got into the restaurant on a Wednesday night and there were two spots at the bar calling our names.  We were promptly seated and notified the server that we would be doing the AYCE option.  Tony, the sushi chef working right in front of us quickly asked him what we wanted and we told him that we were amateur sushi eaters and that we would put ourselves into his hands.  He winked and for the next 45 minutes proceeded to offer us small plate after small plate of delectable bites of fish-and-sauce-and-rice-and-seaweed.  It was great.

One of the few things I did order myself was this little beauty.  I had read online about their pork belly appetizer with a mango chutney and had to try it.  It was my first experience with pork belly and I loved it.  It was not too fatty, which I was a little afraid of because I cannot do fat on meat.  Just can't.  But this stuff was grilled to perfection and had great sweet and sour and smoky flavors that I won't soon forget.

A little bit later, this dish magically appeared in front of us.  We did not order it, but next time we DEFINITELY will.  It is a fried rice cracker topped with spicy tuna and two sauces that I'm not sure the names of.  OMG.  Wow.  Crispy, salty, spicy, creamy...YUMMY!

Beyond these two dishes I am pretty useless to give reviews because I couldn't tell you the names of almost anything else Tony offered us.  We had a lot of nigiri sushi, which was a new experience for me.  Nigiri is sushi that is more simple than specialty rolls, it only has a little scoop of rice topped with a piece of raw fish and maybe a hint of sauce.  One of my favorites was the scallop nigiri that he gave us which was topped with a strong citrus sauce which I crave to this day.  In fact it was the only dish where I had to say, still with a mouthful of lemony ocean goodness, "I need one more plate of those."  We really, REALLY loved everything.

We decided to try only one dessert here, the tempura ice cream.  It tasted like good vanilla ice cream, and the tempura fried shell surrounding it was something completely new and unique for me.  I'd definitely order it again... along with a tofu cheesecake (they say you'd never know it had tofu unless they told you), a creme brulee, and maybe some lychee sorbet.

I would definitely recommend this place for some great sushi.  And if you are a novice with chopsticks (like me) they will even give you a set that comes with training wheels, so to speak, that keeps the pair together and allows you to practice the motions without looking like a fool... again, like me.  Speaking of training wheels, classic Modern Family:  Jay to Manny: "What are those?  Training wheels?"  Manny: "You bet.  Custom made.  They usually don't make them for bikes this size." ROFL.  What a great show.

As far as price goes, the AYCE is $27 a person.  I know that seems like a pretty penny, and it sort of is.  But remember, you are getting appetizers, salads, fish, drinks, and desserts for that price.  Honestly, it seems like a pretty good deal to me.  Give it a try.

Click HERE to go to Goyemon's website where you'll find location (Decatur and Hacienda) and hours. 

P.S. I have got to give Tamara and Remington their proper respects for introducing us to our long lost love.  Thanks guys.  You were right.