Q: negative

A: We were greeted in a friendly manner and promptly seated. Water and menus immediately---went downhill in a hurry. Waited twenty minutes for the appetizers---my husband's arrived, but mine did not. Waited more-- complained-- was offered a glass of wine. I don't want to be placated with alcohol and excuses about the kitchen. I would like service. My appetizer finally arrived. Waited another twenty minutes for dinner-- same thing. His arrived; mine wasn't served for another ten minutes. Cold and mediocre. THEN we were charged for a bottle of wine when the only beverage ordered was one glass of wine. Who needs this with so many good Chinese restaurants in Scottsdale?????? Never again!

Q: positive

A: Recently, I have been to several major US cities, and in each one, I made it a point to find the best sushi I could, with varying degrees of success. One of my friends asked me, "Why haven't you found the best sushi in Phoenix?" Lack of urgency? Needless to say, we began a quest to find the best sushi in Phoenix. It will be an expensive quest. And I think we started at the right place. We started with the miso soup with clams. If you want to imagine what miso soup with clam tastes like, imagine taking miso soup, and just adding clams. I can't really think of any other way to describe it. It's really that simple. When the waitress took our order, we basically just went to town. And everything was brought out, for the most part, one at a time. This gave us time to enjoy each dish, and have a few minutes to think about it before the next item arrived. The first dish we had was the ankimo, or steamed monkfish liver. This delicacy is something I had in Denver, San Diego, and San Francisco. Here, it was served without ponzu jelly, but otherwise similar. The others in my party, who hadn't had ankimo before, liked it. Next, we had hamachi carpaccio, which was a hit. These perfectly garnished strips of yellowtail were one of the highlights of the night. After that, we had yellowtail tartare. This got mixed reactions; I'm not sure what they used in the flavoring, but I did like the spicy note that slowly builds up after you eat it. We then had the amaebi sushi (shrimp), which was served in two stages: first, the main part of the body, peeled and raw; and finally, the head, deep-fried. I had deep fried shrimp heads before, but it was a first for my two dining companions. Really, the head is the most interesting part, and I would highly recommend anybody eating shrimp sushi to go ahead and ask for the fried head. Next was brought out a whole fried european sea bass. This was one of the most passable items for me; I usually prefer my fish to be served raw. It was a nice change from everything else, but I probably won't order that one again... Or maybe I'm just bitter because the fish only had two eyeballs, and I didn't get one of them. We then started on a rainbow roll, which the others ordered because they wanted to ensure we had something "safe." I ate a few pieces, but I never really get excited about rainbow rolls, or really any rolls. Next they brought out the sushi: we had ocean trout, young yellowtail, and red snapper. The waitress made sure to mention that they were served with garnishes and sauces, and were not meant to be dipped in additional sauce. I liked that they were so serious about how the dishes are intended to be eaten; it really highlights the care they take in making the cuisine an actual art form, and not just something to stuff your face with. My favorite of the three fish was the young yellowtail, but all were good (and fresh). Afterwards, we had one more sushi item: the foie gras sushi. It's really difficult to describe the taste of foie gras; it is distinct, but not overwhelming. It was delicious, and making sushi out of it is an interesting concept. For our last dish, we had the cook make us something of his choice. He personally brought it to the table, and explained what it was. He made us avocado tempura wrapped in see eel, with foie gras on top. As if the meal wasn't already awesome enough, this totally elevated it to a new level. It may make me a snob, but there's nothing I like more than having a piece of art made just for me, and having the artist personally unravel it. If you have any appreciation of cuisine as an art form, this is clearly the place for you. We finished our meal with the UFO dessert, which is a disc-shaped pastry stuffed with red bean and battered in tempura, and topped with ice cream. It was pretty good. Now, I have had some pretty good meals in my life, but if I were look back and consider which one was the very best, this one would definitely merit consideration. It may not appeal to the fan of generic sushi rolls, but if you like trying new and interesting things, you're sure to find some potential here. The quality of the food and of the menu is second to none, as far as sushi restaurants are concerned.

Q: positive

A: I thought the buffet here was delicious. There was a lot of food -- I loved the desserts here especially but they didn't have a lot of food, compared to the ones I've been to. Our host, which was an Asian guy, was really cool and he just kept coming and checked if we were doing okay. If you want some good dessert, this is the place to go. We traveled all the way from the Strip here but it was pretty worth it if you ask me.

Q: positive

A:
Another outlet store I LOOOOVED! Super great selection and even picked up a bag for 50% off! But OK, not everything is 50% off though. Clothing was 20% off (at most) and the bags were about 50% as they were originally $700 - $1000. I also know that this store just opened recently.