The Kasey Nesselrotte Blog: December 2018

Restaurant Story/Review
Wave - Asian Bistro & Sushi

301 N Baker St #106, Mt Dora, FL 32757

(352) 383-9283

Dec 5th 2018

I don't always follow up on restaurant recommendations I receive. Especially from unknown shadowy figures at swanky second story bars. But apparently I should.. The mystery man mentioned an amazing sushi place off the beaten path in Mount Dora but I couldn't recall much else. We narrowed down the potential establishments from my vague recollection to a second story alcove tucked off of the main streets downtown. You could easily look past the sign or the stairs guiding you up to the 30ish seat Wave - Asian Bistro & Sushi. It is deceptively small but cozy and modern with boldly depicted Japanese anime style murals on the walls. Soft house/lounge music amplifies the trendy hip vibe they are clearly cultivating. Large windows line the majority of the room and boast half beautiful lush green canopies to the east and intriguing cascading building-scapes to the west.

We almost didn't stay and eat that day. We had just had another consistently amazing lunch at Goblin Market. We had eaten light but were still fairly full. We pursued Wave's menu and a little bit of ignorance of Japanese food and delusion of this being a standard Asian joint nearly scared us away. The vibe, the glowing recommendation, and the enthusiasm of the person that greeted us tipped us in favor of staying.. "let's just try one thing to split," we said. They were mostly empty being that it was mid afternoon and we didn't feel like we would be hogging up one of the few valuable tables.

After a while of numbly looking over our choices our server helpfully, and thankfully, pointed out some favorites. We settled on a Lima roll. The menu states that their specialty rolls take more time than traditional rolls. Waiting on good food never bothers us and it only took 8-10 minutes before a beautiful yet unassuming plate was presented. We nonchalantly attacked with sword and shield (chopsticks and soy sauce) before it hit us.. These were different. These weren't your strip joint Sushi rolls. These were purposeful, intentional, delicately crafted pieces of art. And most of all, these were delicious! Upon closer inspection the intricacies of the preparation were better understood. In the center of each piece sat lightly fried tempura shrimp nestled against a bit of avocado and cradled with perfectly vinegared white sticky rice. Sushi is all about the rice after all..(http://travel.cnn.com/back-to-their-roots-sushi-chefs-head-home-tokyo-940261/) Draped on top sat a fresh and delicate piece of raw tuna. The roll was then artistically drizzled with a lima mayonnaise before a light dusting of togarashi (chili powder from Japanese peppers) and sprinkling of multicolored sesame seeds and scallions.

The ingredients list for the roll are unassuming. What shines is the quality and how carefully and intentionally these quality ingredients are incorporated. Each piece is a flavor and texture journey. The sensations tug and pull back and forth. The lightly fried shrimp provides a crunchy texture that balances out perfectly against the soft tuna and avocado. The delicate sweetness of tuna and avocado gets brought back by the small bite from the togarashi powder and the zip from the scallions. Everything playing in harmony. Just fantastic.

We ended up having another roll.

And then another before we finally we cut ourselves off.

Each roll a different journey. Each one special.

Thank you mystery man.