- Julia Thiel
- Preparing the sushi at Tanoshii Sushi Mike’s
The original Andersonvile location of Tanoshii has built its reputation on the sushi creations of chef-owner Mike Ham—aka Sushi Mike—who’s known for the off-menu specialty rolls he’ll make on request. Customers who order the “Sushi Mike’s Special” tell their server what they like and dislike and how many rolls they want, and Ham will come up with often-quirky combinations involving nontraditional ingredients like dried oregano, olive oil, fresh fruit, green onions, and tomatoes (not all in the same roll, though).
- Santina Croniser
- Escolar, crab, and mushroom roll
Sushi Mike is one of the only chefs who’s ever gotten me to like anything made with truffle oil, which I usually avoid like the plague (I think it tastes fake, probably because it is; J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has an excellent article about it on Serious Eats). But somehow, the honey and truffle oil that topped a rose made of maguro tuna beautifully complemented the buttery fish, while chives offset the richness. The same sauce worked equally well on a roll with escolar, crab, and shiitake mushrooms sautéed in soy sauce, with the mushrooms contributing a nice earthiness. A wakame salad with tender slices of octopus was fresh, light, and just slightly funky (in a good way); I couldn’t pinpoint the source but I suspect there was a little fish sauce in the dressing.
