Sakura Japanese Restaurant: Joyce Roll

Sakura Japanese Restaurant
4840 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38117
(901)572-1002

We continued on to our second stop on the 100 things to eat in Memphis before you die...Sakura Japanese Restaurant.  We were there to try the Joyce roll.

We decided to visit Sakura's recently opened second location in East Memphis at the corner of Poplar and St. Nick. The new location is close to home and provided the perfect spot to resume our Memphis culinary journey.  The inside of the restaurant is FANTASTIC! Fresh, clean designs and fixtures make this the ideal spot to enjoy an intimate dinner for 2 or, as we chose to do, have a fun meal with several friends.  One important note, the restaurant has yet to obtain a liquor license.  They will allow you to bring in your libation of choice to accompany your meal...and just in case you forget to bring something, the Spirits Shoppe is right next door.  You can pop in there and grab a bottle of sake or whatever you desire to help you wash down your meal.

Our server promptly greeted after taking our seat and didn't miss a beat for our entire meal.  We decided to order the Joyce Roll as an appetizer so as to enjoy it with a clean pallet.  The roll itself is made up of succulent crawfish tails, tender avocado, shrimp tempura, Sakura's house sauce and fish eggs. Once put together the entire roll is tempura fried and done so to perfection!  There's nothing quite like the light crunch of tempura fried sushi.  The roll is cut into 4 pieces which are then halved.  It's a good thing they halve the individual pieces too because this roll is big! Each bite was absolutely delightful.  This roll is unique and satisfying, just like so many other rolls at Sakura. 

While went to Sakura specifically to try the Joyce Roll we certainly didn't go JUST for the Joyce Roll. We followed up our Joyce appetizer with the tofu steak. Tofu used to one of those dishes that, as a red-blooded American male, I disregarded as not being "real" food.  My mind was changed a couple of years ago by this very dish. Five pieces of half inch thick tofu are brought out by the server on a sizzling iron skillet. The tofu is covered with a very thin tempura like coating and topped with savory teriyaki sauce.  The end result is soft, flavorful appetizer that is sure to please every tofu lover and shock those, like me, who dismissed tofu as a food for vegetarians only.

Our entree consisted of two more rolls...Ben's Roll and the Deep Sea Roll. Many of the rolls at Sakura are colossal. Be sure to check with your server that you aren't ordering too much food.  Ben's Roll is no exception (consider yourself warned).  It's a raw roll with tender, spicy salmon and crabstick in the middle topped with Cajun tuna and fresh avocado.  This roll is a can't miss that almost deserves it's own spot on the Memphis culinary bucket list.  The Deep Sea Roll isn't quite as big as Ben's Roll, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in flavor!  It's actually quite similar to Ben's Roll with it's composition of tuna, avocado and crabstick, but lacks the spiciness.  While the ingredients overlap, the flavor of the DSR is much milder and was a great compliment to Ben's Roll. We highly recommend both!  

If you're looking for a different sushi roll that manages to combine all of your favorite aspects of sushi, then you MUST get to Sakura to try the Joyce Roll.  To be fair, Sakura has many rolls that you won't find at other sushi joints and they are all worth the trip.  Swing by their new location in East Memphis or good by the Germantown location near Saddle Creek and indulge...you'll be happy you did!

Sakura Japanese Restaurant - Husband: 4.5/5 stars, Joyce Roll - 4.5/5 stars
                                                Wife: 5/5 stars, Joyce Roll - 4.5/5 stars

Belmont Grill: Onion Rings

Belmont Grill
4970 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38117
(901)767-0305

This was the first stop on our journey to eat the 100 “must haves” of Memphis cuisine.  Just eyeballing the list, many look delectable, and a few look like something I’d typically avoid.  Nonetheless, in an effort to spice up our culinary endeavors and expand past the few usual spots that we always frequent, my husband and I decided to give all 100 a go, and try out some new places in the process.  Fun, right?!

Fun indeed!  Belmont Grill happened to come first on the list, and not least for the fact that it is located so closely to our humble abode in East Memphis.  The item from Belmont on the list was their onion rings – the perfect side to this Belmont burger which I’d heard so much about over the years.  While not a huge meat eater, sometimes I occasionally just all-out crave a good hamburger.  And I was not disappointed. 

Belmont is a little dark on the inside, and it has an “old” feel to it – mostly because it IS old.  The story on the menu, which took up two pages, dated the building back, in one form or another, to the 1920’s.  I liked the historic aspect right away.  The service was also pretty good, if not over the top; it’s what you’d expect in this type of establishment, and I definitely can’t complain.  (I personally do not care for “chatty” or overly friendly servers, having been one myself.)  Since there were three of us, we forewent our usual perch at the bar in favor of a table, which was tucked nicely into a corner, reminiscent of some of the tables at Half Shell.  Ah, and it used to house the Half Shell, according to the menu narrative, so quite fitting really.

My husband got the potato skin appetizers, and I tried a bite.  I really liked them, better than I usually like that dish.  I think this one had more potato on the inside, and he had covered it with a healthy (or unhealthy as the case may be) dose of sour cream.  Additionally, my husband mentioned that these were some of the fresher tasting potato skins he’d had the pleasure of enjoying.  I ordered the burger with onion rings, medium, with swiss cheese.  Order came out quickly and correctly.  The burger may have been cooked more than medium, but that was fine by me, because frankly it tasted delightful.  It was not enormous, but the meet was thick and filled the bun (which looked like half of a sub sandwich bun) nicely, and the condiments (which came on the side) that I added were fresh and delicious. 

The onion rings themselves were thin and measured probably two to three inches in diameter.  The breading was light and reminded me a little of tempura in coloring and density.  I was tempted to get ranch as a dip, but I’m on a (very lax) diet, so that was the one compromise that I made for myself.  Nevertheless, they were good in the ketchup, and had a good mix of breading and onion.  The onion also didn’t slip out of the breading, as often occurs with onion rings (an annoying by-product of an otherwise tasty fried dish).  In summary, I liked the onion rings a lot.  However, I liked the burger even more!

One thing – one the way out, we caught what looked like a once frozen breaded onion ring in the parking lot.  Bummer.  That kind of killed the notion of being freshly breaded and made in the restaurant.  But that’s ok, I’m not sure they’d have tasted much better that way!

Belmont Grill – Wife: 4.5/5 stars; Onion rings – 4/5 stars.

                              Husband: 4.25/5 stars; Onion rings – 4/5 stars.