Udon: A Quest! - Part 3

Mio Sushi
3962 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd

I forgot to take notes right away after eating here, so I don't remember most of the details, but I don't want to order it again, so I'll do my best.

Noodles: Unoffensive.  I ordered it to go the last time I tried it, so it was overcooked by the time I got home, but I seem to remember that it was ok before.

Chicken:  I had to specially order it, and it wasn't very good.

Extras:  My memory gets more hazy here.  Kamaboko, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms were involved.  I ordinarily love mushrooms, but I'm pretty sure these were reconstituted ones.

Conclusion:  Eat the sushi there, not the udon. It's not bad, but too expensive for what you get.  There are better places.



Blue Fin Sushi 
1988 SW Broadway

Blue Fin is one of those conveyor belt sushi places, but everything seems fresh, and the udon is made to order.  It's about what I would expect from a place in the PSU area.

Noodles:  Fresh, chewy, not slimy (see fresh).

Broth:  Maybe a little salty; unoffensive if unimaginable.

Extras:  Green onions, a soggy tempura shrimp, and kamaboko whose edges were a positively alarming shade of pink.

Conclusion:  Not ideal, and everything but the noodles were of obviously cheap quality, but the low price and the freshness of the noodles mostly make up for it.  I should also note that when I took the notes for this review it was the third time I had ordered it there, so it can't be that bad.


Ichidai Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
5714 SE Powell Blvd

The restaurant is easily overlooked when driving down Powell, but has a nice atmosphere, and there was an encouraging number of people speaking Japanese when I was there.

Noodles:  Chewy and well-formed, but a little thinner than usual, so they were slightly translucent.

Chicken:  Much better than usual.  White meat that didn't taste like it had been cooking forever.  I'm not sure if it usually comes with chicken, because I didn't look at the menu before ordering.

Broth:  Dark, rich, and slightly sweet.  It reminded me a little of the broth that you get from Soup a l'onion.

Extras:  Green onions and sliced white onions (which probably is why it tasted like French onion soup).

Conclusion:  The noodles weren't quite how I like them, but it was fresh and clearly of high quality ingredients.  It was also a little more expensive than usual--about the same price as Mio Sushi--but unlike Mio it came with cucumber sushi on the side.  There were two types of udon on the menu, one of which looked like it had more things in it, so next time I think I'll try that.