Genki Sushi - Santa Ana

Yes, it's yet another revolving sushi bar. This one, though, is an import from the Aloha State. I'm actually familiar with this chain, if you can believe it. You can't go into a mall in any of Hawaii's more populated islands without seeing a Genki Sushi. Genki Sushi to Hawaii is like In-N-Out in California; they're everywhere, and as far as I can tell, quite respected for what it is.

This fact should explain why there's a deep-fried Spam sushi roll on the menu. It's actually better than you might think. If you already embrace Spam as the best thing modern food processing ever devised, I suggest ordering it fresh and not like I did from the conveyor belt, where it had equalized to tepid and become not particularly crispy.

The salmon is surprising good for a kaiten sushi joint, and the pico de gallo mounded on top of the veggie roll actually had bite, thanks to those micro-diced jalapenos. You won't see uni rolling by though, ever. You have to order it from the menu. But it's just as well. Those who would be daring enough to down the custard-y slobber of these sea urchin gonads know better that it should never be put on the conveyor train--it must be ordered fresh.

Possibly the best bite I had is the salmon skin nigiri; an item that most sushi-philes wouldn't consider true sushi. The thin sample of fish epidermis is fried with just a millimeter of the meat still clinging on. Then the crispy fleck is brushed with touch of Thai sweet chili sauce and put atop a ball of rice. It's excellent.

Like the other Genki's in Hawaii, this one is inside a mall. And it's exactly where it belongs. It isn't sushi for the hard core. Like its kin Gatten and Kura, this is sushi for the gum-snapping set, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's certainly better for you than a Hot Dog on a Stick...though there's nothing wrong with that either.

Genki Sushi
2800 N Main St.
Ste 1040
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 972-4677
http://www.genkisushiusa.com

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Roe Restaurant - Long Beach