Jeff C.
Yelp
In my years of enjoying Japanese cuisine all around the U.S., I find there are really three types: the uber premium blow your mind place of which there are very few, the rock solid traditional places and then the places that are riding the Asian food fad and usually feature "fusion". More on this in a moment.
Located in a strip mall with good parking availability, we had high hopes. A high ceilinged space in red, 8 seat sushi bar at the back and no sit down bar, although lots of table seating. Quickly seated at the sushi bar as is our usual custom - best chance to see what's really fresh and engage the guys behind the sushi bar. The case revealed the staple fish you'd expect although much of it is likely brought in frozen, not fresh.
Unfortunately, our server (we were told not to order with the bar), who was trying really hard, knew nothing aobut Japanese food or its preparation. As other reviewers have noted, careful review of your order is wise advice that we should have followed. For instance, he didn't know wht Nori is. I get that they might not be familiar with some esoteric or unusual items (say, ankemo), but Nori? That's like not knowing what rice is.
Meals over $10 come with a green salad - pale white really as it's the baggaged food service iceberg lettuce with a light creamy/seasame dressing. Followed by miso soup that sure seemed to be instant given the tiny uniformly cubic pieces of tofu. While good in a pinch, not what I epxect at a Japanese restaurant, but it was hot and tasted fairly good on a snowy night. I ordered Agedashi Tofu as a starter as well - its a staple in Japan and very simple to prepare. Tofu is coated lightly in corn starch and quickly deep fried and served with a small amount of tentsuyu broth grated daikon, sliced scallions and bonito flakes. They had the tofu right, but it went downhill from there with a sticky and super sweet sauce drizzled on it making it taste more like fried tofu french toast than Agedashi Tofu
We ordered a mix of sushi nigiri, Hamachi sashimi and a roll. Restaurant was about 75% full and it took quite a long time for the sushi to come across from the bar. The fish itself was, overall, fair. Nothing was bad, but really, nothing was at all memorable. With the exception of the salmon, they fish was all relatively bland and the special request we had made for the one roll was ignored (we wanted to ensure the unknown Nori was on the outside, not inside out). Portions were large and the rolls are really big. We tried the lobster roll as a follow up and found pieces of shell. So in terms of categories, this is a place riding the wave of Asian fusion food, and frankly doing a mediocre job of it.
So if you're measuring your sushi satisfaction by portion size, unique rolls that don't follow traditions of Japan, you'll like Kinja. If you're looking for a more traditional experience, or to enjoy the subtle and sublime flavors that sushi really can offer, this may not be the place. Or better yet, go to your fish monger, have them order in some bluefin tuna for you, make your own sushi rice and do your own.
