Coast

Ratings Guide:
Half handshake, half chest-bump hug – 5 stars
Chest bump – 4 stars
Fist bump – 3 stars
High five – 2 stars
Handshake – 1 star
Fone and fone – 0 stars
Manly ass slap – ½ star


Restaurant: Coast
Locations: 2045 N. Damen


With all due respect to Rob Gordon, Dick, and Barry, here are my Top 5 Reasons Why I Used To Not Like Sushi:

5. It’s just not enough food. No matter how much of it you eat, you never quite feel full. And an hour later you’re ordering a large pizza or finding the nearest burrito stand. Or both.
4. Chopsticks are hard to use.
3. The first time I ever ate sushi, at some place in St. Louis, I got sick.
2. The second time I ate sushi, I got sick.
1. The third time I ate sushi, I was in LA recording some radio spots, and we wanted to order pizza, but my boss insisted on sushi. I ate it. I got sick.

But the times have changed for me. I’ve actually grown to like sushi, and I think it’s mostly because I’ve finally learned what to order. I know what I’ll like and what I won’t like, and I try not to adventure to far from those things.

So, what I usually like is something spicy. The hotter the better. If it’s spicy enough that I forget I’m eating raw fish, that’s a good thing. And stick with the rolls, or maki, or whatever it’s called. My wife one time made me eat the slabs of raw fish. Then I ended up eating the bottom of the toilet bowl. So, spicy rolls, that’s the ticket for me.

At Coast we ended up ordering four different rolls. My wife got the Fresh Philly, which she must have liked because she ate five of the six pieces. I took a pass. Not a big salmon fan. We shared an order of the Ceviche, which wasn’t bad. It had fish (I think crab) and jalapeño, and some lime, and it was good. The first piece was a little dry, but I think that was a fluke. The Ceviche roll had a very subtle flavor. Very light. So, if you like your food with lots of spices or some taste that overpowers you, then don’t order this. I actually liked its simplicity (which I usually don’t, since I’m big into a lot of flavor).

Let’s see, we also ordered the Crunchy Spicy Tuna. Which was tuna that was spicy, with a little bit of a crunchy layer on the outside. It was really good. The crunch adds a little bit of sweetness to the spicy tuna, which was a nice contrast. I ate four of the six pieces. Yeah, I guess I liked it.

But the best of the bunch was the White Dragon. It’s shrimp and cream cheese and other stuff, and topped with mayo or something. It is incredibly rich, and amazingly good. We ended up having a chopstick fight to see who got to eat the majority of the pieces. As an example of how good it is, my wife took a piece of the Fresh Philly and dipped it in the White Dragon special sauce (which sounds like a porno, I know) that had dripped onto the plate. That’s how good this thing was. You wanted everything you ate to taste like it. It was this great combination of sweet and spicy and thick and rich. If I went back, I’d probably order at least two of these. And that would just be as an appetizer.

Coast is also a BYOB, which I’m always a big fan of. And if you order $15 worth of food per person, there is no corkage fee. So, dinner was $45 after tax and tip, which wasn’t too bad. And the service was great, and I loved the atmosphere. They used to only take reservations for parties of six or more, but I think they have changed their policy. I’d call ahead and find out for sure, because we went on a Tuesday night at about 8:45 and the place was still pretty packed. But now I know why.

So, my wife said she loved this place and not to “give my Coast a bad review”, so I don’t really have a choice here (although I really liked it).

Probably my second favorite sushi place in the city (next to Bob San, not that I’ve tried that many). Chest bump.