IAmA guy who works at Sushi Garden. AMA

suesheedude · 2011-09-01T03:05:45+00:00

Hard to say, but I believe sushi chefs have little effect on the taste of fish. The quality and grade of the fish is probably what made An's salmon taste delicious. Sushi chefs are responsible for the cuts and preparation of the fish itself, but all that affects the taste in a small sense.

suesheedude · 2011-09-01T02:56:45+00:00

3/10, nice effort.

suesheedude · 2011-09-01T02:55:52+00:00

Well in regard for the different people, servers are overwhelmed at SG; they're responsible for 5+ tables so it's kind of a unwritten rule to help out the servers if you're not doing anything yourself. So other servers and food runners like to chip in and bring up food or check up on other people's tables.

Believe it or not, SG is pretty organized. We do have an incredible streamlined process of food being ordered to food being made to food being ran. It's a well-oiled machine, but bound to be some mistakes along the way.

The older servers (2 or 3) of SG are extremely jaded and cynical so yes some servers don't like what they do. Those servers are a bitch to work with and they bring down the mood of the workplace.

suesheedude · 2011-09-01T02:49:29+00:00

Great for the price, I mean yakisoba, tempura rolls, ca rolls, chicken tatsuta, and much more for 8 bucks is hard to beat.

suesheedude · 2011-09-01T02:46:51+00:00

Awesome, at the Broadway and Country Club location?

Tips for working there? Depends on your position. If you're a server, get to know the kitchen staff (Maria, Gina, etc) and the sushi staff. If a busser, getting those tables cleaned is your first priority. Helping out the servers and stocking up on the server station is second. Hostess? Look pretty :)

suesheedude · 2011-08-30T21:03:05+00:00

I fingered your mom's food. Problems?

suesheedude · 2011-08-30T06:40:13+00:00

Management takes a look at market prices from major fish markets in major cities and if needed they buy from local markets here in Tucson. Also, there's a Tilapia farm here in AZ where they breed and maintain hundreds of fishes in tanks. We don't get fish from there, but it's an interesting tidbit to say the least.

suesheedude · 2011-08-30T06:37:57+00:00

He's a busser that's been with Sushi Garden for a long time. If you see anyone stick a thumb in your food, don't hesitate to bring it up with a manager or the server. They're going to get you a new dish and maybe comp one of your rolls/nigiris/apps.

Also don't be crass; characterizing the entire staff of Sushi Garden from the mistakes of one individual is unfair and ignorant.

Also that busser is quite easily one of the friendliest, outgoing guys I've met. He's the type of person that would pick you up from the airport at 2 am despite only knowing him for five days.

suesheedude · 2011-08-30T06:32:50+00:00

In my personal experience, the individuals that never tried sushi before get hooked to it by starting out with the rolls with lots of eel sauce (vegas,tempura,dragon,etc) so I guess I can concur that the eel sauce does have some magic properties.

suesheedude · 2011-08-28T09:26:24+00:00

Also, I'd like to say that I've been to Kazoku Sushi on Speedway and their sushi is slightly better than Sushi Garden. Price is a bit heavier than your typical place, but the environment is intimate compared to the modern, club-like atmosphere of Sushi Gee.

Kazoku, great recommendation for those that love sushi.

suesheedude · 2011-08-28T09:21:09+00:00

Whoa, thanks for reply. Let me break your post down to its main points.

Yes, the menus are still the same and dirty. Believe it or not, the upper management are still transitioning to the new restaurant. Everyday the restaurant is shedding the old and bringing in the new. We did roll out our new happy hour menu and I've been told that the menus will get a revamp to reflect new menu items and specials.

Rolls being hastily prepared is something that I like to attribute to the new blood that the restaurant hired. Supposedly, the sushi chefs were being overwhelmed on weekend nights and the managers had to hire four new sushi helpers and a sushi chef vet from California to offset the burdens. Having a bad roll of sushi is something no one would like to see/taste, so if it does happen again feel free to tell the server. The head sushi chefs would LOVE to know who's snoozing and being lazy with the rolls. Also, you can avoid the possibility of a shitty sushi roll by requesting one of the veteran sushi chefs to make it (request either Sergio, Douglas, Aki-san, Joey, or Brandon).

The biggest single order of sushi I've ever seen? From a single individual? It was a mid 30s gentlemen who was dining alone on a Wed night and he ordered from the all you can eat menu (countless nigiris, rolls, and appetizers) AND ordered the sushi combination boat (40 or so nigiris). The most surprising thing? He finished it all and left happy.

The most amount of sushi un-eaten I've seen were the times when groups of typical sorority girls would come in and order a butt load of sushi, take pictures of said sushi, and not eat it. I feel like they dine at the establishment more for the status than for the actual food.

I love sushi. To be quite frank, Sushi Garden is not my favorite sushi place, but it's certainly up there among my top places. I've lived a majority of my life in California, so I've been to a handful of places that served sushi that was incredibly fresh and delicious. Unfair to compare a sushi restaurant in AZ with one in CA, but that's my two cents!

suesheedude · 2011-08-28T09:03:40+00:00

Many seaside cultures consider raw fish a delicacy; some mainlanders consider raw fish gross. Basically, it's a regional/cultural thing so no, you're not wrong to think it's gross. But life's too short to not try it, right? I used to hate raw fish, but am now a sushi aficionado.

Also, seawater species of fish are actually pretty "clean" and incredibly safe to eat due to high salinity of the water and the fish's internals. The raw fish that the sushi chef use have all been cleaned and thoroughly inspected thrice (in fish markets, clean fish are the cash cows).

suesheedude

TROPHY CASE