Hamachi Crudo is a Staple
But that was years ago and I no longer frequent lunch sushi as part of my daily routine. Instead, I freelance these days and eat many of my lunches at home. It's nice to save time dressing and commuting to work on a 9-5 schedule. It does mean much, much less sushi consumption and, as a result, not enough activity on this blog.
Still, as an avid sushi slut, I am always on the lookout for new flavors and new sushi-type offerings at other eateries. My latest adventure took place at the Little Beet Table, a "healthy" foodie destination in the Gold Coast offering craft cocktails and a smattering of fusion-like food. Alas, the Little Beet Table tries a bit too hard to make healthy food cutting edge. Most of its menu are healthier remakes of global favorites and seasonal comfort food, such as sweet pea guacamole and a Japanese pumpkin soup with creme fraiche.
The Hamachi Crudo is just another delicious remake of a standard in most sushi restaurants: Hamachi or Yellowtail with jalopeno slices and chive oil. The red pepper chili flakes give the dish an extra heat dimension that somehow, luckily does not overpower the delicate flavor of the Yellowtail. Overall, I find the dish mostly successful, except for the mandarin orange slices, which make the dish too sweet. The mandarin orange slices work much better as a chaser to the savory fish-jalopeno combination.
Alas, I doubt I will return to the Little Beet Table before it closes. It's a bit of a shame because I like the ambiance and the craft cocktails look promising. I have been here 2 times and so far have not seen a decent or substantial enough crowd that would make this place sustainable for the State Street rent. Also, both times the service has been a bit slow and erratic even though there were only 3 tables in the entire restaurant. That's always a bad sign because the servers are so checked out from not making ends meet after such a bare shift.