I think it's time to say a word or two about the restaurant that seems to be the most popular among Bowdoin students.
It's the obvious choice for date night, and it's become impossible to have dinner there without running into at least one person you know.
Yes, Little Tokyo seems to be to Bowdoin what Dorsia was to Patrick Bateman.
More than a restaurant, Little Tokyo is a symbol, much like the token sushi place in our northeast suburban hometowns.
Good sushi to some, average to most, Little Tokyo will ever be the choice of students who are looking to settle when they to go out for dinner.
Let me start by saying that the place isn't bad. It just isn't that good either. Little Toyko's reputation is as built up as that sophomore girl who thinks she can just walk into Crack House.
The menu contains nothing original in terms of experimentation with different Asian flavors or ingredients.
Kitchen appetizer items include most of the the classics: gyoza, shumai, and seaweed salad, among others.
These are ok in the sense that you can buy a bag of the same dumplings in any Asian supermarket.
Kitchen entrees are no less generic. Teriyaki or tempura dinners—just the thing to order at a sushi restaurant—served with soup and salad seem like the town- pleasers.
The best value choices in the place, if you intend on leaving full, are the noodle soups. A hearty bowl of broth, Udon or Soba noodles, chicken, shrimp, and vegetables garnished with shrimp tempura is just $13.
Now lets talk about the sushi. Little Tokyo may have the best sushi in Brunswick, but I think it's clear that making such a claim is a bit like declaring the tallest Pygmy.
Maine prides itself on fish and seafood and I wouldn't say that Little Tokyo diverges from that tradition with poor quality ingredients. In fact, Little Tokyo boasts using local products such as salmon, crab, surf clam, and scallops.
So the problem with the sushi, then, lies not in the quality of the ingredients, but even more unfortunately, in its portion and preparation. Nigiri come two pieces to an order, with the rice heavily outweighing the fish.
Pieces run anywhere from $2 to $3 a pop, so if you want a normal tab at the end of your meal and still leave with some satisfaction and dignity, you should look into some rolls.
Simple rolls like salmon, spicy tuna, eel, and yellowtail are $5 to $7 for the six-piece roll that pairs the fish with an unnecessary amount of filler ingredients like cucumber and avocado.
Everyone's favorite, spicy tuna—or any other fish tossed in spicy mayo and served half-stuffed with cucumber—is $7.
The Little Tokyo specialty rolls often served "lightly fried"—that is, completely drenched in tempura batter—are even more expensive.
The fact that it's overpriced makes people thinks it's better than it actually is, but Little Toyko is just generic.
However, I don't think Bowdoin students are ignorant eaters for frequenting Little Tokyo, even though it doesn't hold up to the standard of sushi that many of us have grown accustomed to. It remains at the focal point of off-campus dining because of "it's just that sushi place."
Taste: 2.5 stars
Authenticity: 2 star
Value: 1.5 stars
Overall: 2 stars