Attention: Columbus Foodies

Last night, Johnnie and I ate at Japanese Oriental Restaurant (JOR) on High Street in Columbus, Ohio. We've eaten there before, but the last time we were there, I didn't end up blogging about it. That's all going to change with this post.

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that I've just started eating sushi in the last year. JOR serves a variety of Japanese and Korean dishes--and I really like both the food and the presentation. If I lived in Columbus, I'd want to eat there a lot--and I'd even want to go just for the sushi.

The two types of sushi that I really like are the two types we ordered last night: spider roll and tuna/avocado. I like the crunchiness of the soft shell crab in the spider roll, and the mild, rich flavor of the tuna and avocado mix. When Johnnie described sushi as comfort food, I had to think about that a minute. Because raw fish and seaweed are such newly acquired tastes, I wouldn't have thought to describe the combination as comfort food. But the more I thought about it, the more I understood. I can say that there's starting to be something familiar and homey about sushi. I like that it's served in bite size portions--and it's just enough food to feel full but not overstuffed if one eats it all in one sitting. It's also really satisfying with the sticky, chewy rice. After last night's dinner, I can see myself eating sushi regularly (now, if only I could handle chopsticks more expertly). The one thing I still need to push myself to do is to combine the soy sauce with wasabi.

But the meal didn't end with sushi. Johnnie ordered calimari barbecue, which he said was overcooked. It did look beautiful, though (I didn't try it since I haven't developed a love for squid yet).

He also ordered the Shrimp Tempura Udon which he said is always fantastic.

I'd read about katsu on a couple of blogs, so I decided to try the Katsu Don with Chicken. Johnnie thought that I should play it safe because I'd just traveled all day and was ravenous. He thought I might not like the katsu as much as I liked the Bi Bim Bop that I ate last time I was at JOR. But the katsu turned out to be just about as safe as possible: breaded chicken, onion, rice, and some kind of sweet sauce. It's topped with egg and diced scallions. It was quite delicious, kind of like a gourmet chicken tender.

I also liked the banchan that accompanied the meal, even the pickled turnip and kim chee. Of course, my favorite was the teriyaki-like potato. Yummy!

I really enjoyed the meal. Still, Johnnie says that the two times we've been to JOR together, the food has just been okay. The other two times he's eaten there, it was fantastic. We'll be back in Columbus in a week and a half--and we plan to return to JOR. I'd like to go on one of the fantastic nights, especially since I've really liked the food both times I have been there. Hard to imagine it can be even better. . . .