Japanese restaurant far from traditional

Wasabi, as anyone who has eaten Japanese cuisine should know, is a pasty green wad of horseradish and mustard that is fiercely hot.

Wasabi, the sushi bar and Japanese eatery, has a reputation much like the condiment it is named after.

The downtown restaurant veers away from traditional Japanese eateries. For one thing, the Pine Avenue location aims for trendy young urbanites, and the restaurant reflects the clientele very well.

Modern rock and pop music are piped into the dining area. The menus have some Japanese names for dishes with an English explanation that sounds like it was written by, and for, 16-year-olds.

The layout of the restaurant is interesting. Along with the standard tables, diners can sit at the sushi counter and watch concoctions of raw fish and glutinous rice rolled in front of their eyes.

There is also the table-level grill, where Wasabi chefs with gifted hands hack and slash entrees before your eyes. Watch for the flames that can get almost four feet high.

Chris Ledermuller

The sushi list is quite extensive and the fish is fresh. Patrons order their choices by marking down what item and what quantity they want on a piece of paper. Sure, the ubiquitous California roll is available, but so are more exotic choices like fatty tuna, eel and sea urchin. The giant hand rolls -- crab and spicy tuna just to name two -- can be meals by themselves. Wasabi puts a strong enough hint of wasabi in the sushi, but not so much as to cause pain in the throat and eyes.

The list of non-sushi entrees is fairly small and predictable, but still delicious. One dish that is recommended is the teriyaki chicken, which also comes with a slaw covered in a pleasantly salty brown dressing, a bowl of rice and miso soup. Entrée prices range in the $12 to $20 range.

Desserts are limited to ice cream, but with flavors, like green tea and plum wine, that would seldom, if ever, appear in an average ice cream parlor. Vanilla is available for the unadventurous.

Chris Ledermuller is a print journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.

RESTAURANT INFO

Wasabi Long Beach
200 Pine Avenue
Downtown

Hours: Sunday and Monday 11:30 a.m. ­ 10 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. ­11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. -12 midnight.

Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover accepted.

Beer, wine and liquor served

Rating is a 4 out of 5