Rishi Sushi

Rishi Sushi is the latest concept from David and Song Kim, who also own Moshi Sushi in Bexley. Rather than a straight down the middle sushi bar, Rishi is more of a small plates concept with interesting fusion dishes with one foot in Japan.

The restaurant has a focus on fresh, local ingredients. There are vegetarian and gluten free items identified on the menus. 

The sushi menu has pretty standard vegetarian offerings. In addition to meatless starters and salads, there is a veggie burger and a couple of generous vegetarian ramen bowls.

The edamame hummus is plated with cucumber, carrots and rice crackers. The dish creates a subtle harmony between the essence of Asia and the spirit of the Mediterranean.

While sushi is featured in the restaurant's name, the ramen is a real star. Bowls are piled with a vegetable broth, fresh ramen noodles, edamame, corn, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, spinach, bok choy and seaweed. While the Lazy Summer Day is deeply satisfying, masochists can also inflict the Good Luck Ramen challenge, made with scorpion peppers, upon themselves.

The bar has excellent cocktails and a decent beer and wine selection to accompany the food coming out of the kitchen. There is a happy hour menu with sushi, small plates and drink specials. 

Fusian

Fusian is a small fast-casual sushi spot that opened up on campus. It's a small chain currently with three locations in Ohio. Diners can pick a variety of ingredients and have a maki roll prepared for them. 

In addition to the amply portioned sushi rolls, there are a variety of vegetarian friendly side dishes at Fusian. Everything served can be eaten in the fun dining space.

Veggie rolls can be made with vegetables including carrot, cucumber, avocado, asparagus, green onion and jalepeño peppers, as well as roasted tofu. There are also sauces including wasabi mayo, sweet chili and spicy may. The tofu added a nice texture but little flavor to the dish. The veggies were fresh, with many sourced from Ohio. The wasabi mayo was a little thin and lacked the spicy punch I was expecting.

The spicy edamame was delightful. The hot soybeans were dressed in a delightfully sweet chili garlic sauce that exploded with flavor. 

The cucumber salad had a clean essence that hinted at an Asian cole slaw. The subtle rice wine vinegar brightened the dish.

I'm not sure if the PB&J roll is for kids or dessert. Either way, I want to try it.

Maki Go

Maki Go is a new build-your-own sushi roll spot in Downtown Columbus. They have been operating under soft open status for the past week. Like most sushi restaurants, there are a limited number of vegetarian options. By allowing customers to customize ingredients in the sushi, however, Maki Go is an easy choice for vegetarian and vegan diners.

Rolls can be wrapped in nori or soy paper with white or brown rice. The vegetarian protein is a steamed salt and pepper tofu with a subtle flavor that amplifies spices. Other ingredients include cucumber, avocado, green onion, romaine lettuce, jalepeño salsa, panko bread crumbs, cream cheese, and sauces including sriracha, spicy mayo and a slightly creamy wasabi dressing. 

The price for the roll is reasonable, although a side dish like the edamame would be recommended to put together a full-sized lunch. I could pretty easily eat two of the tofu rolls, and maybe more if you dared me.

The miso soup is not vegetarian-friendly as it is made with seafood. The staff was friendly and readily answered questions about ingredients. 

It's a little tricky to find Maki Go from its signage. The awning reads Bistro 8, and there is a paper print-out in the window for Maki Go. There is limited seating for about 15 inside, and the concept is set up for take-out. 

Sogo Asian Bistro

Sogo Asian Bistro is a modern sushi joint in Grove City on Stringtown Road. The menu is mostly a list of the usual suspects for vegetarians that is expected from a place focused on sushi.

Sogo has seating for nearly 100. There is a sushi bar that seats about 10 as well as seating at the booze bar.

The menu offers Chinese and Japanese fare which includes a vegetarian starter, three vegetarian entrees and a couple of vegetarian sushi rolls.

The edamame was a nice portion. The soybeans were unevenly salted, and the dish suffered greatly from this flaw.

The home style tofu is a traditional preparation with broccoli, carrots, white onions, baby corn, green peppers and water chestnuts in a brown sauce. This dish might have benefited from more spice, but was otherwise well constructed.

Sushi options for vegetarians include an avocado roll, a cucumber roll, a mixed veggie roll with avocado, burdock root, cucumber, pickled oshinko, kanpyo squash and sesame seeds in a soy wrapper, and yubuchobap, which are seasoned tofu skins stuffed with rice.

The sushi was prepared to a much higher standard than the hot dishes. The veggie rolls had a great crunch, and the flavor was bright with underlying earthy contrasts. The bright color of the rolls was appealing. The tofu pockets were also excellent.

Service at Sogo was even. Overall, it is a restaurant geared towards seafood eaters that makes vegetarian fare that is hardly worth going out of the way to eat.

Stix

Stix is a small Pan-Asian chain in Alabama. There are five or six locations in the state. I visited the Stix in Spanish Fort.

The menu at Stix focuses on sushi and a combination of Japanese and Chinese appetizers, stir fries and noodle dishes.

The veggie sushi platter was overflowing with maki rolls. The roll in the center of the platter was prepared with asparagus, pickled squash, carrot and green bean. The avocado rolls were flecked with black and white sesame seeds. The sushi was visually appealing, even though some of the longer vegetable cuts were less than elegant.

The Szechuan tofu had an aggressive spice that the bean curd drank up. The peapods, carrots and onions were cooked crispy enough to retain the freshness of these vegetables. Stir fries are served with choice of white or brown rice.

Although the server was being trained during my visit, she delivered capable and friendly service. The bar has a full selection of beer, wine and faux-tini cocktails.

Stix

Royal Ginger Asian Fusion Bistro

Royal Ginger is a sushi-centric Asian fusion spot located in the old Wolfgang Puck's in Upper Arlington. It is a similar concept to its relative Blue Ginger, another place I enjoyed on separate visits.

The restaurant interior is stylish with modern accents and a lot of dark wood. Service was efficient, and the server was able to address any and all vegetarian concerns.

The menu at Royal Ginger features numerous vegetarian options. There are multiple sushi choices and stir fried dishes without seafood and meat. Vegetarian spring rolls, edamame, peanut noodles and a few salads are available as starters.

There is a lunch special with a choice of vegetarian soup or salad and an entree for about $9. The salad was made with multicolored greens, onions and daikon in a fruity vinaigrette. It had soft and crispy textural accents that made the salad delightful to eat.

The vegetarian sushi at Royal Ginger is excellent. The vegetarian sushi combo is very similar to the one at Blue Ginger. The artful nigiri are topped with carrots, squash, asparagus and various other ingredients (vegan or ovo-vegetarian warning: the platter also has tomago, a nigiri egg roll. It may be omitted on request). The combo also comes with a few maki rolls containing avocado, asparagus and Japanese squash.

I ordered the veggie roll, which also is available with special lunch pricing. The uramaki veggie rolls were the aforementioned ones with the squash, asparagus and avocado. The menu at Royal Ginger features many other vegetarian options, including interesting options like peanut avocado and fried bean curd skin.

The black bean tofu was stir fried with long beans, red onions and shiitake mushrooms in a spicy Szechuan base. The earthy, spicy dish has a great flavor, and the serving size is fair. It comes with a choice of white or brown rice.

Royal Ginger has a decent list of beer, wine, sake and designer faux-tinis. The parking lot is small and poorly designed, so parking can sometimes be an issue.

Royal Ginger

Moshi Sushi Bar

Moshi is an upscale sushi joint in Bexley that offers contemporary takes on rolls as well as Pan-Asian fare from Korea, Thailand and Japan. It adds a nice touch to the Bexley dining scene.

This restaurant is a collaboration between Bexley resident Moshe "Moshi" Mizrachi and the father-and-son team of Song and David Kim. It gives Bexley a modern Asian spot in a similar style to Lemongrass or Nida's in the Short North.

The staff at Moshi Sushi Bar addressed vegetarian concerns appropriately. The menu doesn't have piles of vegetarian options, but there is enough variety to give diners different options.

The miso soup is vegetarian, prepared without bonito. There are about five different vegetable sushi rolls, a couple of salads, a tofu steak and a few meatless noodle dishes.

The miso soup has a deep green color that hides an unctuous, savory character. Small pieces of tofu pick up the flavor of the broth and the fresh scallions.

The fried tofu is served with a sweet hoisin sauce and an herbal-infused soy dip. Half of the tofu cubes are fried crispy without breading, and the other half are tempura battered with a crunchy panko coating. The hoisin-based sauce adds a great barbeque flavor to the dish.

The sushi rolls are artfully prepared. Vegetarian options include some of the usual suspects (avocado rolls and cucumber rolls) as well as some rolls with more complex groupings of ingredients. The veggie roll had cucumber, asparagus, carrots and kombucha squash. The O-H-I-O roll consists of avocado, cream cheese, fried sweet potato and asparagus fried in a walnut panko tempura with a sweet miso sauce.

The O-H-I-O roll was a great mix of flavors. The cream cheese and avocado add a rich, savory element to the sweet taste of the miso and potato. The crispy breading adds a great texture to the sushi roll.

The color of the veggie roll is striking. There is a rainbow of flavor accompanying its many shades. The smaller avocado roll was well-constructed if slightly uninspiring.

The decor at Moshi is modern and understated. Service was friendly and capable. There is a full bar with sake and cocktails.

While Moshi is excellent with a number of vegetarian options, be forewarned that it rates on the expensive end for sushi in the Columbus area.

Moshi Sushi Bar

Akai Hana

Akai Hana is a vegan-friendly Japanese restaurant in the Kenny Centre shopping center, located in the overlapping portions of Columbus and Upper Arlington. Sushi is the main attraction, but there are plenty of other soups, appetizers and entrees available for vegetarians.

The restaurant is tucked back into an unassuming plaza with an international flavor. There is an Asian market, an Indian restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a Middle Eastern bakery and a Japanese bakery within the plaza. Akai Hana is accessible from either of the two parking lots.

Vegetarian starters include edamame, an Asian cabbage salad, miso soup and tofu preparations including agedashi. The miso soup is traditionally understated, and the fresh scallions add a delightful crunch to the satisfying, salty soy broth (Special note: request a vegetarian miso soup; the normal version contains bonito flakes).

The agedashi tofu consists of large tempura-battered tofu cubes served in a seaweed/soy sauce base. The crispy skin and soft, almost molten tofu soak up the savory sauce upon which the cubes rest.

There are a number of different vegetable sushi rolls at Akai Hana. I sampled the garden roll, cucumber roll and avocado roll. The cucumber roll had a nice crunch. The avocado roll was rich and soft. The garden roll is a temaki roll filled with cucumber, carrot, lettuce and radish. It was aesthetically and gustatorily pleasant. The plating of the sushi rolls was very nice.

Lunch specials include miso soup and two rolls for $9 or three rolls for $12.50. Dinner prices are somewhat expensive compared to other sushi joints.

The decor is classic with modern accents. Service is prompt and efficient.

Akai Hana

Hal and Al's vegan sushi

Every Tuesday night, Hal & Al's in Merion Village features a different tasting. Typically, it offers a full line of beers from a particular brewer, and participants get to take home a glass. Instead of focusing on beer this week, the tasting debuted vegan sushi from the Hal & Al's kitchen.

The kitchen at Hal & Al's has been reviewed here before. They feature a wide variety of vegan comfort food, including fried avocados, vegan hot dogs, Luna burgers, tacos and burritos. Sushi is a change of pace. The kitchen is considering whether or not to feature sushi as a permanent menu item or a semi-regular special.

For $10, the tasting offered four different maki roll pairs, sushi accoutrements, a glass of Tiger beer from Singapore and an excellent "Parsons Avenue: The gateway to Hal & Al's" pint glass. There were three pairs of uramaki (rice on the outside) rolls and one pair of hosomaki (seaweed on the outside) rolls.

The rolls were a fairly simple cucumber roll, a pepper and scallion roll dotted with toasted sesame seeds, an avocado roll drizzled with red pepper Veganaise and a fried avocado roll. The cucumber roll was fairly pedestrian, but the other three were well made and delicious.

Tiger is a complement to the sushi. The continental pilsner adds a clean, bracing finish to the sushi rolls.

The other benefit to trying the tasting at Hal & Al's is that after the tasting is finished, the night can continue by tasting the rest of the smaller batch beer selections. The new Saison du BUFF project beers are amazing and worth a try. Saison du BUFF is a collaboration between the unholy trinity of American craft brewing, Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory. The three brewmasters collaborated on a recipe, and then brewed the beer separately at their own breweries.

Saison du BUFF is a Belgian saison-style ale flavored with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. The layers of herbal flavor in the Dogfish beer were deeper and more complex than the Stone beer, which was slightly more understated. The brews were more similar than different, but it was interesting to compare the two takes on the same recipe. Hal & Al's didn't carry the Victory version, but it's probably worth searching out based upon its pedigree and the quality of the other two brews.

Hal and Al's vegan sushi

Haiku

My plan was to hit up Haiku this week to take advantage of 614 Restaurant Week. Unfortunately for me, Haiku chose not to participate in Restaurant Week for lunch. Neither Haiku nor 614 Magazine listed this detail on their Web sites, but I did fine paying full price anyway. I'll chalk it up to bad work by their PR staffs.

Haiku is a sushi restaurant with a decent amount of vegetarian options on the menu. The biggest warning for vegetarians dining at Haiku is that the sushi bar absolutely stinks like seafood. If you are bothered by the smell of ocean life, either eat in the part of the restaurant away from the sushi bar or choose another restaurant altogether.

The decor in Haiku is a modern take on Zen style. The art work is modern and Western, but the tables and chairs are somewhat of an Eastern throwback.

The service staff is capable if somewhat inefficient. While the waiter properly addressed my vegetarian concerns, the meal was put together at a sluggish pace. The server could have been slightly more attentive about this issue. Overall, he did a decent job but needed a little more attention to detail.

I started with tofu lettuce wraps. The Korean classic, known as ssam, consists of finely cubed tofu and rice noodles cooked with spinach, onions and cabbage in a garlicky brown sauce wrapped in large green lettuce leaves. The dish is surprisingly filling with a satisfying flavor.

My main course was called Tao tofu. It featured steamed tofu and deep fried tofu stuffed with cucumbers, carrots and cabbage. It is plated with orange segments and a mildly sweet brown sauce. The citrus fruit actually adds an extra dimension to the flavor profile. While the fried tofu was delicious, the steamed tofu was silken, so it turned out soggy and flavorless. There is an option of getting all of the tofu fried, and that would be the best way to order this dish.

Other vegetarian items on the menu include a variety of veggie sushi rolls, edamame, wok-tossed mushrooms, vegetable tempura, spring roll salad, green salad, seaweed salad, vegetarian udon noodles, curry noodles, pad Thai and stir fried vegetables.

Haiku features a large selection of cocktails, sake, beer and wine. Prices for drinks and food are somewhat high but reasonable.

Haiku

Cornerstone Deli

The Cornerstone Deli and Cafe in Clintonville is a restaurant masquerading as a chimera. Bagels are Cornerstone's bread and butter; however, it also features a salad bar and sushi. Despite the somewhat disparate offerings on the menu, the place has tons of options for vegetarians.

The bagels are big and soft, and they serve as the base for a number of vegetarian sandwiches. Choices of bagels include plain bagels, eight grain bagels, salt bagels, Asiago bagels, honey wheat bagels, sun-dried tomato bagels and three cheese bagels. They can also be ordered to-go with cream cheese.

Veggie sandwiches include the Veggie Delight, the Portabella melt, the Mediterranean veggie, the herbivore wrap, and a couple of pizza bagels. I sampled the Mediterranean veggie on an eight grain bagel. The sandwich consisted of mixed greens, sunflower seeds, sprouts, tomato and hummus on a steamed bagel. The flavor of the hummus was very herbaceous, and the seeds provided a great textural addition.

Sandwiches are available with chips and other sides, including potato salad, macaroni salad, build-your-own side salad, edamame and miso soup.

I didn't get a chance to try the sushi, but there are many vegetarian options. There is a marinated tofu and cucumber roll, an avocado and cucumber roll, a mixed vegetable roll, a vegetable dragon roll and a mixed vegetable sushi platter. There are also vegetarian rice bowl dishes on the menu.

Cornerstone Deli is set up like Panera Bread. You order at the counter, and a few minutes later the order is ready. There is seating for about 30 inside the restaurant. The interior of the restaurant screams greasy spoon--it's somewhat dingy looking. Some people might prefer eating off premises.

Corner Stone Deli

Bento Go Go

Japanese establishments can sometimes be unfriendly to vegetarians. From sushi bars to steakhouses, Japanese food is not always tailor-made for those who don't eat animal flesh. Bento Go Go, however, breaks away from this limitation by featuring numerous plant-based dishes from the Land of the Rising Sun and other East Asian nations.

The menu has copious choices for vegetarians. Starters include edamame, veggie egg rolls, veggie tempura, salads and miso soup. There are numerous vegetarian noodle and rice dishes. There is also a vegetarian wrap.

The curried vegetable bowl was made with a vegan curry. Sticky white rice is topped with the mild brown curry sauce and broccoli, potatoes, onions, carrots and water chestnuts. The vegetables were flavorful. I might have liked the curry to have a little more spiciness, but overall, the dish was very satisfying.

The star at Bento Go Go is the sushi. The veggie rolls were made with lettuce, cucumber, avocado, burdock, kampyo squash and pickled radish. The rolls were large and well constructed. The flavor was rich with an intensely vegetal undertone.

There is a vegetarian sushi special available as a bento box combination. Bento boxes are essentially Japanese lunch boxes. The box comes with a choice of sides including kimchi and Korean potatoes.

At night, Bento Go Go transforms into a sake lounge. They serve a number of sakes and flavored saketinis. The restaurant is open until 10 pm, and the lounge is open until 2:30 am.

There are a number of choices for vegetarians at Bento Go Go. The counter business is fast casual. Prices are moderate.

Bento Go Go

Lemongrass Fusion Bistro

Lemongrass, Columbus' first Pan-Asian concept, is nestled along a busy stretch of High Street. The menu features Japanese, Chinese and Thai offerings that are deliciously prepared. I managed to get an enormous lunch for less than $25 tax and tip included. As the great philosopher Borat once said, "Nice!"

I started with the pan seared veggie dumplings, which were pot sticker-esque vegetarian dumplings stuffed with Asian chives and other greens in a ginger sauce. There were two dumplings, served with a visually striking presentation that was touched up by paper thin carrot strings and a small sprig of parsley.

The mixed vegetable sushi rolls were also phenomenal. The sushi rolls were made from avocado, cucumber and carrots. The composition and execution of each individual roll varied, making each bite interesting.

The egg-free tofu pad Thai (pictured above) was also excellent. Pad Thai is a dish that can often be a bland, boring introduction to Thai flavors for the American palate, but the Lemongrass version was a cut above, with the trademark lime, peanut and pepper flavors shining through the finish. The portion was large and very filling.

Lemongrass is open lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. They do both dine in and carry out. The carry out is probably very convenient, although the atmosphere of the dining rooms are an added perk to eating on site. Also, parking in this area can be a disaster at night, which is why I cheated and parked at a meter during off lunch hours, when both Lemongrass and the area were both surprisingly busy. The staff was helpful and friendly.

Check out the pictures below.

Lemongrass