VKI Japanese Steakhouse.
 

VKI JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

We ate there last night and it was quite good. :ho:

Had not been there in maybe 10 ten years or more.

It's a great restuarant. One of our go to's for take out sushi. We prefer to bring dinner home and sit in our birdcage watching the sunset during dinner.

They did seem rather busy even for late June.

We love this place. Usually, I will order Chicken or Pork Katsu Lunch Box-- which is basically a sort of southern fried cutlet -- delish. It comes with Miso Soup, Salad, 2 pieces of California roll, and fruit. Great deal for if I remember correctly $11.00. The salad has the freshest iceberg lettuce (which I don't usually prefer) but I enjoy it with the really delicious ginger dressing.

Hubby likes the Steak Hibachi ($13.00 I think). I've also had a fried soft shell crab, gyoza -- which is a type of fried wonton, sort of and very tasty. Also enjoy the vegetable tempura. The food has been consistent and very fresh each time we've had it.

You can get delivery through DoorDash - but that adds quite a hefty amount to the bill -- upwards of $15.00 or more, not to mention a very long wait.

Last two or three times I called in a take-out order and they brought the order out to the car (there is a small parking lot right across the street if you can't double park -- it is a very busy street). When I call I get the total and usually have the exact amount plus I always give the person 2 or 3 dollars (like one would do for a car valet). It's well worth it. They are very accommodating and are now on our rotation list.

VKI and Thai Ruby give LSL two quality choices for out of the ordinary dining.

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We went to Thai Ruby a few months ago and liked it.

Hi, BK. Robert and I go to VKI occasionally. I love the sushi, which I think is a cut above Sakura (which is very good, nonetheless). He likes the hibachi dishes.

Tal, I like Thai Ruby well enough, but like other restaurants (Chinese, in particular), they dumb down the spices for TV palates. Pity. Even if you order “Thai hot,” which is on their menu, it just adds more crushed red pepper. This just doesn’t cut it for deep-cooked flavorful spice mixes.

We were in Boston this past weekend. There was a restaurant called Himalayan something. The menu looked FANTASTIC (you know I don’t use the F-word lightly), but alas, we ran out of time. I sure wish someone would open a place specializing in food from India.
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Never had a bad meal there. Go mostly for sushi but some times we go with a group and do the hibachi. Both always excellent. Even in peak season you can always get seats for two at the sushi bar.

If there are only two of us (usually me and Mona, as Robert won’t touch sushi—but I’m working on it), I enjoy sitting at the bar and watching the preparation.

Becoming a sushi master is no simple matter. In the classical way, you could spend three years or more just learning to make rice correctly. I took a three hour class on making sushi. I learned a lot:

1. You have to be able to do rice correctly.
2. Your knife must be as sharp as a razor blade. The professional ones cost upward of $1,000.
3. For maki, vegetables must be perfectly cut, to say nothing of the fish.
4. FRESH, FRESH, FRESH fish and vegetables.

My tuna rolls were not perfect by any means, but they were nonetheless delicious!

If you want to try your luck, check out YouTube. And ALWAYS tell the fish vendor that it is for sushi, i.e. RAW.

We love to sit at the sushi bar and watch, really is artful.
The knives fascinate me, so sharp. They have let me see the knife and he told me that he just sharpens it once a day. It really holds the edge!

O Henryk how I agree with you. I think Indian is what we miss most - Amrit in Ocala didn't cut it for us. We heard that another Indian restaurant (called Bombay Cafe) has opened up in Ocala but we have not tried it.

I do have a place in Mount Dora called Shiva that I am planning on going to as soon as we can. We heard good things about it -- but as someone else pointed out, tastes in food, (like women) are so varied and subjective that you can not rely on it. Some like 'em tall, some like 'em short, and some don't like 'em at all! LOL

Reading the posts on NYC pizza is a good case in point. Having lived in NY for 65 of my 68 years, I had a good belly laugh at what some said was good, NY style pizza down here.

Shiva Indian Restaurant in Mount Dora, Florida

Shiva used to be located in the Leesburg Lake Square Mall. They had an extensive lunch buffet and we would go there every couple of months for our Indian fix. Really good food and reasonably priced. They closed probably at least 5 years ago. We were excited to hear they reopened about a year or two ago in Mount Dora. However, they are in a smaller location and the buffet is much smaller and more expensive. We tried them once and haven't been back.

We used to have an Indian restaurant with a lunch buffet in TV near Spanish Springs several years ago but it didn't last long. The food was okay (not great) but in a good location. There also seems to be a lot of turnover in Ocala near the mall. I guess this area just doesn't have enough support for more "exotic" menus.