I was first "almost" introduced to sushi on my honeymoon. We went on a Carribean cruise, and sushi was an appetizer choice one night. Being an adventurous foodie, I decided to try it.

Unfortunately, the first thing I took a bite of in my ignorance was a piece of ginger root (not pickled ginger). Needless to say, I didn't try sushi again for eleven years. But then it was love at first bite.

If you've never eaten sushi, but you'd like to try — and I highly recommend it — you might enjoy peaking at my sushi primer.

I haven't eaten at all the Austin sushi restaurants, but I'm working on it. I have eaten at several (reviews later): Seoul Sushi House, Shogun, Kyoto II, and, obviously, Musashino.

Musashino is hands down my favorite. If I could, I'd eat here every week. What makes Musashino different from other sushi restaurants? The sushi is almost invariably very fresh, and the portions are very large: in fact, the nigiri often seems to be a little bit of rice with your fish.

Sushi is expensive unfortunately, and Musashino is one of the more expensive sushi restaurants. The portion sizes explain the cost, to my mind.

If you don't like sushi, but do enjoy Japanese cuisine, Musashino's got that, too. I'm afraid I've never tried anything other than the sushi, however.

Appetizers, which include tempura and steak dishes, range from $4-10. In addition to sushi, you'll find tempura and teriyaki dishes ($15-20). You can order a sushi dinner, which comes with a predetermined amount and variety of sushi ($13-25), or order your sushi a la carte ($4-9 for rolls, $2-4 for nigiri).

Service at Musashino does tend to be a little on the slow side, but that may be because we never have soup or a salad, only sushi. Occasionally we'll get edamame (steamed soybeans) as an appetizer.

Steamed soybeans may not sound very appetizing, but even my steak and potatoes husband likes them. They're fun to eat, too: they come in the pod, and you just pop them out into your mouth. They can be served either warm or cold.

Mushashino offers the usual (and some not so usual) ice creams for dessert, and then some not so usual choices: fried ice cream and tiramisu.

Tonight I decided to try the tiramisu ($5). I asked the waitress what it meant by "Japanese style". Lots of alcohol, she replied. It was good: a thin layer of sponge cake, topped by a large layer of marscapone (I'm assuming; I didn't ask what type of cheese was used).

The fried ice cream ($5, $7.50 with brandy sauce) is to die for. It's really delicious, but it's very large. It can easily feed four moderate eaters. Go for the brandy sauce; it's very good.

If we're not too hungry, we can get away with spending only $30 for the two of us, but usually it's $50 (with no dessert). We once went with friends who are large eaters, and it cost $100 per couple. Mushashino shares space with Chinatown: Mushashino is downstairs and Chinatown is upstairs. You'll see a sign for Chinatown outside if you're approaching from Mopac.

Location:
3407 Greystone Drive , Austin, TX 78731 
Map

Have you been to Mushashino? What did you think? Got a favorite Sushi restaurant? Email me your views and I'll post them here.

One water glass (I'm never going back) to four (if I could, I'd camp out in the kitchen).

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