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THE PLACE
California Rollin' 2 has recently committed to another five years along the Genesee River at the Port of Rochester, a renewed hub of dining and activity. Manager Tom Beaman Jr. (son of owner Tom Beaman) says business slows in the winter but has successfully filled a niche in Charlotte, especially during the busy summer up by Lake Ontario. The Beamans still operate the original restaurant in Village Gate and have plans for a third location at Brooks Landing.
THE FOOD
While you will find some traditional rolls here, as the California name implies, this is really Americanized sushi. In addition to the fresh fish, you will find fillings such as bacon, mayonnaise, fresh raspberries, fried onion crunchies and jalapeno.
We dined on a Monday, when nigiri is available for $1.25 a piece. Nigiri is deceptively simple in its presentation — a piece of fresh fish served atop a finger of rice with a dab of wasabi underneath. Some of the slices of fish are bound to the rice with a ribbon of nori seaweed.
My junior companion, a sushi-loving pescetarian (someone who eats fish but not mammals or birds), eagerly volunteered to order. She chose the ikura (salmon roe), the hamachi (yellowtail tuna), the unagi (smoked eel), the sake (salmon) and the mushidako (octopus). Of the selection, we loved the silky buttery textures of the salmon and tuna. The eel was deliciously smoky and sweet, and the salmon roe was salty with a pop-in-your-mouth texture that we enjoyed, although it wasn't as firm or as cool as we expected. The octopus, not so much. I normally like the chilly slices with a firm bite but these were thicker, and a real workout to chew.
For rolls, we mostly stuck to conventional offerings. Our favorite overall was the leviathan roll ($15.35), which is, as its whale moniker implies, a giant in the seafood kingdom. Essentially, it is one roll inside another, starting with a New York roll of smoked eel and cucumber rolled into a giant roll consisting of tempura shrimp, sesame seaweed salad, onion crunchies and Japanese mayonnaise. The final roll is drizzled with eel sauce and sesame seeds. If that monster combination doesn't blow your spout, I don't know what will.
We also chose two maki rolls ($7.65 each). The Carly contains the more traditional ingredients of yellowtail tuna and avocado, but in a western twist, the outside rice is rolled in fried onion crunchies rather than tabiko roe or sesame seeds. The Carla, one of the more unconventional rolls, had smoked salmon, cream cheese, raspberries and jalapeno peppers.
Apparently there's no end to what California Rollin' will wrap in rice. Other rolls on the menu featured crawdad, bacon, honey mustard, pesto and Dinosaur barbecue sauce. What? No Country Sweet?
We finished with the Dolly Ann ($7.65), three crunchy spring rolls filled with a combination of walnuts, coconut, chocolate and vanilla wafers. It was gooey and fun — a campy fusion of baklava, spring roll and carnival fried Twinkie.
THE ATMOSPHERE
Inside the terminal is a combo sushi and beverage bar. There are plenty of tables and booths. Outdoor dining in the summer (when is that again?) is particularly pleasant, and on some evenings includes music from concerts at the shore.
THE SERVICE
Our server was pleasant and accommodated our indecision by checking back with us frequently. Our bottomless jasmine iced tea was refilled often.
NOTEWORTHY
There are specials each night of the week. Besides nigiri Mondays, there is all-you-can-eat sushi on Wednesdays for $20 and free seafood bisque on Fridays. Each week there is a chef-chosen combo of three rolls for $12.99.
