Sake House

When this arrives on your table, sizzling and steaming, all is quiet in the restaurant. While Sake House of Tampa has a lot of hit or miss rolls that are accompanied by mayo or cream cheese, this teriyaki wonder is one to come for. It's the Tofu teriyaki and it comes with the steamed white rice, miso soup, and ginger salad. The tofu falls apart like perfectly cooked fish and is cooked, skin and all, in the teriyaki. The dish has a delightful amount of mushrooms and a decent amount of broccoli but make sure to ask for extra veggies to get this much (as I did). Underneath all you see is a thorough layer of sliced onion, contributing significantly to the over-all flavor of this sweet and flavorful dish. Worried the rice won't be enough? Trust me; it is-- especially since the tofu you are given probably equals a whole package of tofu.

I mentioned that their rolls or hit or miss and, indeed, they are. When they are hits, the flavors are very similar-- probably due to their foundation of mayo and/or cream cheese. The Spicy Tuna is more like a tuna mash with spices in it than the nice strip of tuna and spice. The Baked Salmon Roll (cooked fish), however, is a nice savory surprise. The eel sauce and asparagus make this unique roll one to add to the list of ones you should try.

Over all, this restaurant is nice, and it's really close to campus (right across from Einstein Bros and MOSI). Lunch specials are good but not as good as Koizi, the endless sushi & habachi restaurant down Bruce B Downs in the Tampa Palms plaza. I think Sake House has the one up because of it's proximity to campus. At night time, the atmosphere is appropriate for an intimate night out but even during day time this would be the case because of the dim lighting in the main/front dining room. Service is OK but not the most welcoming. Both times I've been here, Alex and I have felt like a bother to the staff instead of a welcomed customer.
If you're looking for new places to try in Tampa, this would be a good place to add to your list but don't expect too much more than showiness. Some dishes are amazing while others lack significant difference and texture from others. If you're looking to get the most for your buck and you value quantity a bit more than quality, head on over to Koizi. Lunch special is $9.95 per person for as much as you want of anything on the menu. Sake House's lunch special is more around $8/95 for two rolls from a specified group.

Naiya Sushi! Naiya!

Let's keep this simple. Naiya Sushi is amazing. You should go.
Prices are about the same as any other Japanese-Thai restaurants but the potent and elegantly balanced flavors make this little gem stand out from all the others-- even my original go-to place in Tradition, FL: Sake Too. The spicy tuna is so fresh and formed. When you start chewing, you get that nice little kick; then, it's gone and you want more. The volcano rolls are wonderfully robust and filling. One of these rolls is likely to appease any appetite. The roll that really stood out was the Red Lady. I believe this one is special to the house but it's so simple, it's classic! The Red Lady roll is basically a California Roll with a nice piece of Tuna set atop like a perfect-fit hat. So well-rounded and light yet satisfying!
As for the Thai food, Alex and I ordered Fried Tofu (pure genius!) that was served with sweet and sour sauce, as well as the Pineapple Fried Rice (No chicken, just extra veggies). For the Fried Tofu, you have to eat it to believe the delicious savory treat this is-- just like a chicken nugget but more light. For the Pineapple Fried Rice-- a divine mountain of food. This dish holds it's own and, even with two people, will send you home with leftovers. Sorry it didn't make it into picture-form. It was just too good-- and I was too hungry!-- to stop and take a picture before diving in.
The icing to this delicious meal was a glass of Takara. Takara is a plum wine (I've finally found a wine I enjoy!) and it's sweet without being overwhelming. The alcohol is very faint but just present enough to balance out the existing sweetness. I seriously enjoyed this so much, Alex and I went to Total Wine afterwards and found a bottle-- only $7! It is now on the future special-occasion drink list.

Takara Wine

Spicy Tuna Roll
(what was left by the time I remembered to take a picture)

Fried Tofu

Sandridge (from left:) Volcano Roll, Red Lady, Sushi & Sashimi,
Chef's Samplers (Seaweed &, I think, some sort of dried crab/octopus thingy)

Volcano Roll & Red Lady = Heaven:
a little of heavy and a little bit of light.

Sushi & Sashimi

Krishna Cafe

After numerous recommendations, and the will of the universe (ie chance) leading the bus to break down and stop me from going to Jersey Mikes for a tuna fish sandwich, I finally made my way to the Krishna Cafe in the Globe building at FSU.
I made it just as they were beginning to close up. Everything had a very notable flavor from the hot tofu-beans and split pea soup to the strawberry-pineapple cake; it's safe to say I was not disappointed.
My first bite was into the salad-- it tasted reminiscent of Italian dressing but with a sort of lightness you can only get from completely vegan dressing. This well assembled salad portion of the lot was made with romaine lettuce, radishes, and carrots-- simple but classic.
The next portion I dared was the split-pea soup they poured over yellow rice. It had a pleasantly delicate flavor to it-- almost a little too delicate to be paired with the strong flavor of basic yellow rice.
I swiftly moved on and dug my fork into the next part. I'm honestly not sure what it was, which is a shame because it was such a wonderful part of my plate-- it was my favorite part. Next time ill ask the name and request that it be topped with the split pea soup, no rice. Whatever this amazing portion was it had a very airy element to it that was accented with various soft vegetables and a distinct and delicious starchy aspect-- can't quite place it though. It's possible I've never had anything like it until now. (Luckily it went better than my first experience with couscous).
Lastly I got to the beans and-- my goodness!--- they were spicy. It was red beans in a red sauce with notably spicy tofu chunks in it. I was happy to have saved some rice as well as my vegan rye bread piece to help me keep my nose on.
The grand finale of this mound was a happy slice of strawberry-pineapple cake. The cake itself was fluffy with pineapple pieces inside and a delightfully sweet strawberry frosting (probably from Pillsbury but still delish).
That's a salad, rice, three entrees, a bread thingy, and a dessert for-- guess how much? Five bucks. There was another option that gets you extra of something for a dollar more but my goodness was I full! For once I can say five dollars bought me more than my fill at a café.
If you like Indian food or your a bit curious, you should head down to Krishna Café. They're open Monday to Friday from 11(?) -2PM in the Globe-- the building right behind the Career Center. I'm told they have different dishes every day so I'm sure there is something for everyone.