Takanami

Downtown Iowa City
September 2008

I avoided this restaurant for quite awhile because I thought it was going to be pretty expensive. My husband and I went there for our 2nd wedding anniversary and were surprised at the specials! Although it can be expensive, Monday through Thursday they have happy hour specials, so appetizers and sushi, and even some drinks are pretty affordable! Although beware, my husband got the Watermelon Martini that was on special, and the “watermelon” was actually a watermelon flavor. The drink was pretty nasty.
They had the air cranked up to an uncomfortable level, so we chose to eat outside. Although it is pretty nice inside, the endless entertainment on the Iowa Avenue sidewalk is a great plus. Just about every type of person imaginable walked by. And I had a lovely view of the Old Capitol Dome.
They bring out edamame to everyone, which is good thing to snack on while you wait for your food. We tried the crab cakes, which were very good but you get 3 for $9 so I don’t know if each one was worth $3.
We got the “Rising Sun” special sushi roll, which had tuna, mango, cream cheese and a squirt of strawberry sauce on the top. It was a bit sweet for sushi, maybe it would be better for dessert. The “Rainbow Roll” was pink, orange and white. I don’t recall those being the exact colors of the rainbow. I have to say, I’ve had way more colorful and flavorful rainbow rolls in this town. The “Veggie Roll” was good. It had cucumbers, avocado, daikon radish, asparagus and some kind of red sprouts. Hey- it was more colorful than the rainbow roll, and I really liked the asparagus in there. We also had a tasty eel and avocado roll. They have a decent beer selection, but the shittiest chopsticks in town.
Oh, the service was excellent.
Environmentally- Disposable paper napkins, shitty disposable chopsticks.