Sushi Fever serves up innovative fusion

My, how things have changed in the area of Japanese food, at least as Americans eat it.

It seems it wasn't that long ago -- and really, in the scheme of things, it wasn't -- that Japanese food in this country was pretty much confined to, and defined by, the teppanyaki style. Nobody knew to call it that, of course; it took on the much more user-friendly name "Japanese steakhouse."

Those Japanese steakhouses -- and the "Japanese snowstorms," "Japanese Parkay" and the rest of the limited set of jokes that got passed from chef to chef -- came to mind last week when I was dining at Sushi Fever. That's because I was looking through a glass wall at a set of teppanyaki tables, maybe three or four, and all remained cold and empty during the duration of our dinner.

Which is not to say Sushi Fever wasn't busy. It was, indeed, packed, but nearly everybody was eating sushi, with the occasional exception of those indulging in tempura, teriyaki or the like.

Actually, it's probably a good thing that Sushi Fever was packed, because the place isn't big on decor. There's an illuminated glass-block wall at the front, a few posters on the walls and the aforementioned glass space dividers, but beyond that it's pretty much classic strip center, with tables and chairs suited to the motif.

There was nothing bland about the sushi, though. Sushi Fever does, like most sushi bars nowadays, serve fusion rolls in addition to the classics, and I was drawn to a couple of those. The Monkey Roll ($8.50) was fairly typical but better than most, its thick slabs of banana deep-fried and serving as rafts for a cargo of tuna with a mound of crab, which I think was actually krab. With the promised "special sauce" -- look out, McDonald's -- it was very good.

With Linda's Special ($16) there was so much going on that our heads were spinning, but that isn't always a bad thing, and it wasn't here. So here's an effort to reconstruct it: spicy crab and avocado wrapped with tuna, salmon and yellowtail, each section of roll topped with a garlic shrimp and slices of raw onion and jalapeno. But wait! There was more, a dish of truly special sauce that had both creamy and slightly sweet-and-sour components. Again, a sterling example of how pleasing truly innovative fusion can be. Whoever you are, Linda, our hats are off to you.

Like most Japanese restaurants Sushi Fever hedges its bets with just about every other familiar style of Japanese cuisine, and the combination plates (two items, $15.95, three, $19.95) are an opportunity to do some exploring. They're also a particularly good value, the "items" accompanied by not only steamed rice but also soup, salad, two gyoza and an egg roll, which were represented by a respectable miso with lots of cubes of tofu, a standard Japanese-steakhouse salad and gyoza and an egg roll that were, again, respectable, if not particularly noteworthy. With the exception of the soup, salad and rice, it was served in a bento-style tray that wasn't as deep as your average bento box but did the job just fine.

Our "items" -- from a pretty varied selection -- were the shrimp tempura and the pork tonkatsu, the latter nicely crisp and tender, the former quite nice (not greasy, with a crispy coating over sweet, firm shrimp) and accompanied by a number of tempura vegetables as well.

And lastly, our appetizer, which actually was served last, following the Asian tradition of whatever's-done-comes-out-of-the-kitchen-first (and which brought us our combination plate before our sushi, which would've been surprising had it not underscored that sushi is the draw at Sushi Fever). Bacon maki ($6.50) are offered with scallops or shrimp, and our scallops were not only sea-sweet but also succulent, despite the fact that the bacon wrapping them had achieved a thorough crispness.

Service throughout was fine if a little chaotic at times, because, as I said, the place was very busy -- a heartening sign in this tough economic era and a well-deserved stamp of approval.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.