Naked Fish’s Sushi & Grill

Japanese rap? Who knew?

Well, probably a lot of people, but we didn't until we heard it on the speaker system at Naked Fish's Sushi & Grill. The unexpected music provided a high-energy note of fun, but it wasn't the only thing that was refreshing and appealing about Naked Fish's.

There was, for example, an appetizer called For Sizzle My Nizzle ($5.80) which -- speaking of the rap world-- I guess is sort of meant to refer to "fo' shizzle my nizzle," which is probably offensive anyway, but that's for another day. There was nothing offensive about this dish, which was composed of four jalapeno peppers stuffed with spicy crab and cream cheese and then deep-fried. "It's spicy," our server warned, and it was, but appealingly so. The jalapenos offered fusionistic fun -- a takeoff (and a better-executed one) on the ubiquitous bar-food poppers -- but with actual roots in Japanese cuisine.

Also in the fusion arena was the Little Darling Roll ($12), a sushi roll in six pieces that combined salmon, smoked salmon, yellowtail, albacore, avocado and crabmeat, the whole breaded and fried. It was lushly indulgent -- not the type of food that's contributed to such astonishing longevity rates in Japan, but quite a treat, at least once in a while.

But Naked Fish's makes the point that it's a Japanese restaurant with Japanese owners (unlike the majority of our fusion forums, which have owners who are Korean or from another ethnic group), and the authenticity of tradition was reflected in a number of other dishes we tried. A serving of two pieces of tamago nigiri sushi ($3) -- strips of sweet egg omelet atop sushi rice, tied in the middle by bands of seaweed -- was about as classic as it comes, and perfectly executed.

Ditto for the chicken katsu ($10.95), basically fried chicken cutlet, which was accompanied by a strictly traditional soup, strong with the deep, smoky flavor of misu, and a salad with a particularly prominent flavor of ginger.

Sauteed clams in sake butter ($8.95) were tiny, tender and sweet, and bathed in a light, well-flavored sauce.

Sauteed asparagus ($4.50) didn't sound like much, but we decided to take advantage of the season -- and wow. The "creamy dipping sauce" that accompanied it didn't have any flavors that I could readily identify, but worked magic with the asparagus.

We finished with a Pa-Pa-Pa Parfait ($5.80), which was that rare thing: a fusion dessert. Vanilla ice cream, chocolate and strawberry sauces, crisp fried bananas and bits of the fried batter created a ra-ra-riot of flavors and textures that we just kept dipping into.

Service throughout was fine, the dishes coming out in the Asian manner -- which is to say as they were ready -- and so we ended up sharing everything.

The decor isn't much, but it's attractive. This is a tiny space with a sort of vaguely Japanese feel and a full set of autographed Cirque du Soleil posters, although Naked Fish's relationship to Cirque remains a mystery to us.

But we do see a correlation. Like Cirque shows, we won't try to figure out Naked Fish's. We'll just enjoy it.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 702-383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella @reviewjournal.com.