The Midori is wise to concentrate on sushi

The Midori self-identifies as a sushi restaurant, and it’s not kidding. While a lot of places that specialize in sushi hedge their bets with other elements of Japanese cuisine, The Midori limits itself to a few rice and noodle bowls, whose tempura, teriyaki and katsu elements also make their way into bento boxes served at lunch and dinner. For the most part it’s all sushi, all the time — nigiri sushi, sashimi, standard rolls, special rolls, baked rolls, deep-fried and crunchy rolls, low-carb rolls (wrapped in cucumber with no rice) and on and on.

And so we tried to skip around a bit, with three choices from different parts of the menu. The best of the bunch was the deceptively simple Salmon & Lemon roll ($10.95) from the special roll list. It contained shrimp, crab salad, avocado and cucumber with slices of salmon draped over the top. The salmon was sprinkled with grated lemon zest for a veritable symphony of textures and flavors. We especially loved the creative touch of the lemon, the astringency of which helped balance the rich flavor of the salmon.

The Rising Star ($8.95) was served as a regular cut roll instead of in the star-shaped formation shown on the menu, but no matter. This was a plump one, centered with shrimp tempura with avocado and cucumber, coated in crunchy tempura bits and dressed with eel sauce, and the strength here was in the textural contrasts, from the firm shrimp to the almost creamy avocado, crisp cucumber and pronounced crunch of the coating.

The Temptation ($9.95), on the other hand, was full of flavor contrasts, thanks to the kick of the spicy tuna and spicy crab, employed along with tuna and shrimp, plus avocado. This one was wrapped in soy paper, and the comparable softness of that, combined with the softness of the other ingredients, made this a one-note roll in terms of texture, if not fiery flavor.

An appetizer of gyoza ($4.95), which we had steamed instead of fried, was very good, the six dumplings plump, their ginger-tinged chicken filling tasting like it had been made in-house with great care.

And great care seemed to have been taken throughout, which is always reassuring in a sushi restaurant. Menu descriptions were clear, the sushi true to form, and some mentions positively enlightening; we’d never thought of local favorite Screaming O as “fusion sashimi,” but indeed it is, and it’s not the only choice in that category.

The Midori definitely knows sushi, and what’s notable is it’s wise not to muddy the waters.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.