Maybe not a "culinary wasteland" after all!

I love living out in the country. I really do - no matter how much I moan and complain about living in a "culinary wasteland..."

However, thanks to my niece, it may not be such a wasteland after all: today we went down into Danville to run errands (buying nice clothes for DarlinMunchkin - ag! A chore neither of us enjoyed), and decided to see if we could find the sushi restaurant she'd mentioned the other week.

Yené Fusion Café and Sushi Bar

It's a small place, serving out of an old house, and easy to miss even though it's right on main street. Our server, a very nice young man who was enthusiastic and helpful, said that the owner didn't do any advertising other than word of mouth... And I can tell you, that it is HAPPY mouths doing the advertising, if our meal was anything to go by!

We were quite early for dinner; they were just doing the transition from lunch when we came in and were seated, so the dining area was empty. It was a relatively small room, with a bar area near the back, and about eight tables arranged with generous spacing between them.

The tall windows were framed with red velvet drapes, but this didn't give a feel of old Victorian times, but rather a light and airy place. There were several windows letting in light and fresh air, and the walls were painted a very light pastel (green? I didn't look too closely). Combined with the high ceiling and the simplicity of the room, I felt more like I was in a European café, rather than in a small Virginia town. There was also some outside seating, although we were too early in the evening for it to be used.

The servers were young, college-age guys, and they stayed in the background except when you were ordering or needed something. They were very friendly and unobtrusive, and gave cheerful and hospitable service. It's wonderful to encounter excellent service that's not in your face, yet makes you feel like a treasured guest!

I started off with the Dynamite salad, which the menu at Yené's link says is made with baked jalapeños, but which were actually fresh - and HOT! I'm no shrinking violet when it comes to spicy stuff, but this was almost too hot for me...

Absolutely yummy flavor, though, and the cabbage provided a relief from the capseisin in the peppers. I wouldn't have minded some bread or crackers to ease the heat, though... And I bet BelovedHubby would tease me for being a wimp ;-)

I do wonder how it would taste if the peppers were baked... Hm, maybe something I can experiment with in the Café de Kat!

BelovedHubby had the Yené salad, which doesn't appear on the lunch menu posted at the link above; I assume it's only on the dinner menu.

It was delicious! Fresh strawberries, grapes, and mandarin oranges combined with a light coating of poppy seed dressing made this salad very refreshing and tasty. DarlingMunchkin eagerly snarfed down the Romaine lettuce, preferring it even over the strawberries (!!!! one of her favorites!).

I should note that the dinner menu, while simple, has something for everyone. While it is weighted towards sushi rolls and a limited array of nigiri sushi, not all have raw fish ingredients and there was an entree of seared scallops I would have ordered if I hadn't been so desperate for sushi!

Each dinner combo (either the roll, or a sushi/roll or sashimi/roll combo) includes a bowl of miso soup, which was very well done... Of course, miso soup is MY "chicken soup for the soul," but your mileage may vary ;-)

It was hot, but not too hot, and had some lovely nori strips in it that were just chewy enough and had that lovely background sea flavor that's just... sublime! It's not difficult to make miso soup, you know, and it's very kind to upset and tender tummies. Hm - I need to make some for myself, now that I think of it!

Oh, and did I say that I had hot sake? Can't have sushi without hot sake! ;-)

Hehe.... Mmmmmmm!

Now, by this time, I was enjoying the food so much that I couldn't restrain myself and take pictures of pristine, untouched food... So, while DarlingMunchkin devoured her California roll (no avocado [!!!]), BelovedHubby and I gorged on a spicy California Roll, and a Dragon Roll:

 

Oh... My... GOODNESS!!!

Can I say, "YUMMY!"? Or maybe, "DELICIOUS!"? Excellently done - it's probably very good that Yané isn't set up as a traditional sushi bar, because I can tell I would have gorged myself if the menu hadn't impost a bit of restraint on my lustful desire to FEAST on sushi...

The flavors and textures were beautifully balanced, the presentation (and delivery, LOL) simply and elegantly done.

Ahhhh, this is what sushi is supposed to be! Of course, next time, I'm going to have to try some of their nigiri sushi, just to triple check the quality of their work (I lie - I love maguro, tai, hamachi - well, just about ALL sushi!)...

And, although they didn't have a chocolate dessert, they had a lovely lemon bar, which was the perfect and light finish to our dinner

*sigh*

Life... Is GOOD!

Yené Fusion Cafe and Sushi Bar in Danville, Virginia... It should definitely be on your list for a visit - ASAP!!!

And you realize that the Munchkin of Doom will drag you there if  you don't obey our directive...

Comments

[kender]

1.

I have been making sushi here at home...save tons of money and much more fun....

[Ogre]

2.

Can I say one thing?

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Man invented fire so he could COOK things!

[Janette]

3.

Ogre,

Really? Because I could have sworn that man invented fire so WOMEN could could things for men.

Kat, It sounds fantastic. I wish we had something like that around here!