Commercial Center, the coolest strip mall in Las Vegas, is located on Sahara Avenue, just west of Maryland Parkway. It's the coolest because of the unique bars, restaurants and assorted cultural mayhem it contains. From the swinger's club (The Green Door) to the Mexican goat dish joint (Birrieria Jalisco), from the all-female roller derby (SinCityRollerGirls.com) to the massive comic-book shop (Kool Kollectables), from the gay cowboy saloon (Badlands) to the pocket-pool emporium (Cue Club), Commercial Center is where one goes to experience the real Las Vegas of small-business owners and their customers, rather than the sanitized-for-the-masses version that basks in the spotlight.
Every now and then this kooky strip mall loses a gem like the Pride Factory, a now-defunct GLBT hangout that sold edible underwear and lube, as well as pretty good cappuccinos. But for the most part, Commercial Center is as wild as it ever was. In addition to housing the absolute best Thai restaurant in America, Lotus of Siam, Commercial Center accommodates one of the best sushi joints in town: Tokyo.
For a quarter century, Tokyo has offered a taste of authentic Japan in the desert, drawing busload after busload of Asian visitors each and every night. Naturally, this makes it difficult for gaijin to enjoy dinner without reservations. The sushi bar usually has a spot open for a couple; otherwise, it's a crapshoot. So call ahead for one of the spacious, semi-romantic booths.
Nothing on the menu is going to wow you with its "fusion" or gourmet flourishes. This is straight-up Japanese fare with a fierce commitment to freshness. That's why the bubbling tanks are set up so you can view lobsters and mollusks being snapped up by chefs and taken back to the kitchen for (hopefully quick and painless!) carving.
We recommend starting with an order of edamame (cooked soy bean pods, lightly salted; $3) and with a large 22-ounce Kirin Ichiban ($4.50), a Japanese lager that isn't as heavy as the dragon - like the label suggests. (Besides, this beer is actually brewed in California, under contract with Anheuser-Busch. Still tasty, though.)
Now that you're warmed up, you need to make a tough decision. To Love Boat or not to Love Boat? It's basically $21.95 per person (and no, you don't each get your own boat), and the cargo includes seaweed salad, gyoza (fried dumplings), yakitori (grilled teriyaki chicken), shrimp and vegetable tempura, tonkatsu (deep-fried pork loin), spicy tuna roll, California roll (imitation crab and cucumber wrapped in rice and seaweed paper), six pieces of sushi rolls (raw fish, usually tuna or yellowtail), rice and miso soup. This is a good craft for beginning sushi adventurers, since the journey mixes cooked food with the raw fish that initially worries so many folks.
But the Las Vegas Boat ($29.95 per person) is the mother of all sushi liners. It arrives laden with salad, combination tempura, spicy tuna roll, California roll, spider crab roll, Crunch Dragon roll (shrimp tempura inside, fresh-water eel on top - hence the "crunch"), eight sushi rolls (tuna, halibut, salmon, hamachi, eel, whitefish, albacore, saba), 10 pieces of sashimi (chef's choice), rice and miso soup. If you're a hardcore sushi explorer, this is the ride you want your taste buds all aboard on.
If the boats sound too intimidating, then just stick with a few specialty rolls. The Popcorn Roll (fried lobster inside and on top, spritzed with soy and garlic sauce; $10.45) is a safe and tasty bet. But if you're looking for a way to approach eel, we endorse the Las Vegas roll, which combines eel, cream cheese, avocado and crab. It might look gross on paper, but it's gorgeous on the plate and on the palate.
Sake? Tokyo has at least a dozen or more brands to choose from, but the Otokoyama is the smoothest and most reasonably priced ($10 for a small bottle). Summer is almost upon us, so insist on cold sake. Drink in moderation, please. After all, you don't want to get messed up prior to your first all-female roller derby event in Las Vegas, do you?
Tokyo is located at 953 E. Sahara Ave., Suite E-14. Call 702-735-7636 for more information. LW
