Try Another Sushi Place

I really like sushi and sashimi. The love of this food did not begin until I had moved to Florida after graduating college. In Vermont, we consider sushi to be good bait.  I do not think I had much before that, maybe some while in Hawaii visiting my sister as a kid. But I know I started to go to a place in Satellite Beach when I first started at ENSCO. I have forgotten the name of the place but we were regulars. Peter Fortunato and Michael Sonnier are the two who really got me to try new things.

The staff at the unnamed beach restaurant moved to a bigger place in Melbourne called Miyakos. That became our regular place for sushi. Miyakos restaurant was torn down a few years ago and replaced with an Einstein Bagel. I think there was just too much competition for them to survive. Once, they were the only place. Now, there are plenty of Thai/Japanese restaurants.

Before retiring, I was a regular for lunch at Bonzai. It got to the point when I walked in my order was already being made. Thai Thai was also a favorite. Both of these are still in business and located near the intersection of Wickham Road and Lake Washington Road.  Fujiyama is a sushi bar and grill place across from ENSCO's office on Wickham Road.

Other places I am a regular at are Matt's Casbah and Siam Orchid, both in Melbourne. I also hit Thai Thai II on the beach at least once a month. Other places in the area I like are Sushi Factory, Nippon Thai, Sumo Japanese, Umami, and Thai Hana in Viera. I sometimes travel to Palm Bay to visit the Thai Thai House. All these places are very good.

Three places I did like but are now closed are Mangetsu in Melbourne (knocked down and soon to be a Wawa), the Buri Thai & Sushi in Indialantic (now houses Rogue Taproom), and Land & Sea Thai Fusion on the Eau Gallie Causeway. I am sure I have missed a few.

The Thai Thai House in Palm Bay I mentioned is one of my favorites for lunch, but it is a drive through busy roads and traffic to get there. They also have a second sister place in Suntree. Today, I found one less than a 15-minute drive from my house down US1 in Palm Bay. It too is a sister restaurant to Thai Thai House and is called Thai Riverside. Although the outside needs some work, don't judge a book by its cover.

I arrived after 1 PM for lunch and there were very few cars in the parking lot. The hostess brought me into the dining area where one other couple were having Bento box lunches. The place was very well decorated and nice. They have tables and booths. Here is the view of the bar and dining area from my booth...

The restaurant is located high above the Indian River with a nice view of the river and Melbourne Beach. This photo is out the window from my booth seat.

The hostess, who became my waitress, brought me my menu and took my drink order. The menu is very similar to the Thai Thai House which makes sense... Here is a bad photo of the lunch menu.

I was here for some sushi so I ordered the sushi bento which is six pieces of sushi nigiri and a California roll for $12.95. This is about a dollar more than I pay at some of the other places I mentioned. There was a choice of miso soup or salad. I choose the salad...

The salad was bigger than I usually get so that was worth an extra quarter. Then my bento box came...

There were six pieces of nigiri with four different fish. The California roll was cut into ten pieces and had masago on the outside. Worth another quarter or two. There were three pieces of the deep fried roll, worth another quarter. But there was a few dollars worth of assorted salads including seaweed, cucumber, and spicy octopus. Overall, the value was there and actually was better than most places. Also, an osprey was taking a bath outside the window so I had entertainment too.

As I was leaving. I noted that they had a couple other dining areas, probably good for private parties. And standing there was a beautiful buccaneer. Must be a leftover from the previous tenants.

I am not sure why there were no people there. I think they have been open less than a year, but I think the shabby front and that they do not have a sign yet (Irma maybe knocked it down?) may scare people away. The food was fresh and the hostess/waitress was very nice and attentive, but that is easy with just two tables. I give the place a 3.0 (Great) and I know I will be back for lunch. Now I have two places down for 2018, with only 24 more to go...