13206 Bothell Everett Hwy in Mill Creek

it's the second exit on I5 north of 405, the one with the old drive in/flea market on the south east side of the cloverleaf. You shoot about a mile east and right where that road hits the bothell-everett hwy, there's a strip mall with a McMineman's pub. Zen is right in there.

Nick from Nikko downtown and his wife, Tamiko, bought the place last year from the previous Korean owners, and remade what was (supposedly) a mediocre place to go get some rolls into a very solid choice for north end (far north end, really) sushi. A friend of mine told me about this place, since it's near where her Japanese mom lives. They aren't sushi freaks, more the "order three cali roll" type. But she said that they had turned their roll place into more of the type of place I'd like.

So I've tried it a half dozen times since then, all for lunch. I like it quite a bit, and it's worth the ten minute drive up from work. That, and I was starting to go to yamasan too many times per week, and it's a nice change of pace. They have a lunch menu with bento and sushi combo deals for reasonable prices. I haven't ordered off that.

Zen offers a wide variety of rolls, and a pretty large list of menu sushi, and three or so specials each day. The fish is of very high quality, and the menu selection isn't quite your standard selection. They always have sea bass, for example, and it's been excellent. Zen is pretty swanky for being in a strip mall, and it's never crowded for lunch. The prices are a little higher than you'd pay at a place of comparable quality like Yamasan or Izumi. However, the portions of nigiri are considerably larger, as are the rolls, so you end up getting out of there for about the same price as yamasan-- around $20-25 a person.

When I say the portions of nigiri are larger, the rice ball is about the same size-- just the piece of fish is larger. And the rice is crumbly. it doesn't stick together like anywhere else I've been. So you have to forget chopsticks, or make a mess, and just eat with your hands. They really have excellent albacore, and usually have either o-toro or chu-toro, and often both. The Sea Bass has been outstanding all winter, as has been the hirame (fluke) and snapper. The last time I went, they had aji as a sashimi special. and we got that. It was excellent. Some of the best aji that I've had in a while. They took the flesh from a whole spanish mackrel and presented it as a simple presentation, with a little skin as is usual. Then they fried the body with a bit of curl, and added that behind the sashimi. So we could pick the cheeks of the aji, which was excellent.

Nick is a taciturn motherfucker, and the ordering system-- even if you sit at the bar-- doesn't encourage interaction with the chef. you tick off what you want on paper from a list. there are write in slots for the specials. I'm not even sure if it's Nick behind the bar. Just a talk, silent Japanese guy. He has either a mexican or a japanese assistant who makes the rolls. They're good rolls. But since we've been going regularly, and not ordering the cheapo bento lunch, they've been warming up to us, and last time they threw us a free order of these fried potato things that seemed like patties of samosa filling. they were great. But so filling that we couldn't finish what we'd already ordered.

I like natto, as does the guy at work I eat sushi with. Zen offers a natto roll that's the best I've had. They use a lighter version of natto. it's not quite as stanky and dark as most I've had. They chop the beans up before making the roll, and get the rice to bean balance just right.

They offer several rolls which are made, then tempura fried. And there's something that I noticed on the menu, which is that they will tempura fry a roll for a buck. So last time we went, we said "what the hell" and got the natto roll deep fried. The natto inside a roll usually comes out cold, and gets more sticky, slimy and flavorful as it warms to room temp. We had to wonder what frying it would do. When we ordered it, Nick (or whoever the chef was) said "are you sure-- do you know what natto is?" We said yeah, and he shook his head and laughed a little. First time I've ever had that reaction from a sushi chef. They usually try to push your food boundaries. They asked us how it was, and watched us eat the first piece. It was actually very good. certainly more flavorful, sticky, and slimy than usual. I'm not sure I would have liked it with a more pungent natto filling. Afterwards, Tamiko said that there was only one other white person who would order natto. So we scored points, I guess.

I will say that there is one large drawback to Zen, and that's the mollusks. The octopus is rubbery. Hajime at Mashiko got me to like tako, and explained that his is good because it isn't frozen, and the rubbery texture comes from freeze-thaw. The only other place I've had tender octopus is at Kisaku. Yamasan's is rubbery, too. I've tried other mollusks there-- surf clam, scallop, and squid-- and they were all sub-par. But I've yet to find an eastside/north place that has good mollusk, so I have to resign myself to not getting tako for lunch.

I haven't been to Zen for dinner. I'll give it a try sometime and check out the omakase. I don't expect it to be special, the way the place is set up, with the checklist ordering and minimal interaction with the chef. But you've got to try.

To summarize-- lay off the mollusks. try the specials. the fish is great, and there's a high fish to rice ratio. The rice is oddly crumbly, but tasty. The menu seems pricey, until you realize you have to order less. creative, well-made rolls. no crowd. A very friendly waitstaff but a taciturn chef. Sake is very overpriced.