From Kliman Online’s “Word of Mouth”
I know I'm not the target audience for Sticky Rice, in that I tend not to think of tattoos as a fashion statement, I haven't worn Chuck Taylors since I was ten, and I don't regard dinner as a thing you eat in order to absorb copious quantities of alcohol.
Also, I like sushi too much.
If you pay attention to the balance of sugar and vinegar in your rice, if you look for a sheen on the surface of your raw, sliced fish—heck, if you care that you're eating something fresh and clean and balanced, then Sticky Rice will seem a kind of abomination.
Lots of places serve up a bastardized version of sushi, replete with funky, clunky concoctions shot full of mayo, cream cheese, and fry and bearing self-consciously clever names. I don't have a problem with that, exactly—so long as the food's as tasty as it is wacky. Sticky Rice is just wacky.
It's telling that the best thing on the long and varied menu is the tater tots—a freezer-bag staple for many busy families, but, in case you haven't been paying attention in recent years, a kitschy faux-homage to childhood for affluent slackers. They're served in a metal bucket, and as the losses pile up — dry dumplings, dismal tempura, flavorless fish—you find yourself digging your hand into the bottom for more of them, almost despite yourself.
-August 26, 2008
