BRIAN'S BEACH SUSHI

LAS VEGAS, NV

After waking up to a picture message of Master White Tiger's roll from Sake Sushi in Shreveport, LA, I had only one thing on my mind: Play Time! I'd heard of a restaurant where they put prime rib on top of a sushi roll, but for the life of me I couldn't remember the sushi spots name; I text Master Iron Stomach and he reminds me that it's Brian's Beach Sushi. Sincerely, I wanted to play it safe like Master White Tiger and go to a sushi spot I knew that my Play Time wouldn't be compromised, but with prime rib sushi in mind I decided to try a new Play Time location.

Brian's Beach Sushi is a small sushi spot in a strip mall; in fact, it's so small that when you go through the door you only have about one step before you hit the divider that separates the door from the rest of the restaurant. Two steps to your right is the cash register, and one step to your left is the first chair at the sushi bar. There are maybe 8 tables in there and although the sushi bar is small, the chairs at the bar aren't stools, but rather comfortable big chairs with arm rests. I make my way to the bar, take another look around and then fix my eyes on the menu that was laid before me.

Without hesitation I ask about the prime rib roll, it's called the Big B roll for Big Brian, and I order one before really seeing what else is on the menu. I haven't been ordering alot of nigiri lately, and good timing because this place is definitely a roll place. The nigiri selection is basic and has all the top choices, I order: Salmon, Hamachi, and Unagi. Although the fish wasn't draping over the rice, the taste and texture of the fish was amazing. The Hamachi and Salmon both melted in my mouth and was so fresh that had I not already ordered three rolls I would have played alittle more in nigiri land.


The Unagi, although made with too much rice, was fresh and just the right sort of baked unagi crisp that I like.


I think to myself that we're off to a good start while the lady next to me is sharing with me how much she loves Brian's Beach and how it's the best sushi she's had. I'm still not convinced.

We're 15 minutes into Play Time and the rolls start dropping in front of me like large tasty bombs of Play Time fuel. First the Ninja roll, followed by the Mountain roll, and the one that wiped out the village was the Big B roll. I've been to sushi war before, but seeing these large rolls infront of me and knowing that I'm only paying $21.95 for lunch all you can eat, I feel like the only winner here is me. I first chopstick the Ninja roll made of baked eel, scallops, avocado with crunch outside.


This was the biggest surprise, because although the ingredients don't sound like much, the flavor was amazing. I could have eaten 4 of those rolls and not gotten sick of them. Let me add right here, that it's my belief that the best "standard ingredient" to put in a roll is not Cucumber - yuck, Avocado - ehh, or even Crab; it is SCALLOPS. Scallops add such a great texture and flavor to every roll it graces that I want it in everything. The next roll was the Mountain Roll made with a shrimp tempura roll with tuna, salmon, shrimp, white fish and avocado on top.


This roll also sounds basic, but with how large it was combined with it's unique flavor, this too was a big winner. It's not a roll I would say, "go out and try right now", but it's a great roll through and through. The coup de gras, however, was the Big B roll made with shrimp tempura, crabmeat, avocado, thin sliced prime rib beef, green onions with chef's special sauce on top.


I don't know what the special sauce was, but all I know is the sauce was glistening at the feet of each cut like a little wading pool where you could dapple each piece before lightly placing it in your mouth, closing your eyes, and meditating on the fact you have prime rib on a roll. The chef begins to tell me about a sushi spot on the Vegas strip that's called a "high roller roll" that has prime rib in it and it costs $300 (you read right: three hundred dollars) for that roll, and it doesn't taste better than the Big B roll. After that last cut of the Big B roll, I wanted to press on, but I could not. It was the bomb that not only wiped out the village, but wiped out any hopes of experiencing more delicious play time fuel on this day.

The service was on point. The chefs were very friendly and engaged their patrons with great stories and great service. The chef recommended I try other roll next time, one being the Kimmy Roll; I looked it over to see what was in it and if I could stomach it. I couldn't. From the first time I heard about Brian's Beach Sushi it took me almost 6 months to try this place out, but I guarantee it won't take me another 6 months to try it again.

Brian's Beach Sushi All Rolled Up
It's nice to have a great selection of all you can eat play time spots no matter what side of town you are. I've eaten on this side of town before, and haven't found anything that compares to Brian's Beach sushi when it comes to all you can eat. They better order more of that prime rib, because next time I come I'm bringing some Sushi Nomads with me.

Review by MASTER DRAGON

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