Sushi Na Ra – Clifton Park, NY

I hear a lot of mixed things about the restaurants in Clifton Park. I’ve seen people talk about Clifton Park and say things like “The Land of Chains.” It doesn’t leave expectations high and doesn’t make me want to make the trip out that far, especially since I have perfectly great sushi in my front yard.

I recently sat down for lunch with friends Ashlee and Crystal for some sushi at Sushi Na Ra in Clifton Park. When figuring out where to go, we wanted to pick someplace we had never gone to before, even though I was pulling for Sushi Tei. It’s ok. I had some errands I could take care of up that way, so it was a fine option.

Sushi Na Ra is located at 1683 Route 9 in Clifton Park. Maybe it’s Halfmoon. I don’t know. It’s in a strip mall; also in this strip mall is a Domino’s Pizza. The fun fact of the day about this Domino’s Pizza is that the delivery driver carries around a half gallon of OJ when he goes out on deliveries. Ohh the things you see when you’re waiting in the car…

Because of the crazy way I’m training, I try to keep rice consumption down if possible. I usually order sashimi and a specialty roll. On this visit, I ordered the sashimi regular lunch special ($12.95) and a Spicy Yankee roll (spicy tuna and avocado inside covered with house sweet soy sauce marinated white tuna and maguro torch seared on top – $14.95).

It came with miso soup. I don’t have much to say about it other than that it was pretty standard.

My sashimi looked amazing!

Unlike other sashimi platters I’ve had in the area, this one had some octopus, some red snapper, and some eel, in addition to the usual tuna, yellowtail, and smoked salmon. The cuts were very nice; none of the fish was tough. I’d also like to make note that this was the first time I tried the octopus, and I loved it; I’ve been afraid of it all this time for no good reason.

The spicy yankee roll was pretty awesome looking.

The coolest part of this was when they took a full size blowtorch to sear the white tuna. And it’s about time I mention the most notable feature of the restaurant. The people behind the sushi bar are ladies; in all my years of eating sushi, I’ve honestly never encountered a female sushi chef. I thought that was pretty cool!

Back to the roll, because I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl, if your sushi sucks, it sucks!

I thought their rice had a really good texture and wasn’t over applied. The fillings and toppings were also nicely distributed. It wasn’t overloaded, and it wasn’t scant. Their spicy sauce was also pretty awesome, and you could definitely taste it within a bite. I was thoroughly impressed. Coupled with my sashimi, this was a very fulfilling meal.

Where I think the best value lies is the L-5, California Roll with two choices, where you can select two other rolls from a list for $10.95., that’s granted that you can put up with eating a California Roll. But, of the three of us, I who ordered the least volume of food and paid the most, Crystal who ordered two specialty rolls, and Ashlee who ordered the L5, Ashlee had so much more food than either of us. I think she even had to take some home.

This place may be tucked away in a spot that’s difficult to see, but it’s one of the better places I’ve tried in Clifton Park.