Japanese but Affordable: A Hidden Grand Forks Amenity

Stop! Stop right there. Ok? Get over it. Millions of people all over the world eat Sushi every day. So don’t get all squeemy about it. Ok? You’ll eat hot dogs?
“Fresh tuna? No thanks, I’ll stick to the rat scrotums.” Come on, think about that.

If you have never tried sushi, Kon Nechi Wa’s might be the place to start. It’s a little joint hidden in a strip mall between Columbia Mall and the I-29. I found it by accident.
Many of the rolls are made with cooked fish. The menu has plenty of things that aren’t sushi. They are probably delectable, but I doubt I will ever know as I’ll be having sushi. Thanks, though. (Walleye Tempura might lure me away from the sushi menu. Maybe they could wrap the Walleye Tempura in rice and seaweed? Win-win.)

Why should would you try sushi? First and foremost Sushi is grub. Dare I say grub-and-a-half.

Then there are the names of the rolls: Godzilla, Fireball, Halloween, Dynamite, Eskimo, Creamy Eel. They sound like assassins in a Quentin Tarantino Movie. Except for Creamy Eel. I’m going to let you write your own joke for Creamy Eel.
Finally there is the ritual of eating Sushi. Every one has their own way of doing it. You stir globs of hot green sinus-opening wasabi into salty soy sauce until you get it exactly the way you like it. Too much and your eyes water, not enough and you don’t get that one-of-a-kind kick that wasabi is famous for.
Each plate of sushi the server brings you is a plate of edible art. You dismantle it piece by piece with small wooden sticks, dunking morsels of fish wrapped in seaweed and rice in the soy sauce/wasabi concoction, then delivering them to your head. The food hits the tongue and then the fun really starts.

Kon Nechi Wa’s might be the perfect sushi restaurant for Grand Forks. You can get sashimi if you like it raw (I do), but there are plenty of rolls with cooked fish. The presentation is nice, but not intimidating. The drinks come in big red plastic cups that say ‘Coke’ on them. Kon Nechi Wa’s isn’t a high end sushi restaurant. It’s a really good affordable sushi restaurant.

I suggest you start with the California roll. It’s the classic, the pepperoni pizza of the Sushi world: sweet crab meat, crunchy cucumber, rich and creamy avocado. California rolls are sold in grocery stores and 7-11s all over the country for one reason. They taste good. The California Roll at Kon Nechi Wa’s was just right. It’s the rice. Rice is to Sushi as tortilla is to burrito. It’s not the star of the show, but without it the whole thing falls apart.
I also had the 911 Maki, a version of the Cali roll topped with hot sweet Japanese Q.P. hot sauce. The heat lingers on your tongue without sending you to the E.R. Sushi chef /waitress Sandy McGregor (daughter of owner Sadoko McGregor) informed me that Kon Nechi Wa’s makes its own sauces. I was offered the chance to try hot sauces that would, and I’m paraphrasing, put the hurt on me. I was happy with what I had so I chose not to find out what she meant by “hot.”

My next roll was the Mermaid’s Delight. Tempura shrimp with sliced mango and cream cheese. I am a huge fan of cream cheese in a sushi roll. The crunch tempura with the tangy, gooey cream cheese is the kind of tasty I usually need an obscenity to describe.

I’m going back. If you’ve never had sushi, it’s time for you to try it. Sushi had an uphill battle in the U.S. but over the last decade plus it won the fight. It’s everywhere, even in Grand Forks. So give it a shot, you’ll dig it.

If You Go

What: Kon Nechi Wa’s, excellent sushi
Where: 3750 32nd Ave S, Grand Forks
When: Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm; Sun, noon-8pm
Info: (701) 775-3421, http://konnechiwas.ntractive.com