Cafe Ginger

We stopped into Cafe Ginger for lunch on a Saturday. We knew that we would be joining friends for a large dinner, so we decided to order a couple of sushi rolls and miso soup. Opting for sushi instead of Chinese may have been a mistake, because Cafe Ginger has more of a classic Chinese vibe. The restaurant is decorated mostly in shades of red and gold, with carved Buddhas and attentive male servers. It has a classy, upscale, almost retro feel.

The miso soup was free but was actually quite tasty. It's probably difficult to mess up miso, and this was savory and satisfying. The rolls were another story.

We ordered the Orange Dragon and the Red Dragon rolls (even the names sound Chinese to me...). The Orange Dragon is spicy tuna rolled in salmon and avocado; the Red Dragon is spicy salmon rolled in tuna and avocado.

Unfortunately, these pretty rolls were extremely boring. The fish tasted fine but there was just nothing special going on there. Part of it is probably our fault; we chose the only rolls without shellfish, since my husband is allergic, and they weren't exactly brimming with exciting ingredients. But part of it is also because this is, at its heart, a Chinese restaurant. The menu is mostly Chinese food, and people I know who have tried the Chinese food here say that it's very good.

I do plan on going back to Cafe Ginger. I like the decor and the service, and I would probably like the food there too -- if I ordered the right thing.