Dragon King's Daughter

You don't see a lot of Mexican/Japanese fusion cooking.  I don't know if that is because it is so new or that people are scared to try it.  Either way, DKD has popped up in downtown New Albany to extend their reach across the river and offer the area a hip, eclectic choice in sushi and tapas.

Many of my friends have been salivating over the fact that we were getting an extension of the Dragon King's Daughter in our own back yard, so I was anxious to try it out.  Hopes were high.

Of all the places I've eaten sushi in the area, this was the coolest. A well-stocked bar, fun decor and a unique feel to the place that will probably be even better during the 3-4 weeks a year when they can offer outdoor seating.  It was also, by far, the loudest.  I don't mean I had to raise my voice due to so many people.  I mean that with four tables occupied in the whole place (plus two people at the bar), I had to yell across the table at my lady to be heard.  Part of this is due to the volume of the music, but mostly this was due to the lack of accousitc baffling anywhere in the restaurant.  This would be so easy to fix and yet everyone resists it for fear of ruining aesthetics.  I'm telling you, DKD, just slice up some acoustic tiling, paint it black and shove it between the folds in the ceiling.  I guarantee everyone will appreciate it.

The menu is full of interesting looking fare.  I loved the names on many of the sushi rolls (The Kraken Attacks, Sushi & the Banshees, etc), but was less impressed with the execution.  The rolls did not hold together all that well and often stuck to the plate.  The flavors, while unique and initially intriguing, got to be a little much by the end of my half roll.  Maybe having a larger party would alleviate this.  

Service was attentive, but I would expect that with 4 tables and 2 servers.  Our server was friendly and I believe the owner asked us how everything was at the end of the meal.  

It was fine, but I wanted it to be more.

This place has that 'rustic' feel that is very popular (and cuts down on some of the expenses for things like table clothes etc.) in these parts.

There is a large and interestingly stocked Bar.  A couple of screens showing Games while we were there and music that was a touch to loud gives this place a feel of a 'hangout'.

The 'Tapas' were an interesting fusion of 'Amexican' and Japanese influences.  We didn't particularity care for the Gyoza, not because it wasn't prepared well, but the combination really wasn't our thing.  The Shumai (Pork Dumplings - that also seemed to have Crab here) were excellent and took the 'bad taste' away from our other experiment.

The pot of Jasmine tea we ordered came in an EXCELLENT pot that kept the eater at what seemed to be pretty close to the right temperature  for the loose leaf tea.  

And the Sushi was great.  We had four different rolls, but I think I'm going to focus in this review on the "Frosty Sunbeam" roll I had was one of the best sushi rolls I've ever had.  The combination of mango, cream cheese and some exquisite salmon was almost breath taking.  I should have just ordered two of them.

The other rolls (There Went Drew, Smoked Salmon Roll and a California Roll) were definitely good with the California Roll's use of crab being a tasty 'different' approach than what I'm used to.

The Service was 'okay'.  Attentive enough, though a little 'distant'.  Informing us that it was now 'after happy hour' when we asked to see the menu (so we could make note of some of the ingredients) though we'd been there and even ordered prior to that was a bit ... off putting.  

This place was actually pretty darn busy for a Sunday Evening in New Albany.  So I'm suspecting there are others who have also found this to be a satisfying addition to the area's dining choices.