Kanpai

Okay, this is the second time I've been here and as bad as it was the first time, the second was even worse.  The good service is its only saving grace because the food is just terrible!  The nigiri and the rolls are flavorless; the rolls are not evenly cut so you get some random huge pieces that are all-but-impossible to eat.  I guess if I were a beer drinker I might have cause to add another star.  They really should just focus on on the bar since that's what they seem to do best.

Kanpai is a rather small place to eat at, but it has trendy music and a lot of craft beers.

Apart from that... I'm not sure why this place gets so much hype.

There are two reasons why I still choose to go here from time to time, and that is because of their slight creativity at their sushi rolls, and their appetizers. Their crab rangoon is amazing. They're the right price ($5.25) and are made relatively big.

As for their sushi? Really terrible, in my opinion. As I mentioned above, I give them some credit because they are relatively creative in *some* of their sushi selections (ie. they have a roll called the Volcano roll and its topped with a crab mixture that is then toasted - my fave). I've eaten here many times in the past (definitely not recently), mostly whenever other sushi places are closed between 2 and 4.

For the past three times I've eaten their sushi, the sushi rice has either been undercooked or old. I can't tell, but I can tell you the sushi rice was hard. If this was a one time deal I probably wouldn't care.

Their rolls are TINY.  At other sushi joints, I usually have a problem finishing one full roll. Here, I wouldn't get full at all from one roll.

Not a lot of rice is put onto the seaweed. Their nigiris are also extremely TINY. Their maki rolls are about 5 dollars, which is cheaper than their specialty rolls but both categories are still very small. They have some vegetarian sushi rolls, but their two vegetarian specialty rolls are $7 which I think is overpriced for what you get in it - an avocado roll with just more avocado on top? How is that "special"?

I have yet to eat their other Asian cuisine (they have Vietnamese and Korean dishes), so maybe people are having better luck with that.

Last but not least, their service is decent. I've never had a rude server, but they do not seem to understand serving etiquette. One of the main points I've learned as a server is that meals should be served all at once. Too often I've been served my meal before my friend gets theirs and vice versa, which leaves one of us awkwardly without food for quite some time. In addition, several times I've ordered to-go and they forget to give me utensils. This isn't a huge deal to me, but I do think they need to work on this a little.

Love Kanpai, also it is great for takeout!!!!