The REAL truth behind Nagoya - Jackson, MS

Nagoya is a Japanese restaurant to the west of I-55 exit 103 in Jackson MS. It's in a large strip mall that has HomeDepot, Target, and OfficeMax as it's neighbors.

The sushi/sashimi there is mediocre at best. The quality of the ingredients is fine (i.e. I don't worry about getting sick) but the preparation of the actual sushi (rolls, nigiri, etc) isn't the most artful I've ever seen- and presentation is an important part of my personal enjoyment of sushi. Their sushi-rice is a bit mushy and under-seasoned. The nigiri looks sloppy. The one saving grace is their UNAGI - it is grilled to perfection - but it's assembly was poor. I thought they used too much of that sweet bbq sauce and it covered up the charred goodness of the eel.

For me, the real standouts are the items I've had off the non-sushi menu.

• Miso with seafood
• Asparagus Salad
• Spinach with sesame sauce
• Gyoza
• Beef Tataki
  

All have been very satisfying. I look forward to trying more of their non-sushi items tomorrow.

Now for the REAL truth behind Nagoya.

I've dined solo at Nagoya twice - each time taking a seat at the sushi bar and marveling at the good business this restaurant has. I would not have suspected Japanese food to be so popular in Jackson, MS. At the sushi bar, I noted that 3 of the 4 sushi chefs were Asian and there was one guy who looked mixed between Latino and Asian. As the waitresses picked up their orders from the sushi bar, I caught snatches of Mandarin Chinese.

At first, I tried to figure out if it Mandarin was just spoken by one or two of the Asian waitstaff. After 10 more minutes of listening to the conversations around me, it became clear that everyone was speaking Mandarin. Not a word of Japanese was being spoken.

I asked the sushi-chef, "Aren't you all Chinese?"

His eyes grew wide behind his spectacles and he raised his hand to his lips.

"It's kind of a secret. Nobody can really tell."

"I speak and can understand Mandarin - just a little" I replied in Chinese. Continuing in English, "But enough to understand that everyone is speaking pu-tong-hua!" (Chinese for "Mandarin")

"But we look close enough!" He shrugged and grinned.