Sushiyama go-go

When I first heard that Spokane’s last remaining Arctic Circle restaurant on Third Avenue was closing down and would be replaced by a sushi bar, I thought, “Self, this marks a seminal moment in Spokane dining.” Chain burger joint makes way for sushi? Deep thoughts bubbled.
But then I found out that Chef Charlie Yamamoto of BAEK CHUN SUSHIYAMA was opening a downtown Spokane outpost at the site. All abstract philosophical meanderings gave way to one simple question: When?

Luckily, the answer is: Now.

Yamamoto is a sushi veteran going back to the Puget Sound area in the 1980s. He trekked east and opened his humble restaurant and shop in an Airway Heights storefront about five years ago, quickly attracting a loyal cadre of followers from nearby Fairchild. Word of his skill with sushi spread through foodie circles; I and others made quiet pilgrimages westward.

The Spokane shop has been open about a month now, and a steady crowd of devotees stopped by on a recent Friday evening — some who knew Sushiyama from Airway Heights, some drawn by either word of mouth or simply the sign out front.

One couple said they’d been directed by a co-worker to come in and sit right up front at the sushi bar. “Oh, first-time customers, let Charlie choose,” Yamamoto suggested. “Yes, yes. Charlie take care of you.”

And take care he did, delivering two signature sushi rolls, a stunning variety of nigiri sushi (raw fish on rice), plus a sampler of pickled vegetables and salads.

The menu has a broad selection of Japanese and Korean dishes, from appetizers to entrées to full bento-box meals (either dinner or lunch). The seaweed salad ($5) tastes clean and refreshing; the deep-fried tofu appetizer (agedashi, $7) encases chunks of moist, silky tofu in a light, crunchy coating, topped with a piquant sauce and served over shredded cabbage.

But the fresh fish is the star. (The shop is closed every Wednesday so Yamamoto can go to Seattle and buy his seafood.) Pay attention to the server’s recitation of which items are the freshest: Last week, the suzuki (sea bass), mirugai (geoduck) and hirame (halibut) were high on the list. Two pieces of nigiri will run anywhere from $4 to $10, but as a special, you can choose any eight pieces for $14.

Shoji-screen panels float above the sushi bar and elsewhere, and the interior looks nothing like its former burger-joint incarnation.

Whether the larger cultural shift — from burgers to sushi — is a good thing remains an open question, but while I ponder that one, I’ll happily let Charlie take care of me.

— ANN M. COLFORD

Baek Chun Sushiyama, 1321 W. Third Ave., is open weekdays (except Wednesday) 11 am-9 pm, Fri 11 am-10 pm, Sat 11 am-midnight. Call 624-5553.