From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published August 15, 2006 Asian Pacific Cafe 2$ Esplanade Ridge: 3125 Esplanade Ave. 945-1919 Lunch Tues.-Fri. Dinner Tues.-Sun. AE DC DS MC V The cluster of restaurants on Esplanade Avenue near Grand Route St. John has always been united by the offbeat nature of the menus you find, and the Asian Pacific cafe is no exception. The sign (not the easiest thing to see) outside the renovated house (next to Cafe Degas) says that the place has not only Japanese food, but Korean, Filipino, Chinese, and other cuisines from the Far East. Maybe that was true before the hurricane, or some other time, but now Asian Pacific is a sushi bar, and that's about it. The non-sushi part of the menu is a short list of some of the stancdards from the Japanese canon, but if there's anything more exotic than that, I couldn't see it. Fortunately, the sushi bar is quite good. All the fish I've had here has been served at the right temperature, generously, at a modest price. And vividly fresh, of course (or I wouldn't bother you with it.) Step outside that circumscription, and you don't find much. The atmosphere is minimal, the service just passable, and the beverage list hamstrung by the lack of a liquor license. (This is not the restaurant's fault, but the fact that no liquor license has ever been had by any previous occupant of this building, because of one of the more arcane and ridiculous New Orleans laws on that subject.) I wouldn't cross town to eat sushi here, but if I were in the neighborhood and had the urge, the restaurant would pass. Click here to return to today's edition. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.