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Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

starstarstar
pricebar

Cafe Zen

Japanese. Sushi.
Gretna: 2112 Belle Chasse Hwy. 504-393-2293. Map.
Lunch and dinner seven days.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The West Bank is loaded with Asian restaurants, but among them are relatively few sushi bars. Scarcity, however, can't explain the following Cafe Zen attracts. Nor is the small size of the restaurant the reason why it's always full at normal dining hours. All that happens because its sushi bar is much better than you'd expect from an anonymous strip-mall space on Belle Chasse Highway. It could hold its own in any other part of town.

WHY IT'S GOOD
A sushi bar that stays busy stays sharp, and this place does. The freshness, selection, and conformation of everything from the basic nigiri sushi through the more adventuresome rolls show high standards of ingredients and techniques. The many regulars keep the sushi chefs on target. The cooked dishes are decent, but the sushi bar is where the action is.

BACKSTORY
Cafe Zen is, like many sushi bars, a spinoff of another one (can't remember which, but it doesn't matter). It opened in the early 2000s, and later moved to a slightly larger space in the same strip mall in 2008.

DINING ROOM
The sushi bar absolutely dominates the space, with more than the typical number of seats fronting it. A wall of windows in front keeps the place bright.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Edamame.
Gyoza.
Seaweed salad.
Beef or tuna tataki.
Miso or clear soup.
Sushi.
Sashimi.
Special sushi rolls, especially those not using crab salad.
Chicken teriyaki.

FOR BEST RESULTS
The key to any sushi bar is making friends with the chefs by becoming a regular customer. Here you can get away with just acting like you're a regular customer.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Even the new location isn't big enough to handle the crush at peak times, especially at lunch.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 11/2/2009.

A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.