From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Revised July, 2009 Kanno Japanese. Sushi Bar. Metairie: 3205 Edenborn Ave. 504-455-5730. Map. Lunch and dinner continuously Tuesday-Saturday. Casual. AE DS MC V   WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL   Kanno calls itself a California-style sushi bar, whatever that means. Its regular customers will tell you that it's obviously the best sushi bar in the city. I find it a more or less standard Japanese menu, executed well, with less emphasis on the visual than in the best local sushi bars, with less variety but better freshness than average.   WHY IT'S GOOD   The temperature, freshness, moisture content, and cut of the sushi and sashimi is beyond reproach. The specials are particularly well turned out. The chef excels particularly in his hot dishes. The chef's special dinner shows this off well. It's described only as five courses with a homemade dessert. The chef asks whether you have any allergies or preferences, then he goes to work on fascinating plates.   BACKSTORY   Chef-owner Hidetoshi Suzuki--whom the regulars call "Elvis"--opened this place in 2002 in a space formerly occupied by less good sushi bars and other restaurants. (A long time ago, it was the first location of Bennachin, the city's first African restaurant.) Elvis is a native of Osaka.   DINING ROOM   The restaurant is in the middle of an old strip mall, dead center in what we call less and less often Fat City, around the corner from Drago's. The place is in need of interior repairs, and its dining room is rather stark. The sushi bar is almost always full.   ESSENTIAL DISHES   Clear soup (peppery). Panko-crusted soft-shell crab. Spicy soft-shell crab soup. Beef gyoza dumplings. Japanese barbecue salmon. Smoked scallops. Grilled mackerel. Sushi and sashimi specials. Seafood dynamite dinner (a hot sort of casserole). California combo (teriyaki and sushi rolls). Chef's choice special dinner.   FOR BEST RESULTS   The chef's special dinner is very interesting. Don't work up a big appetite for it: it's not overwhelming in size. Don't bother ordering sushi from the menu; ask the chef what's good, and get what he says.   OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   A repair and cleanup crew needs to spend some time with the premises, which are below my comfort level.   FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD   Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter. Dining Environment -2 Consistency +1 Service Value +1 Attitude +1 Wine and Bar Hipness +1 Local Color   SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES    Open all afternoon Vegetarian dishes Quick, good meal Easy, nearby parking Click here for an index to current reviews of the 200 Essential Restaurants, and others. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.