Blue Ribbon Japanese Restaurant

Rice, rolls and reggae.

This past December, lovers of Japanese fine dining in the New River Valley mourned the closing of Kayo, when owners Ryinji and Kayo Oshima retired and moved back to Japan, and chef Machiko Oshima Turner left the business as well.

photography by David Franusich

However, the restaurant was not dark for long. After over 10 years of working his way up in Japanese restaurants in New York City, 28-year-old sushi chef Ken Yong Chun Lin moved to Christiansburg and took over Kayo's vacated space. Blue Ribbon Japanese Restaurant (no relation to Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York), is his flagship. He runs the business with his girlfriend, Mei Zheng, and his cousin, Queena Shi, a Virginia Tech business major. They meant to open on March first, but a flurry of phone calls spurred them to open on Valentine's Day.

The interior of the restaurant is as warm and intimate as before, with the decor mostly as its former proprietors left it. Japanese calligraphy adorns the goldenbeige walls with boldly elegant and spontaneous brushstrokes, and the distinctive red wooden box design still surrounds the recessed lighting over the chef's main work space behind the sushi bar.

Blue Ribbon still lacks an ABC license, however the smoky-flavored, hot, dark green tea they serve stimulates the appetite and good conversation (arguably) as well as a nice, warm sake would. We dined to the gentle rhythms of Bob Marley, chef Ken's favorite.

The dishes seem deceptively simple. A light appetizer of kani (a.k.a. "crab" stick), rolled up in pale, crisp ribbons of raw, pared cucumber, was set off by a panju sauce of vinegar, sake, and soy. Heartier appetizers not to miss include shumai dumplings: nibble-sized, juicy pouches of chopped seafood with a hint of dark soy and a sly bite of peppery spice. This simplicity is made sublime by the freshness of the ingredients and the discerning palate of the chef.

I offer one caveat regarding the appetizers: the edamame were tasty, perfectly steamed, and plentifully heaped in their bowl, but if you've got high blood pressure, be sure ask for less salt, since even diners who can put away a lot of this habit-forming snack will need to stop for a water break!

Without a doubt, the sushi menu is the restaurant's treasure. Chef Ken's passion for the art of selecting and slicing beautiful pieces of fish is obvious, and the colorful sight, rich, clean aroma, and melting, complex flavors of the sushi arrangement we sampled were on a par with the sushi one can find in competitive restaurants in New York and Baltimore.

The fish selection is fresh and varied—we sampled satisfying strips of raw yellowtail, albacore, octopus, white tuna, and ruby-red maguro. Sashimi is sliced thin; the balls of sushi rice are not too big, and they cohere without the tasty grains losing their integrity. These important details maximized the texture and flavor of the fish. Even octopus sashimi, sometimes a problem child even in good restaurants, looked gorgeous and the taste did not disappoint, with a delicate, lemony quality and only a subtle chewiness. The rolls were just as exciting as the unadorned fish. Try the spicy tuna roe roll, gently tempura-fried before slicing, with each slice topped with a gemlike dab of flying fish roe.

Blue Ribbon also offers a wide selection of beef and chicken dishes, along with crisp and chewy shrimp and vegetable tempura. Perhaps our palates were jaded by the glories of the sushi and sashimi, but my impression was that the flat-pounded chicken breast in the teriyaki could have been more moist. Among the tempura veggies, broccoli doesn't work as well as flatter vegetables, since the florets hold too much batter; however, all of the flavors were pleasant, and the sweet potato tempura was cooked just right, neither dry nor mushy.

The Blue Ribbon is the perfect place for a birthday party or a cozy, romantic dinner, but don't forget about lunchtime. Stop by and try the bento, a Japanese lunchbox full of assorted goodies.

Fish-lovers and proclaimed sashimi purists should know that raw is not the only way to enjoy the sensuous pleasure of a delicate slice of perfectly fresh fish. We were seduced by a luscious seared albacore tuna in a dynamic drizzle of rich yellow miso sauce. This dish is called tataki. It's one of the chef's favorites, and in May, the name of Blue Ribbon will change to Tataki.

The Blue Ribbon Japanese Restaurant (soon to be Tataki) is located at 50 Merrimac Road in Christiansburg. Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Call (540) 381-4022 for reservations.