Nikki's Fresh Gourmet

Nikki's Fresh Gourmet
16 S Front St
and
3500 Oleander Dr
and
The Forum on Military Cutoff

Nikki's has three locations, but we frequent the one in Independence Mall on Oleander the most. All three are great, but I prefer the smaller seating area for the sushi in the one at the Forum rather than the teriaki side.

I'd probably better start by saying that I am not the best person to critique sushi. The raw fish ones just don't do much for me - that's Phillip's domain. However, I never fail to find something at Nikki's that makes me happy. Their spider rolls are my favorite - rolls of crispy soft-shell crab - mmmm! And their tempura shrimp rolls are also tasty. A starter of the edamame is always good, and Phillip enjoys it now too, since he found out you're not supposed to just cram the entire bean pod in your mouth and chew away. (If you can't embarrass your family in a blog, what on earth is it for?) Their burgers and sandwiches will also hit the spot, and those homemade chips with ranch are worth skipping the sushi in this brown food girl's opinion. They're good. Not as good as Marc's, but good. I also like their Bento boxes for lunch with the crispy tempura chicken or shrimp, a little miso soup, and some rice. My only recent criticism of Nikki's was their iced green tea. Phillip and I both thought it tasted kind of like steeped grass - not the green tea we make at home. But that's nitpicking.

We love to hit Nikki's for lunch and sometimes a light dinner. The downtown and the Oleander location are usually crowded during mealtimes, so you may have a wait, but service and table turnover is usually fast, so you never have to wait long. And it's worth it. Just order the regular iced tea.