LEO/LHB: Dragon King's Daughter gives sushi a new twist

[Robin Garr]

LEO's Eats with Louisville HotBytes.com
(LEO photo by Ron Jasin)

"I just can't do sushi," my Facebook friend Suzie in Arkansas posted. "It's the redneck in me."

Maybe. But even the most ardent sushi-hater could be rehabilitated at Dragon King's Daughter, where Toki Masabuchi puts an international twist on the creative sushi delights that have built her a loyal following at Maido Essential Japanese in Clifton.

Take the "Italian Picnic" ($10). There's no fish in this delight, which features pencil-thin asparagus, tempura-battered and fried, tucked into a sushi roll topped not with seafood but Italian prosciutto, fresh basil leaves and a dab of Japanese mayo topped with a few toasted pine nuts. Is it Japanese? Is it Italian? It's both - and it is delicious.

Masabuchi, who continues to work her culinary magic at Maido, too, recently took over the Bardstown Road quarters left vacant by the abrupt departure of Karma Café.

In contrast with Maido, which replicates an Osaka "izakaya" bar with its small plates, beer and sake, Dragon King's Daughter melds a world of tastes into a wacky but appealing fusion. Fancy a sashimi pizza? You can get it here, or a variety of sushi tacos. There's a wide choice of sushi rolls, of course, and soups, salads and snacks with their roots in Japan and their spirit international. The bar offers quality artisanal and Japanese beers, sake and shochu, Japanese distilled barley liquor.

Read the complete report in LEO, and on LouisvilleHotBytes.com.

Dragon King's Daughter
1126 Bardstown Road
632-2444
Rating: Good, but too early to assign

Great review - I just could not type fast enough, not to mention I kept going back for "research" to beat the Master.

Just wanted to add my name to the positive review list! Went to DHD last night and it was fantastic and unexpectedly inexpensive! Somewhat expecting Maido like tapas sized plates I ordered a pizza and a sushi roll and was pleasantly surprised by the size of the pizza. I couldn't even eat half of it. Great beer selection and very inventive food made for a great meal.

The night we were there, they also had beer floats. I can't speak for all the flavors, but the porter with vanilla was strangely delicious.

My only quibble was the tacos. They were on tortillas that were cold and dry. I think I was supposed to order an additional sauce because it was pretty dry and flavorless, but the server didn't tell me.

Otherwise, everything was delicious.

I've been twice in the last two weeks. Thus far my fave is the tuna tataki pizza! The lemon-grass miso soup and sashimi pizza were excellent as well. The sushi buffet was a bargain...too bad it can't continue. I found it interesting they serve no Coke or Pepsi products. Maybe I'm weird but I like a Diet Coke with my sushi...old habits die hard. They have a good beer and saki list. My son loved the mango "milkshake".

Yeah, I thought the no soft drink thing was alittle odd. When we went, we weren't even ASKED if we wanted anything other than water though.

I love the tuna pizza!!