To read last week’s dining & nightlife guide click here.

I walked into Nishiki at around 9:45 p.m., tired, stressed and hungry. Being practically foreign to the trend of sushi dining, I didn’t expect to leave any less hungry. Raw seafood has always had a way of releasing my wrinkly-browed, head-shaking, inner 6-year-old. I tend to eat beef that’s cooked medium-rare, which is slightly bloody for those unfamiliar with carnivore jargon. Logically, that fact makes my dislike of uncooked sea-creatures illogical.

But, I don’t think it’s simply sushi’s rawness that tends to turn my stomach inside out like a recently laundered pillowcase. It’s the thought of clammy coldness; a goopy mushiness experienced as your teeth shear through frigid, aquatic foodstuffs in a manner possibly befitting sharks. So, the few times I’ve gone to sushi restaurants, I’m sure I’ve insulted a few sashimi artists by stating I’d prefer them frying Nemo.

Miraculously, I actually grew up a little after dining at Nishiki. The restaurant has a neo-classic Japanese look and feel, right down to the dim lighting, bamboo pillars and bonsai motifs on the walls.

Arriving as late as I did on a Wednesday night ensured prompt seating, but I was warned that the restaurant is particularly crowded on most other nights.

Nishiki is on the smaller side of the restaurant size scale, but the cool gray dining booths look particularly spacious and comfortable. Perhaps they’re too spacious. Prospective diners might want to call before they go, as I was warned by a fellow diner that the restaurant is usually “packed”, particularly on “club nights”.

After staring for a moment into the shimmering light of the live seafood tank/aquarium, the restaurant’s helpful hostess gave me Nishiki’s surprisingly robust drink menu. Draft beers run customers $4.25, as well as imports such as Heineken and Corona. Domestics clock in at $3.25, while larger import drafts, such Asahi or Sapporo are $6.25.

Sake is a staple of the Japanese dining experience, and Nishiki has a sake menu that definitely isn’t lacking in terms of variety. Hot sake, cold sake and mixed sake drinks (such as the famous Nishiki “sake bomb”) are all available to calm the nerves of the uninitiated. A small jug of hot sake goes for $4.50 and its larger counterpart will cost you $6.95. The wine list is also immense containing dozens of quality chardonnays, cabernets, merlots, champagnes and so forth.

The sushi is obviously the main draw of any sushi restaurant, but a case can be made for Nishiki’s wonderful sushi chefs as well. They’re young, laid back and extremely helpful when it comes to figuring out what you might want to try (or avoid).

Nishiki shines in the variety department. The menu sports over two-dozen Nishiki “specialty” rolls alone! If you include their Special Hand Rolls and Popular Rolls, the list increases two-fold. A variety of vegetarian rolls are also available for herbivores.

The rolls range in price from a low of $4.25 for the ‘Tekka Maki’ tuna roll to the $17.95 lobster, snow crab and salmon ‘Damino’. On average the rolls run about $7 for eight to ten pieces.

Nishiki offers a variety of cooked dishes in addition to traditional sushi. Popular favorites such as Sukiyaki, Teriyaki Chicken and Shrimp Tempura are all reasonably priced in the $7-$10 range during lunch and $10-$15 range during dinner hours.

When I was presented with a plate of ‘Corvette Roll’ (spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado, seared tuna and spicy tomato sauce) I was first struck at just how professional it looked. The portions are quite large, which caught me by surprise, as I never equated sushi with the word “full”.

The presentation of the dish went a long way in selling the restaurant, and in that respect, the chef did an excellent job. The chef on duty was extremely helpful in choosing what type of dishes I might like, and was just generally friendly and conversational overall.

Nishiki attracts droves of the young adult crowd, so visiting on Monday nights when $2 sake bombs are dropping like rain will surely end up with you meeting someone you know. Nishiki is ideally located for a night out in Sacramento as it is stationed off of “P” and 16th Street with several nightspots such as Empire, Press Club, Simon’s and the Zebra Club located within walking distance.

I finished the roll much faster than I ever imagined I could and I must admit, it was quite tasty. The fish was fresh and the creme-based tomato sauce really made things go down easier for me.

It will still take some time for me to become a full-fledged sushi lover, but the experience was as good as it could possibly be for a newbie such as myself. Perhaps that is what made me enjoy Nishiki so much.

With its wonderful staff (I can’t repeat that enough) and a creative and flexible menu, they took the fear out sushi dining for me. Perhaps more seasoned sushi veterans would appreciate a more in-depth review in terms of the sushi. I think the fact that a former sushi-hater is planning a return visit any day now, says plenty though.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

All of Aubrey’s dining and nightlife reviews are held to this rating system:

1 Star: Stay at home.

2 Stars: Not worth the gas money.

3 Stars: If there’s nothing else to do –

4 Stars: Better than most.

5 Stars: Proves that Sacramento is more than just a cowtown.

Aubrey Henry can be reached at [email protected]