Columns
By Kay West
Rice Cooker
1602 21st Ave. S. 321-9566
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.; noon-10 p.m. Sat.; 4-10 p.m. Sun. (Closed 3-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.) $-$$
Cruise the perimeter of the Vanderbilt University campus, and you'll find every little thing a college student needs to sustain his or her exhaustive pursuit of higher education: coffee shops, pharmacies, ATMs, video rental stores, quick marts, bookstores, copy centers, liquor stores, fast food, chain food, bars, restaurants, and a tattoo and piercing parlor (for 'Dores Gone Wild). Feeding areas are especially dense with choices. Just across or down the street from campus are Mellow Mushroom, Subway, Cheeseburger Charley's, Starbucks, San Antonio Taco Company, Panera Bread, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a KFC, a sports bar, Cuisine of India, Roly Poly Wrap Sandwiches, Pizza Perfect and the newest kid on the block, Rice Cooker.
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Photo by Eric England.
Actually, Rice Cooker is a new face on an old place; since it was first constructed several years ago, it has been home to a succession of bad to really bad Chinese buffets, all with different names (China Coast, Jade Coast, China Dragon), but one just like the other. On the rare occasions that I would poke my head in the door to check it out, the blinding fluorescent lights, cheap furnishings and steam tables of greasy lo mein, glutinous cashew chicken, soggy broccoli, dried-out egg rolls, fatty ribs and grisly beef was enough to throw my caboose into reverse and back me right through the front door of neighboring Pizza Perfect.
But the last time I went to pick up a calzone for my kids, I couldn't help but notice a dramatic change across the way. The furnishings were brand-new, the walls had been painted burgundy with brushstrokes of white-painted graphics, actual framed prints had replaced the backlit color photos of menu items, contemporary light fixtures hung from the ceiling, a reception desk was just inside the door, and a sushi bar had been built against one wall. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" I wondered.
What we have is a change in ownership. Scott Rim, who has lived in Nashville for six years, bought the place in November with a partner and, after an extensive overhaul and renovation, reopened it as Rice Cooker in early December. Though the name still says "Chinese buffet" to me, much of the food is actually Japanese. Rim is aware of the potential for confusion, and with the recent departure of his partner, he is mulling a name change as well as some alterations to the menu.
For the time-being, Rice Cooker is retaining its opening menu, which is quite straightforward and simple, starting with a predictable but reliable lineup of appetizers, soups and salads: edamame, egg roll, gyoza, miso soup, iceberg lettuce with the regulation ginger-onion dressing, seaweed salad, and a nod to Korea with kimchi. The agedashi tofu is worth sampling; the eight rectangles of creamy tofu, deep-fried and drizzled with tempura sauce, go down easy.
Rim admits that he did not want to risk losing any customers attached to Chinese food—particularly since there are no other restaurants of that ilk in the immediate vicinity—so he has included a couple of familiar dishes. What distinguishes them from the previous steam-table fare is that they are made to order and, in the case of the five lo mein choices, light on the oil and fairly generous—at least in accordance with the $3.75 to $4.75 price. Those and the two rice bowls—brown or white rice topped with a pile of teriyaki chicken or beef and steamed veggies—are very kid-friendly and heart-healthy.
Five teriyaki choices come with rice and a salad. On each of my visits, they were out of the beef short rib, touted as the best choice; instead, we sampled the beef and chicken, and found them to be nicely grilled and seasoned, though nothing so out of the ordinary as to make it a calling card. Compliments to the kitchen on the portion control exhibited on all the entrées, which offered just enough to satisfy, yet were priced moderately enough to qualify as cheap eats: the most expensive item is the elusive short ribs, at $8.95.
The sushi menu is extensive, with a selection of nigiri, six special rolls, and typical rolls like California, crunchy shrimp, spicy tuna, rainbow, spider and futomaki. Nigiri comes one piece to an order, and both the octopus and the squid passed muster with the sushi aficionado at my table, who noted that these less popular choices can sometimes suffer from sitting in the cooler too long. Considering our landlocked location, these were as fresh as could be expected, the octopus a good texture and the squid boasting the desired sweetness.
The standard rolls were, well, standard, with nothing to distinguish them from the rolls at other Nashville sushi restaurants. Of the special rolls, we liked the caterpillar best: unagi (eel) wrapped with thin slices of avocado and rolled in smelt roe. Both the Rice Cooker and the Tennessee Roll are deep-fried, which defeats much of the appeal of sushi for me. And, as long as I am being picky, let me say that there are many ingredients that should never be stuck inside a seaweed wrapper, chief among them mayonnaise and cream cheese. The latter shows up in the Nashville and Philadelphia rolls, which are clearly designed to attract people who want something unusual (or, frankly, not that unusual) in their sushi.
Not surprisingly, Rice Cooker is already doing a bustling business at lunch; God forbid a major medical emergency hits Vanderbilt Hospital between 11:30 and 1:30, as there are more lab coats inside the restaurant than in the ER. The short selection of domestic, imported and Japanese beer should help draw a dinner crowd as well. Rice Cooker is a great place to take the family on one of those time-crunched evenings between baseball practice and homework, or to grab a bite before a movie at the Belcourt, a game of pool at the billiards hall upstairs, a study session at the library or a long night on Greek row.