Do it!: Restaurants

JAPANESE

KIKO SUSHI
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Visiting Kiko is like stepping inside a dream. Your maitre d' is wearing sunglasses in a softly lit room. A white sculpture wall swirls up to your left, sparkling lights swinging above. A bamboo fence separates the dining room into two spaces, one draped with a crisp crimson kimono, the other open to the bar, which is adorned simply with a basket of fresh mangoes. Most of the food is out of a dream too. Wild salmon sashimi nestled against a mound of angel-haired daikon. A pile of panko-crusted vegetables: slender asparagus, a whole hot mushroom, a sickle of acorn squash, and delicate onion rings. Skewers of tender yakitori chicken basted with sweet tare are ambrosial with a bottle of ice-cold Kirin Ichiban for sipping. Poached spinach leaves sit in a pool of light, lemony soy sauce. Spicy agedashi tofu and a bowl of grilled chicken with egg and onion are comforting but plain, bringing you back down to earth. But the "freestyle rolls" are named by a flight of fantasy- Crunch and Munch, Sakura Spider, Rapture Roll - and all are fresh and balanced. The Kracken roll is an epic sonnet: a whole stuffed squid, sliced into rings, purple tentacles proffered alongside the body. After all this, tempura-fried ice cream and crepes stuffed with mango and strawberries seem a tad boring, but both are well prepared. To drink, order Asahi (dry Japanese beer) or share a bottle of silky chilled sake. The servers are equipped with an excellent sense of humour and a love for the menu, although they sometimes forget to bring out this or that. A small suggestion: invest in fancier chopsticks. It seems a crime to use such common utensils here. Wheelchair accessible. Lunch Monday to Saturday (11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), dinner Monday to Saturday (5 p.m. to 11 p.m.), Sunday (4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.). Appetizers $1.95-$11.95, sushi/sashimi $4.95 and up, rolls/mains $4.95-$19.95). 349B Preston St. http://www.kikosushibar.com/