JENNIFER JOHNSON: STATION 56 OPENED IT'S SUSHI BAR >>>

Station 56 in Tacoma has now joined the ranks of South Sound nightclubs with a sushi bar. After two false starts, the sushi bar in the balcony officially opened Friday, May 15. Walking into the nightclub just off South Tacoma Way on 56th Street, one would never imagine sushi chef Yung waited above to expertly slice raw maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), and ika (squid) or lay barbeque unagi (eel) over rice drizzling sweet teriyaki-type sauce and wrapped tight with a seaweed band.

Curious, but not an experienced sushi eater? Hit up the new addition during sushi happy hour from 4-7 p.m. when selected maki-zushi, or sushi rolls, are more than half off (average rolls are $10 and up). This is an almost risk free way to experience new tastes. The California Roll is the go-to roll (harmless avocado, cucumber and cooked and cooled imitation crabmeat or surimi) for those that haven’t developed a taste for the flavor nuances of the ocean’s fresh bounty.

As a general rule, fresh fish should not smell fishy, though there are some types that are decidedly pungent naturally. Be adventurous and skip the California, but do start out easy with a Philadelphia Roll â€" smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber rolled up in toasted black nori (sushi grade dried seaweed) with white sushi rice on the outside. There’s a very slight sea-air essence to the Philly from the nori, but nothing in this roll is actually raw.

Kappa-maki, or cucumber roll, is one of the most common rolls in Japan due to the ease in preparation and popular for its low cost. It’s also a vegetarian option due to zero seafood content. 

Feeling brave? Order a spicy tuna roll. Chile powder-enhanced mayonnaise is folded into raw tuna and rolled in rice with the nori on the outside (considered the correct way â€" nori on the outside).

Once you’ve chosen your rolls, get your soy sauce dish ready (use the low sodium kind if available) and slowly add bits of green wasabi stirring with a chopstick until completely dissolved. Wasabi is ultra potent; remember it gets real hot real fast, so taste it often to get it just the way you want it. Feel free to use your hands to wrangle sections of maki-zushi into your soy sauce/wasabi pool if chopsticks are a hindrance, though do give them a shot. Pop a piece of gari or thinly sliced pickled ginger in your mouth to cleanse your palate between bites. Before long you’ll be a sushi fanatic knowing the difference between sashimi (raw slices of seafood without rice) and sushi (raw seafood draped over oblong rice forms).

Non-traditional sushi bars are a fun place to experience and learn to appreciate this Japanese style of food in a less intimidating atmosphere.

If sushi is simply not for you, Station 56 offers regular happy hour Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m. with $3 munchies (hot wings, chicken Caesar salad, cheeseburger, chicken quesadilla, and more), half-price pizza, $2 draft beers and well drinks, $3 wine and free pool daily.

[Station 56, 5602 S. Washington, Tacoma, 253.474.1189]

LINK: South Sound Japanese Restaurants