Skip to main contentGaya Gaya Sushi is the Mel's Diner of Portland sushi restaurants. The petite joint on West Burnside is a friendly place, full of neighborhood regulars who come to chow on generous portions of Japanese and Korean favorites and a lengthy inventory of ambitious sushi endeavors. Gaya Gaya's specialty sushi rolls can be sloppy, cluttered with ingredients and over-sauced, but it would be a lie to say they weren't good. The crunch roll ($7) combines shrimp tempura, spicy crab, cream cheese, cucumber, tobiko, soy-honey sauce and nuts. It's impossible to itemize the distinct flavors, but, like a bacon cheeseburger with everything on it, it works just fine. A smallish but worthy seaweed salad ($4) is slightly sweet with light heat while the agedashi tofu ($3.95) has just enough crunch to add vital texture. (MT)
WWeek 2015