One of the most popular offerings at Nikko is Tuna Crunch, served here with chilled sake. This sushi roll without rice has fresh tuna and crab rolled in panko crumbs, seared, sliced and served with a homemade ponzu, or Japanese vinegar, sauce.

NIKKO JAPANESE RESTAURANT AND SUSHI BAR , Location: 1300 South Blvd. (in the Factory South Building) Phone: 704-370-0100 Fax: 704-370-0123 Details: No smoking sections; seating at booths, tables, and at sushi bar; take out; off premise catering for functions large or small; full bar, including a dozen types of sake; occasional cooking classes. Prices: Lunch, $7-$10; dinner, $10-$25; sushi, $3.75-$12. Hours: Lunch - Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner - Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 5-11 p.m.; Sunday, 5-9:30 p.m.

This story starts with a little girl named Joanna, who grew up in Korea where she helped in her parents' restaurant.

Her parents wanted more for their daughter, so she came to the United States to go to school. As a young woman, she studied computer science at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Databases, dot coms and all the daunting technology aside, the restaurant business remained in her blood and her heart. She followed her heart, taking jobs in Asian restaurants and sushi bars in South Carolina, doing what came naturally. With no real formal culinary training, Joanna became the only female sushi chef in the area and the youngest. Then, she followed her heart once again and married James Nix.

Together they came to Charlotte and became partners in the Kabuto chain of restaurants, opening a little sushi bar at the corner of East and South boulevards. Almost four years ago, the property was sold as the building and renovation boom of the Dilworth/South End corridor came to their corner. With plans for a new Eckerd to go on the corner, the Nixes took the opportunity to move their restaurant down the street, closer to Uptown, and opened Nikko Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar.

Located in a U-shaped building called Factory South, Nikko is around the corner from the South Boulevard Original House of Pancakes.

Parking in this area is difficult but not impossible. If you cannot find a spot in the parking circle of Factory South, drive to a larger lot behind the building. Nikko offers entrances to the restaurant from both lots.

RATING SCALE Excellent, a must try. Above average, worth consideration. Average, but nothing spectacular. Just okay. Poor, not recommended.

Inside Nikko, you will feel miles away from the South Boulevard hubbub. Interiors are soft and soothing with a great view of the Arlington Building next door, in all its pink splendor with the Charlotte skyline behind it. The staff at Nikko is equally soft spoken, friendly and most accommodating.

Joanna and James are young, energetic and eager to please. Their enthusiasm and dedication to both the high quality of the restaurant and its customers pervades the attitude, atmosphere and menu at Nikko.

There was a time, not so many years ago, when sushi was a rarity in the Queen City. Now we have a host of fine Japanese and sushi restaurants, with Nikko ranking among the best. Joanna is still the only female sushi chef in the area, and she is not only excellent at what she does but fun and entertaining as well.

In addition to a fine variety of extremely high quality sushi, Nikko also offers some outstanding Japanese appetizers at lunch and dinner. My favorites include the edamame (boiled then salted Japanese soy beans), the Beef Tataki (thin-sliced seared beef served over a cucumber salad drizzled with a delicious ponzu sauce made from a mix of rice vinegar or lemon juice, soy sauce, Mirin or Sake, kombu (a type of seaweed) and bonito (or dried fish flakes). There is also a fabulous Ika salad, made from wonderfully tender marinated squid or cuttlefish, and a fried oyster "app" called Kaki, which is sure to melt in your mouth and still leave you wanting more. For those on a vegetarian diet, there is Kaisou, a superb seaweed salad dressed in a light sesame sauce, and Agedashi, chunks of deep-fried tofu served with grated radish bathed in a tempura sauce.

A wide variety of both nigiri and maki sushi, made from raw fish, cooked fish and combinations of vegetables over or rolled in the slightly sweet vinegared glutinous short grain sushi rice, are available at Nikko for lunch and dinner.

Joanna describes an order of Nikko's sushi as "sushi therapy," and I would echo the sentiment. It's not only good for your stomach but also for your spirit. As much fun as it is to eat the sushi at Nikko, it's almost more fun to watch it being created. While there are many booths and tables, it's always fun to sit at the sushi bar and watch Joanna work her magic - she is, indeed the "sushi bomb."

If raw seafood isn't in your culinary repertoire, don't despair, Nikko still has much to offer. Joanna will create a custom tray of cooked or vegetable sushi to suit your tastes. Or try one of the Bento Boxes. These are reasonably priced and come to the table as a lunch box, which includes a cup of steaming hot miso soup, a salad with Japanese ginger dressing, steamed rice and a choice of chicken teriyaki, California roll, tempura vegetables and vegetable rolls or my favorite, the grilled salmon teriyaki. There are also rice bowls called donburi, sashimi plates of sliced raw fish with assorted sides and a variety of udon or noodle soups.

The same menu applies at dinner and then some. Look for an assortment of dinner plates featuring panko crusted chicken or pork. Finish the evening with ice cream, either green tea or red bean. Both are traditional Japanese desserts. While you won't find them in your local supermarket's Haagen Dazs collection, my bet is that you will find that they'll give a scoop of your favorite flavor a run for its money.

Meet Joanna Nix, your sushi therapist. Suggest several ingredients and she'll create a spread of sushi to soothe your soul.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "South Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@southcharlotteweekly.com.

SCW photos by Sean Busher.

This article first appeared in "South Charlotte Weekly" on July 11, 2003. "South Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in South Charlotte and Uptown.

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