Main Gate Square: constantly changing

If there's one thing I've noticed about Main Gate Square (aka University Ave.) in the past four years, it's that things are constantly changing and always expensive.

The very first time I visited University when I was in high school, I remember there was a J. Crew store and we ate at Gentle Ben's. Well, the Gentle Ben's is still there. But J. Crew is gone, as is the White House Black Market, skateboard shop and countless other stores that followed it. Not to mention the restaurants--one slot on University changed twice in the last year because both attempts at an upscale dining experience on-campus were (go figure) too expensive for most college students. Hah.

A bunch of new places went in last year--The Cereal Boxx (a cereal restaurant: utter stupidity in types of restaurants, but I'm intrigued because you can bring your pets on the weekends now), Sultan Palace (yummy Afghan food), Saigon Pho (intriguing Vietnamese food), Villa Thai (expensive but tasty Thai food, though I've heard the service is very poor), Paradise Cafe (soups, salads and sandwiches and all of one vegetarian option--I've never been impressed although the baked goods are...good), and a handful of clothing, hat and beauty stores I never set foot in. There's also an Aveda going in now.

And Fuku Sushi. A sushi restaurant right off of campus--my absolute dream, right?

Well, that depends on how pricey it is. I can easily drive a block away to Sushi Cho for the cheapest sushi in Tucson that I've discovered to date. Since sushi is generally expensive, I guess we'll have to wait and see when Fuku Sushi opens. And also see how many veggie options there are.

See, Fuku Sushi is going into the same slot the last two unsuccessful, expensive restaurants were planted and uprooted. Perhaps the spot's cursed--it burned up two years ago when it was home to Chicken Daddy.

All I can say is, that sushi had better be tasty, and it had better damn well be $3 or less for a generous avocado roll.

Sushi makes the world go 'round

Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE sushi.

I'm a vegetarian, sure, but that doesn't mean I don't dig the veggie-only varieties.

My favorites? Cucumber rolls, veggie rolls and avocado rolls. Sort of spans the entire spectrum, but they're just so good.

So I recently tried Sushi Cho--twice. Once with my editor, once with my boyfriend. Both times were pleasant experiences.

The fare is cheaper than at most of the sushi restaurants we've tried in Tucson. The cucumber and avocado rolls are pretty small, but they're cheap enough to make up for it.

The veggie rolls are more expensive--and you discover why once they land on your table. They are MASSIVE--bigger than the palm of my hand. I found it impossible to eat them with chopsticks--I swallowed my pride and just used my hands. My editor approved. Those things were huge.

I also tried the avocado and cucumber rolls. More of the same, right? Actually, it was just right. If I were only mildly hungry and wanted sushi, just getting one avocado and cucumber roll would do it for me. Dee-lish.

The other stuff is good, too, from what I hear. My boyfriend tried the crunchy roll--cucumber and tempura shrimp wrapped in seaweed and rice, doused with tempura crumbs. He seemed satisfied. I haven't heard complaints about anything else.

Edamame? Good. Tempura veggie appetizer? Good. Teriyaki chicken? Heard it was all right. Vegetable yakisoba? Heard it was pretty good--although differently flavored than the yakisoba at Sushi Ten.

The service is also decent--my water was constantly refilled the second time I went (although the first time the waitress was careless and never came back to see if I had enough water, and I finished my first glass within five minutes and practically died of thirst during the rest of the meal).

A note for strict vegetarians: don't eat the soup. It's got fish stock in it.

But as far as Sushi Cho goes, I highly recommend it.