Sakura in Doral is now Soo Woo, so sad

A quick lunch at one of FoodMuse's favorites today was no less than disappointing. FoodMuse particularly liked Sakura's edition of chirashi that substituted the traditional rice for a bed of fresh greens crowned with a quail egg.


Though the sign still says Sakura, the joint's been expanded and renamed Soo Woo Japanese Steakhouse. Added to the extra space are Benihana-esque hibachi griddles. The owner claims $1.5 million in renovations. If that's the case, he was robbed. But hey, that's routine business in Dade County. Our thought on the renovation and refit...Soo Woo is so sad.


First of all, FoodMuse's favorite was retooled into something that vaguely resembled the original. Gone was the bed of greens and the quail egg. In it's place was the traditional chirashi bed of rice. Strange really. It's fair to say that the Doral area population has a penchant for carbohydrate avoidance. So this change seems odd.


When we walked in, I was struck by the schizophrenia of the surroundings. The old Sakura was still intact. Added were three or four hibachi griddles. Also added were six to eight flat screen televisions and a loud sound system blaring club electronica. I didn't see a single Asian on the staff. Our waiter was a dopey Latin boy with the obligatory spikey hair. He fit right in with the rest of the predominantly male wait staff as they looked more or less the same. So what is that the former Sakura-now-Soo Woo is trying to be? I'm not sure and I don't think the owners are sure either. To make matters even worse, a flyer posted in the Men's Room proclaimed Thursdays as Karaoke Night. Woo-hoo at Soo Woo on Thursdays boys and girls! Sorry, I won't be there.


A couple other issues: they were out of Kirin and Kirin Light. How's that? A Japanese joint out of Kirin. We settled for Sapporo but I was disappointed as I prefer Kirin. Also, after the chirashi was delivered, FoodMuse lamented to our waiter about the major change to the dish. He seemed mildly concerned and told us he would tell the boss. When he returned, he mentioned to us that he had been on duty for seven hours and really wanted to puff a smoke. I'm not sure why he thought it was important to tell us that but obviously he did and he did.


Sakura was well liked in the area for it's Korean selections. Seems like the management is smart enough to keep those around. The Japanese-Korean amalgam seems fine. But toss in the SoBe (electronica club music), some Latin (we spotted churrasco on the menu), Benihana, and the ADHD/OCD factor is just mentally tiresome and is a poor fit.


I suspect the joint will be initially successful as I'm not sure the vast majority of the locals really care about good food. Just adequate. That's unfortunate.

With that, I'll leave you with this sign of the times.