I'd assumed the place had changed ownership, but no. Not only is Sakura located where the Nippon was three years ago, it is Nippon -- same menu, same boss. The latter name, which means "Japan," was confusing Japanese patrons meeting for a quick saki and nako maki. They mixed it up with the New Japan restaurant up the street. Well, any ethnic eatery that relies so much on patrons from the old country gets extra points in my book.

Get here early, because most diners want to kick off their shoes and tuck their legs under a low table in the front section, and this room seats only about 20. The simple space has wall hangings, mostly of Kabuki scenes. (My favorite is the actor in a wolf pelt, who looks like a wolf with an actor mask.) For those whose legs could no more cross than their heads could spin, there's a back room with tables. There are also a few tables at the entrance, across from a small counter where you can watch the chef do samurai moves on the sashimi with his cleaver.

We arrived before six on a Friday evening, but while we got our choice of seat in the sans shoes room, that had its own disadvantage. Namely, we got prompt service. How's that? Well, our entrées arrived with my last sip of soup, before I'd more than noticed my salad. The staff was eager, it appeared, to encourage quick turnover in the room. Politely, of course. "Ready?" we were nicely asked toward the end of the meal, after a busboy wanted to swoop my plate away before I was finished and the owner presented the bill. For all its charms, Sakura is not a place to have a tea ceremony and contemplate the evanescence of life.

About those charms: basically, we're talking fresh ingredients, tasty preparations, and smiling service, with the above caveat. I had to ask for a glass for my BYOB beer, but it came nicely chilled. Per usual, you can check off sushi or maki from a list of nearly 70 items. Given our druthers, we might have filled up on a selection of those offerings, from sea urchin to Philadelphia maki (Philly cream cheese and smoked salmon on rice, rolled and sliced). But for the sake, dear reader, of fuller vicariousness for you than, "rice, nori, and smelt roe, ummm," we selected entrées.

Full dinners, including sushi platters, come with appetizer, soup, salad, and dessert. The included appetizer is limited to one of six among a list of two dozen, but several are quite appealing. Ahiru -- slivers of roasted duckling -- for example. I chose gyoza ($4.75 separately): four fried dumplings chock full of delicious minced pork. Johnnie had the nasuno dengaku ($2.50 separately), slices of eggplant, thinly batter-coated and fried tempura style. Speaking of delicate, since my counterpart is such a tofu maven, we had to also get the agedashi tofu ($3.75) -- slices of buoyant, hot clouds that melted in my mouth. My dining mate remarked at the finesse used in cooking such silky soy-curd.

We chose our main dishes wisely, it appeared, from our mutual glances at the plate across the table and having to negotiate sampling. Johnnie's scallop teriyaki ($10.75) was generous with the tender mollusks; the sauce was slightly reduced, which helped it to cling nicely. My wakadori ($10.25) was breaded and fried chicken breast with tonkatsu sauce (it's soy- and tomato- based, sweet and usually served on pork cutlets) on the side. Most pleasing was how melt-in-my-mouth light it was -- I had to check and see whether they'd substituted a heftier version of that agedashi tofu. Nope, the chicken was simply sliced thinly and probably pounded. Both main dishes came with shredded daikon radish and yummy cold sesame noodles.

Dessert was ice cream. We picked ginger and coconut, though green tea and red bean paste are also offered. They were OK, but mine came pre-scooped in a metal bowl, with a spoon frozen into it like a Neanderthal axe in a glacier, to save time snatching it up in the kitchen.

The fast service and breathless pace at Sakura might be easier to appreciate at lunchtime, if you're the sort that keeps glancing at your watch. The offerings range then from noodle bowls to sushi combinations, for $4.50 to $9.75 with soup and salad. Eat fast and afterward you might have time left over to take a deep breath, chill out, and do some meditation.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net.

Issue Date: February 1 - 7, 2002