Sushi Smackdown Hits Roseville Tuesday Nights

A handful of local sushi eateries are vying for the title of best sushi restaurant in the Sacramento area. The best part? You can be the judge.

Here’s how it works: For $40, you pick one of four local sushi restaurants, including one in Roseville, come with an empty stomach and be prepared to consume mass amounts of sushi – 18 dishes to be exact. You judge on the restaurant’s atmosphere – was it fun? – food and service. The winning restaurant comes away with more than bragging rights – it will receive a plaque to showcase its new-found title and will be advertised largely as the best sushi restaurant in the city.

It’s all part of Sushi Smackdown, a sushi-showcasing event and pilot show called “Sushi N the City” that will be pitched to the Food Network.

Producer Gino Mozeyani came up with the idea in Las Vegas while brainstorming with others in the television business. Their initial idea was to tour across the U.S. in search of the best sushi restaurants, feature them and recommend dishes. That show will be pitched to the Travel Channel, Mozeyani said.

But the show was lacking a little excitement, Mozeyani said. That’s when the Sushi Smackdown idea was cooked up. As he made stops in sushi restaurants, he sampled dish after dish and was exposed to restaurants’ best sushi dishes.

“What a great idea to have locals experience this,” he said.

And that’s exactly what the Sushi Smackdown strives to do. It launched Aug. 23 and continues every Tuesday evening through Sept. 20. Four restaurants are competing for the title: in Roseville and Miso Japanese Cuisine, Sapporo Grill Japanese Steak House and Tokyo Fro’s Rockin’ Sushi Bar in Sacramento.

Tonight, Mozeyani will be hosting at Sushi Mon in Roseville.

During each Sushi Smackdown, the camera is rolling, grabbing footage for their pilot show. A small portion of episodes are available online here.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s Sushi Smackdown, as well as for Sept. 13 and Sept. 20 at each location.

Mozeyani said stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are next up for Sushi Smackdowns, followed by Phoenix, Huston and Miami in December.

For more information, go to the website here. Become a fan of Sushi Smackdown on Facebook here.