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There are hundreds of Chinese restaurants in Central Ohio. Just offering Chinese food is no longer enough of a draw to acquire and maintain a viable patronage. You will need something else, some unique draw. Whether it is great decor, cutting edge cuisine, a signature dish that is broadly popular and unique, knock your socks off service or preferably several of these characteristics, you need to have something to make your place pop. China cuisine is not it and there is no snap, crackle or pop. The food was adequate but not memorable. It has all the regulars on the menu. General Tso's this and Egg Foo that. You can get Chow Mein, Lo Mein and Happy Family. The decor is clean, accessible and uncluttered but not especially warm. There is a well-stocked bar, but the bar itself is cluttered with magazines and newspapers in several languages. Then there was the service. I went at 2:00 p.m. There was one other person in the restaurant and he was leaving. The service was cold to the point of being rude. My order came quickly but I requested an extra napkin that never appeared. I made the decision to go for the brass ring and I asked for some fish sauce and that napkin and that never appeared. I know she heard me because she said, "Uh" quick and low and she gave her head a tiny nod. When I was finished I waited, and waited but no check. I could see the woman that took my order; she could see me but still nothing. Finally, I had to go get my check. She sighed when I asked for it. It was a relief to leave the restaurant. On the street I was anonymous, but there is a substantial difference between being anonymous and being ignored. Maybe this was an aberration I thought. No restaurant could be as cold and off putting and still be in business. Well, maybe if you sold crack. I read a couple reviews about Cafe China and noticed many people seemed to like it. I poured over the reviews and started to notice something. The best reviews were from people that used the Cafe China for carry out. A week after my first visit I called in an order and picked it up. It was inexpensive but to me it tasted inexpensive. I cannot even remember what I ordered. I decided I had done my part and I could walk away having done my due diligence. A year later I am talking to a former co-worker and I mention a sushi and sashimi restaurant that recently opened near me. She is a fan of good sushi so I was curious about if she had been there. She had not and she told me she was a huge fan of the Cafe China sushi and sashami. That surprised me but I asked if she had tried their other fare. She had and her summary was, and I want to quote her, "Meh". I went back and their sushi is very good, above average even. In fact, it is tasty and a good value. I won't deceive you and claim it's inexpensive but compared to other places it is reasonable. They have an assortment of the usual sushi choices. They also have hand rolls. I grew up eating eel. They have a very creditable eel and avocado roll and a very tasty spicy scallop roll. They have Bento Boxes and I have tried their Katsu. It was good and ranked well for local Katsu. I first had Katsu in Okinawa in 1969. It is not quite up to what I remember from Okinawa but I could recommend it. Overall, China Cafe has some well-hidden assets. Their sushi is good; I very much liked their Katsu. The Eel Avocado hand roll was above my expectation. On the other hand I never felt very welcome at China Cafe. They really need a more service-oriented staff. It is worth a try, but I will probably choose to spend my dollars at a restaurant where I do not feel like a weird ex-con uncle.
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