How do you spell fresh and yummy? Crazy Sushi

By Ray Pitz

Plain and simple, the best way to experience Crazy Sushi is to try a dish – or two or three to get the full flavor of Sherwood’s only all sushi restaurant. Run by Geena and Keith Moon, the couple began their restaurant career in California where they owned a top-notch sushi restaurant that won awards for seven years straight.

Keith Moon learned his craft from a experienced Japanese chef and has been hard at work making his unique creations for the last two decades (owning his own business for the last 11). What that experience has meant is that he can now come up with 100 varieties of sushi.

The Moons say they have tried to create an atmosphere that is different from other sushi establishments. First, they serve larger portions of sushi and use a variety of different ingredients to bring out the flavor of their food. Chef Moon said another key ti sushi success is using a thinner and crispier seaweed.

Geena Moon said they go the extra mile in sushi preparation. Where some of the revolving sushi bars have entrees that have been spinning around for hours, Crazy sushi makes everything up fresh, paying attention to such things as food temperature and making sure the fish is fresh.

The Moons also have come up with a prolific and colorful menu – a professional food photographer snapped no less than 30 photos of each dish and let the restaurant owners choose their favorites. Since opening in March, the Moons have been getting numerous repeat customers with customers traveling from as far away as Portland and McMinnville for a sample of the restaurants cuisine.

“We have very good reviews and a lot of people like it,” Geena Moon said.
Also, the Moons say they are not afraid of first time sushi eaters and will gladly educate their customers. One main goal, said Geena Moon, is to show customers “that Japanese food isn’t only raw fish.” While half of the menu includes fish, the other half is filled with cooked dishes.

A $7.50 bento lunch special includes a choice of two different menu items along with a salad, miso soup, steamed rice and a four piece california roll. Soup comes served in caste iron pots. One dish that is particularly delectable is the Crunch Lobster, a delicious mix of crab, avocado, cucumber and asparagus inside with tempura lobster on the outside. Although that sounds expensive, the dish runs only $9.50.

Then there’s the spicy Heartattack Roll, a tasty little number complete with shrimp, cream cheese, spicy tuna, a special sauce, and of course, jalapeno peppers that will sneak up on you. For the adventurous, there are the Monkey Brains (which taste better than that sound). The dish is actually a yummy half-cut avocado with spicy tuna and crab stuffed inside before being deep fried and topped with a secret sauce.

“We have 20 different sauces,” Keith Moon pointed out.
He said the most important aspects of creating his dishes are, in order: looks, taste, smell and variety. Geena Moon said she loves her new business and customers. “The people are very nice, very friendly and they always come back,” she said.

Crazy Sushi is open for lunch from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m., and for dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday. That dinner time is extended until 10 p.m. on Fridays. Saturday hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. but will be open for lunch by summertime, They are closed Sundays.