HP: How did you get to be so successful with your two locations?
PT: We’re not there yet! Everybody knows about the story of my brother and I, how we become chefs. [We started as] dishwashers and busboys first. We saved enough money, working two jobs, we figured why not work for yourself? That’s the story. A lot of people know the sushi restaurant, but they don’t know who’s behind the scenes. When they think about sushi they probably think it’s owned by somebody Japanese. [We’re not] but we’ve been doing this for quite awhile, we know our stuff and we love what we’re doing. A lot of people, they don’t know that. Since we opened we do draw a big Hmong crowd. They are a very supportive customers because everybody knows each other.
Susan (restaurant manager):
S: This location [Woodbury] has been open about three and a half years. We started off really nice and business has been staying steady. So far, it’s been pretty good. We have really good happy hours here, a good location, and parking is free and convenient.
HP: Pao mentioned that you get a lot of support from the Hmong community?
S: We do—a really large section of the Hmong community comes to support us. We probably couldn’t survive without them! We have large crowds on the weekends. Everybody comes out and everybody loves sushi. Everyone’s getting into i[the sushi fad] right now. The Hmong community supports us a lot and we try to help them as much as we can, too.
HP: Why don’t you tell me about your menu and a bit about your Uptown location?
S: There’s a lot of our popular specialty rolls like our Scorpion Rolls (shrimp tempura and soft-shell crab rolls with gobo, spicy mayo, and asparagus) and our Crunchy Maki (shrimp tempura, cucumber, and spicy mayo dipped in tempura crumbs and seaweed powder). We make a lot of our food spicy! Our Uptown location that just opened up last year is newly remodeled. There’s a nice patio there and hibachi tables that are starting to get going right now.
HP: What's a hibachi table?
S: They are actually teppenyaki grills—‘teppen’ meaning ‘iron plate’ and ‘yaki’ meaning ‘grilled.’ There is fabulous food [that can be grilled]: lobster tail, beef, chicken, and shrimp. There’s great fried rice. It’s all about the entertainment from our skilled chefs cooking right in front of you. There are a lot of flames, sake, good food, and flying shrimp trying to land into your mouth!
HP: Do you know how the restaurants got started?
S: I know the brothers have been working with sushi all of their lives. They started when they were teenagers and eventually, as they got older and got more experienced, they wanted to open up a sushi restaurant. The brothers got together and they founded Sushi Tango. It first started up in Uptown, in Calhoun Square, which was a small location that was really doing well. A few years later they started up this location [Woodbury]. It’s been very successful in both places. The chefs are really dedicated. As this became a success, Pao decided to remodel the Uptown restaurant. It’s a great place to be—the chefs are entertaining, the new style is great, and we have really loyal customers that come back all of the time.
HP: Tell me about your happy hours.
S: Here in Woodbury we have happy hour every day. We have great appetizers from $3-7 and great sushi deals from $5-10. There are really good drink specials on sakes and beers and we have $11.00 wine bottles. It varies a little in Uptown, but the menu choices are pretty much the same.
HP: Have you noticed sake becoming more and more popular?
S: Yes. We have a nice selection of cold sake, dry to sweet. It’s like wine. There’s also the hot sake, which a lot of people are starting to love now. Everybody loves doing sake bombs…kind of like Jagerbombs with beer and sake instead, but you do it in a traditional way with chopsticks. We do a lot of sake martinis, flavored sakes, and sparkling sakes.
HP: What are some of your customer’s favorites here? Do you have daily specials?
S: I would have to say as of right now, our customers are loving our seafood salad (laab). It’s a combination of fresh fish, rice powder, mixed with herbs and ingredients. It’s a light and refreshing way to start or end a meal. Our top 3 rolls in Woodbury are the Crunchy Maki (shrimp tempura, cucumber, and spicy mayo rolls coated with masago, tempura crumbs, and seaweed powder), Dynamite Maki (assorted fish, sesame oil, fresh Thai chilies, lettuce, cucumber, and spicy bean sauce) and Caterpillar Maki (smoked eel and cucumber wrapped in avocado). We have specials daily! Everyday is Happy Hour for us! Once a while, we have Facebook specials, too (find us!) There’s always something going on at Sushi Tango, from exotic fish to karaoke or other special events. We feature drinks all the time, too, such as what might compliment your sushi.
HP: What about plans for the future of Sushi Tango?
S: We’re going to concentrate on what we have, work with what we have, and try to make it better. We are always trying to improve the menu and our service. Comments are always welcome. We’re trying to establish a place here and we’re open to anything! This is just the beginning to the road of success.
Both locations offer indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a sushi bar and fully stocked bar. Sports lovers need not fear: large flat screen televisions are on hand to watch sports. The comfortable and laid-back atmosphere is heightened by modern and contemporary décor. The attentive wait staff is always on hand whether you are a regular or a new to the sushi game. Sushi Tango is open for lunch and dinner everyday.
Happy hours
UPTOWN:
Monday to Wednesday 5:00 PM – 7:00 P.M.
10:00 P.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Thursday – Sunday 12:00 P.M.- 6:00 P.M.
10:00 P.M. – 12:00 P.M.
(No late happy hour on Friday or Saturday)
WOODBURY:
EVERYDAY! 2:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
9:00 – Close
