Growing up, my dad and I ate Fred Meyers’s $5 deli sushi for dinner every Thursday. It was the first sushi I ever had the opportunity to try due to its inexpensive nature of being from the supermarket. This launched my twelve-year-old self toward a whole new world. Sushi was now my favorite food and I couldn’t get enough of it. To this day, that is still true. I’m no longer twelve though, and while I will be completely honest, every once and a while I will still eat that sushi from the grocery store, I much more enjoy sushi from places that align with my current, ethics, morals, and overall, vibe. So, when I have loved ones come into town, a mentor wants to get dinner, or it’s my dad’s birthday, I take them to Bamboo Sushi.
Bamboo Sushi is the world’s first certified sustainable sushi restaurant.
The overall atmosphere at Bamboo is a delight. Within the entrance at their location on Northwest 23rd, you are transported into a world where your surroundings are calmer, far more naturalistic than the busy city streets outside, yet still keeping modernity and slick. Those working at the restaurant are constantly there for you, compiled of so much information about the food they are serving, and are proud of it, which makes sense as the food speaks for itself.
When eating the beautifully plated roll like this, there is a smooth feel on the tongue when the food hits your mouth from the fish, avocado, or sauce, that mixes with the crunch of vegetables or fried ingredients, all while being rolled in stick, fluffy white rice. My personal favorite, the “Green Machine”, consists of tempura fried green beans rolled with green onion and avocado. It is then covered in a revolutionary sweet, bright green, cilantro-sweet chili aioli.
In its entirety, there is something about Bamboo that just brings joy. A part of this is most definitely linked to its roots in sustainability.
Bamboo is, at its core, dedicated to sustainability. They source ingredients only from ethical providers that keep the health of the fish and planet in mind, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. In all that they do, Bamboo aims to source sustainably. Bamboo is changing the standards of sustainability within the food industry in Portland and the Pacific Northwest through its partnerships with sustainability groups like Wild Salmon Center, Surfrider Foundation, and international sustainability groups like 1% For the Planet and Marine Stewardship Council.
If you are looking for certified sustainable sushi or just certified deliciousness, make reservations at your local (locations in NE/SE/SW/NW Portland, Lake Oswego, Cedar Hills, Seattle, Denver, or the Bay Area) Bamboo. Support your local restaurants by visiting them and creating relationships with those in the industry, your taste buds will be whisked away.
