Adjusted expectations

Tuna tataki, ordered from the list of appetizers--little rounded cubes of barely seared tuna, the cooked rim holding the translucently purple, raw meat in a firm circle--were succulent but slightly resistant to the teeth, and clean-tasting. Kobashira kaki-age was a mass of carrot shreds and bay scallops bound together in one of those miraculously elusive Japanese batters that seem like crisped air, but unfortunately, you couldn't taste the seafood or the vegetables. The plate of grilled vegetables and fried Japanese eggplant held three thin slices of eggplant alternating with char-striped peppers, all circled around a bowl of ginger-scented dipping sauce; the eggplant was good but seemed scant for $6.50. And a bowl of udon noodles was wrong-flavored, the broth too sweet and dark and flavored with excessive soy, and the coiled noodles thick, gluey, and sullen in the bottom of the bowl.

Remember that the best food at Deep Sushi isn't really Japanese and it isn't American, but is something else entirely. Sometimes luck is a matter of adjusting your expectations. Sit at the sushi bar, have a beer, suspend your culinary disbelief for a moment, and remember that this would be more accurately labeled a sushi-themed bar, and you'll have good fortune with your food at Deep Sushi. Oh, and unless you're such a downtown devotee that you believe pain can be pleasure, stay away from the X-Dragon Lady.

Deep Sushi, 2524 Elm, (214) 651-1177. Open for lunch Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; for dinner Monday-Wednesday, 6 p.m.-11 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m.-midnight; Friday-Saturday, 6 p.m.-1 a.m.

Deep Sushi:
Grilled Vegetables and Fried Japanese Eggplant $6.50
Tuna Tataki $10
Bay Scallops with Vegetables Tempura $6.50
Roast Duckling in Brandy and Soy Sauce $14.95
Spicy Octopus with Seaweed and Cucumber $6
Salmon Skin Roll $4.25
X-Dragon Lady Roll $6