The first thing I noticed about this place was that it was so . . . anti-Scottsdale. Gone were the snobby hostesses and contemporary deco; in their place an undersized tiki bar with tacky neon beer signs illuminating the reeded wall coverings. And rather than the break-beat/techno that Ra and Stingray have made the sushi bar standard, Ichiban was rockin' bad '80's tunes. Like, really bad. If there were an XM station for VH1's \"Awesomely Bad\" series, we've found it, and it's on rotation at Ichiban.\n\nThe sushi is clever and inventive, with specialty rolls incorporating anything from jalapenos to mexican tortillas. My personal fave is the Chimichanga roll, basically a philly roll with avocado -- flash fried. Unfortunately, the quickest way to my heart is my arteries. There's a fantasmic happy hour from 5-7pm every night with $4 Cali rolls and dirt-cheap sake, and if you sit at the bar you can watch the owner (who personally prepares every specialty roll served) and you're guaranteed an entertaining show. The only downside is if you're not there by seven sharp, you don't escape quite as \"happy\" with your bill as you might have been.\n\n \"We Built this City\" almost got it a fifth star, but not quite.
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