Andy's Sushi Bar

          Okay so I am fairly new to the whole sushi thing but I have had it a few times now and I feel that I know the basics now.  I don't know what it is but raw fish and meat used to and still does scare me a bit, I still won't eat beef tartar just because its a bit weird to me.  I guess I just have to work up to the beef thing but I am all about sushi now.
          I went to the Strip District last week to get all the food down there I can't get around where I live.  Every time I am down there now I get Sushi, I have tried different kinds from different places but it seems like I always end up back at Andy's little stall at Wholey's Fish Market.
          When I was down there I was first in line around 10 AM, Andy was still getting everything ready to go, filling up cups of soy and stuff like that.  He asked me to wait while he finished up and we talked about his food and how he goes about making everything.  He is a bit hard to understand because he has a very rough accent but he is very knowledgeable and very funny.  He asked what I wanted, I said a spicy tuna and a salmon roll, he said that he had two specials and I should get one of each of them.  Who am I to argue, he is the Sushi man.  So the specials were a spicy tuna with kiwi roll and a salmon with mango roll.  It amazes me to watch him work I could just stay there all day and watch him work.  He got his mats out and started packing the rice on the seaweed then he started cutting all the ingredients up.  Everything is fresh there, almost nothing out of a bin or container, fresh kiwi, mango, cucumber and avocado cut right before you.  As he was making the tuna roll he pulled out a smoked scallop and stared slicing it up really thin, he said "first customer get special treat".  He put the scallop on the roll then pulled out another one cut it in half put a mint leaf on it and a squirt of sauce and handed it to me.  It was really good, sweet and smokey with sweet mint and a spicy sesame sauce.
          He put together both rolls and the tuna had smoked tuna, raw tuna and smoked scallops on it along with cucumber, kiwi, avocado, mint and sriracha.  The salmon was a bit more simple raw salmon, mango, avocado, cucumber and mint.  I also got two of his spring rolls which he makes ahead of time because there is nothing raw in them just cooked shrimp and raw vegetables.  I asked him if he could put that spicy sesame  sauce on the rolls that was on the scallop, he said whatever you want big guy.
          I have to admit I can't use chopsticks, I have tried I just can't get the hang of it so I went straight for the fork when I got home.  These were some of the best sushi rolls I have ever had, like I said I am new to sushi but I have had enough to know these were some of the best I have had.  The sweetness of the fruit and the heat of the sauce mellowed out by the vegetables and rice could be enough by itself but add the fish and it just put it over the top.  The tuna was smokey and sweet with the scallops and the salmon I don't know how to explain it, it just tasted fresh, there was nothing fishy about it.
          I can't believe it took me this long to start eating sushi.  I will be going back to Andy's as long as I go to the Strip or until Andy's closes.  I know at lunch time the line can get pretty long but it is worth the wait for sure, top quality product and an affordable price.  Now just to get over my fear of raw red meat, that may take a while longer to get to.

Overall 9 of 10

Food 9 of 10

Price 9 of 10

Service 10 of 10

Andy's Sushi Bar

1711 Penn Ave

Pittsburgh, PA 15222