Long-lived Origami thrives by offering fresh, elegant food in friendly setting
REVIEW
karenFELDMAN cuisine@florida-weekly.com

With so many new restaurants popping up around the area - even in the blastingfurnace days of summer - I rarely get to make a return trip, no matter how much I may enjoy a particular establishment.

But my recent return to French Roast Café started me thinking about a few other longer-lived locales. One of those was Origami, which has served well-executed Japanese and Korean fare for many years in Fort Myers. (The owners opened a second restaurant in Naples a few years later.)

Although the décor got an update in the past couple of years, the menu remains much the same: voluminous and varied. There's all manner of sushi and sashimi, including the tropical roll, which is white tuna, mango, cucumber and lemon zest with coconut, masago and avocado on the outside, served with eel sauce; as well as Origami ceviche and miso-marinated grilled black cod sashimi.

There are all the cooked Japanese standards: yakitori, tempura, teriyaki and sukiyaki. And Korean classics such as bulgogi, galbi and bibim bap.

Then there are the house specials, including roast duck with citrus teriyaki sauce, pan-seared calamari with capers, black olives, garlic butter and white wine and even a spicy Thai chicken.

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Despite its location tucked back from the road between Steinmart and Ross, Origami has flourished for many years.

Based on my handful of experiences here, although the menu is wide-ranging, the staff can and does deliver.

The most recent dinner was a case in point:

We started off with a hot mango roll - spicy tuna with sliced yellowtail and mango on the outside, served with mango and eel sauces - and a couple of pieces of tuna nigiri. Both were scrupulously fresh, the roll a delicious blend of fish, rice, wafer-thin slices of yellowtail and mango over the seaweed and slightly sweet eel and mango sauces, along with a fiery finish from the spicy sauce tucked inside with the tuna. The individual pieces of nigiri tuna were just right, too.

My companion opted for one of the house specials, pan-seared Chilean sea bass with roasted sweet pepper sauce and pineapple rice, while I chose jop chae, which is essentially a Korean version of lo mein.

PHOTO JIM MCCRACKEN Pan-seared Chilean sea bass with pepper sauce and pineapple rice gets elegant treatment in origami's kitchen.

Miso soup, which accompanies the Japanese dishes, was perfect - flavorful without being too salty and with a sturdy broth, chunks of tofu and pieces of seaweed. A salad with ginger dressing was fresh and tangy.

I had a choice of the aforementioned starters or traditional Korean side dishes, which turned out to be four small dishes, one each of bean sprouts, seaweed, dried fish and kimchee. The first two dishes were mild and somewhat crunchy. The little strips of dried fish combined a slightly sweet sauce with a taste of the sea, an interesting blend albeit one that's an acquired taste.

The same goes for the kimchee, which is a staple of Korean diets. It's basically fermented vegetables, traditionally flavored with a fiery, red-hued sauce, but not always. It's so ubiquitous that virtually every Korean household owns a large black kimchee pot that's kept outside. Cooks put whatever vegetables they have on hand into the pot along with seasonings and let the mixture ferment. I recall seeing them on virtually every balcony of every apartment building I passed during a visit to Seoul some years back.

Origami's version is the traditional sort, with cabbage and other vegetables in a spicy red sauce, which served as a flavorful counterpoint to the mild sprouts.

Although we started off the meal with glasses of Menage a Trois - don't get too excited, the name refers to the three grape varieties in the blend, merlot, syrah and gewürztraminer - from Napa Valley, we switched to Kizakura Gold sake about midway through the meal and were glad we did.

Served chilled, the clear rice-based liquor resembles a mild vodka in flavor with the lower alcohol content of a wine. It had strong notes of pear in both the bouquet and taste. Origami has about a dozen premium sakes from which to choose. Don't let previous experiences with inferior brands served hot stop you from trying some of these. They are light and refreshing, particularly at this time of year.

The sake proved a nice complement to the fish, which was moist in its mild sauce, accompanied by grape tomatoes and scallions over cooked greens with side of rice with bits of pineapple and carrot. It wasn't bad with the jop chae, either, which appeared to be a mountain of clears noodles tossed with strips of beef, onions and various crunchy vegetables. Both entrees were well prepared, nicely presented and deftly seasoned.

At our affable server's suggestion, we split an order of banana spring rolls with coconut ice cream and chocolate sauce. It sounded as if it might be very rich, but it proved to be relatively light and as good as she'd promised it would be.

The food isn't the only thing Origami has going for it. Over the years it's developed a loyal following, giving it the feel of a neighborhood joint, despite the fact it's in a strip shopping center with nary a home in sight. Even people who didn't know each other conversed like old friends at tables set relatively close to one another along a wall with banquette seating. Other conversed with the sushi chefs and hospitable manager at the sushi bar. There were families, couples, young and old represented as well.

The spacious room has a calm, relaxing ambience. A fountain with water cascading down a glass plate provides a soothing background beneath a layer of conversation and laughter.

Origami is a welcome antidote to many of the more frenzied and noisy variety of restaurant, which seems so popular these days. Good food and friendly service shared with convivial dinner mates make evident why Origami has been around so long. ¦