Comments (1) BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT - 2007

Midori's Floating World Cafe

The Twin Cities are blessed with good Japanese restaurants. Seriously, more than any other branch of cuisine, it can truly be said of local Japanese spots: They're all good. Our favorite, however, is homey underdog Midori's Floating World. Why? They do all the basics just right: The agedashi tofu ($4.50) trembles with freshness; the salmon nigiri ($4.50) is silky and sea-scented; the grilled mackerel dinner bento box combo ($15.25) is as sturdy and filling as a country diner blue-plate special. The service in the tiny spot off Lake Street is always sweet and makes you feel like one of the family. In addition to those basics, Midori's Floating World offers a number of specials that we crave in the night: The green tea ochazuke with salmon ($8.25), in which a broth of green tea unites rice and creamy baked salmon, is the ultimate comfort food for fish lovers, offering all the comfy notes of soft, yummy, and soothing; the Sunday night street-food special of okonomiyaki ($9.95) draws Japanese expats and former English teachers from the five-state area who pine for that particular rustic cabbage omelette; and the vegan rainbow roll ($5.50), is just catnip and heart's balm to anyone fresh from a difficult day shopping for leather-free and petroleum-product-free shoes. More points in Midori's favor? Low, low prices for hearty dinner entrees; lots of good NA beverages, like the yummy ginger-honey latte ($2.25), available iced or hot; plenty of full-on alcoholic beverages; and a willingness to bend over backward for take-out orders, especially if you call in the not-busy afternoons. They may be all good, but Midori's Floating World proves that it's the little things that elevate good to great.