Jimotti’s in Sanford is a bit of an odd place. Odd name, too, at least to my ears, which want to hear something Italian.
But Jimotti’s is Japanese and has a surprisingly substantial menu of kitchen foods and a more compact roster of sushi, sashimi and specialty rolls.
I was in the mood for ramen when I stopped in and ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen from the list of seven or more choices. But I thought I would get a piece of nigirizushi to nibble on while I waited.
It was just a single piece of yellowtail, but it was slender and placed languorously on the pad of rice, which is where it stayed when I picked it up and flipped it over to skim it across the dish of soy. The fish was tender and close to room temperature, which was just right.
The ramen featured a pork broth — there isn’t a good way to make pork broth look less like dishwater, is there? — with thin slices of braised pork and assorted vegetables and leaves, plus chewy mushrooms and a medium-hard boiled egg that finished cooking in the hot broth. And, of course, there were the characteristic wavy noodles of a typical ramen soup.
All perfectly acceptable and at $9.80 reasonably priced.
While food and service are commendable, Jimotti’s needs some assistance with the look of the place, both inside and out.
I don’t question the cleanliness of the interior, but the unkempt look doesn’t help instill confidence — a problem for any restaurant but a major one that serves sushi.
And while having the restrooms located in the back of the building, accessible only by going outside, could have a bit of Sanfordian charm, the men’s room would look right at home at a gas station on any back country county road.
Sanford has been upping its culinary game recently, and it’s nice to see a diverse offering of cuisines. Perhaps if the locals will stop in for enough good sushi and ramen, the owners could afford to spiff the place up a bit.