Sushi Shindig at Maki Fresh

Great Event! Thanks Kathleen and Jennifer!
I probably wouldn’t have found Maki Fresh had it not been for this outing, so bravo!
Our hosts were gracious and generous, the crowd responsive and enthusiastic, and the food was good and plentiful.
Jennifer, one of the owners, categorized the food here perfectly: steps above Publix quality, but without the price point of Fine Dining.
Everything I tried, from the Kobe burgers to the dessert cookie (ok, it DID have green tea frosting, so it WAS Japenese, so there!) was tasty and well done. Kudos for not skimping on us, since it was a freebie. I’m sure you’ll see a few of our faces again, if for nothing than the smiling, effecient service (they handled our hungry mob quite handily.)
The sushi rolling was fun as well, and provided a great snack for later at home. Now I have a way to get my fix without busting my budget!

Good food. Here for a Unilocal Elite event. Fun time and very hot wasabi. Probably would return for lunch but it seemed a little to informal for a romantic dinner date with my lovely wifey.
We love sushi and tend to stay away from anything that puts «fast food» near «sushi» but Maki seems to be striving to provide high-​quality, fresh sushi very quickly. That’s not «fast food» just one of their perks.
Parking was easy and the sushi chefs are fast. The dishes I tried were very good and the wasabi was very hot (I like that!). I even tried a grilled burger that was awesome (yes at a sushi place). Prices looked reasonable as well.

My sister, Angela H., had invited me as her +1 to this Unilocal Elite event and I was so grateful that she invited me! Now she’s a Unilocal Elite, too! Yay for her!
Anyways, the food was great, but I didn’t get to try that many sushi rolls. The one I had was raw tuna tucked inside a roll and I ate that with the pickled white ginger that they served in a tiny dish. I also tried the fried rice. It wasn’t as great as the rolls, though.
I also tried the strawberry green tea lemonade sakeritas. It was a bit too strong for my taste and I couldn’t really taste the strawberry in it. I did taste the lemonade in it, though.
The next time I eat here. I’m going to try out that Coke Freestyle machine that my sister liked so much! It looked cool but honestly. I’ve never encountered one before so I didn’t use it. I didn’t want to look like I’ve never seen one or used one before. doh!

Thanks Kathleen and Maki Fresh for another amazing and delicious event!
This Unilocal event was a ton of fun, with lots of Unilocalers in attendance and plenty of food to go around. There were lots of drinks (yum sake-​tini!) both alcoholic and virgin. The lines were short and Maki Fresh kept the food coming. They kept things fresh too, timing when they put out sushi so nothing was sitting on the table for too long.
The sushi-​making station was a lot of fun too. One-​on-​one instruction on roll-​making and lots of pictures of the experience. The Maki Fresh folks were super nice, and I’ll def be back to try the other rolls on their menu!

This was my VERY first Unilocal Elite event (wooohooooo!), and it was GREAT! I took my sister, Yoomee H., as my +1 and met up with fellow Elite member Sherry W. and her +1 right around 7 pm. The tiny restaurant was packed with Unilocalers, but we were excited to see that yes — there was fooooood! =)
The rolls were dwindling when it was our turn to get food, but we were quickly assured that they were continuously bringing more out. Although I enjoyed the rolls (and the Japanese spicy sauce was DELISH!), the presentation was not quite *authentic* (they were cut in different shapes and sizes), most likely due to the fact that the sushi chefs were working quickly and furiously to make enough for ALL of us!
I also got to try the Chicken Salad Sliders, which were super yummy dipped in the spicy sauce, and some chicken fried rice — which was good but different from the fried rice that I’m used to eating in that it was kind of moist from the teriyaki sauce in it. I heard that there were also beef sliders, but I didn’t get to try any. =(For dessert, they had little cookie bites which were pretty good!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that they have a Coke Freestyle machine! Got my fave — Raspberry Coke Zero!!! =D They also offered sake and Strawberry Green Tea Lemonade saketinis — how awesome is THAT?! My first saketini EVER! It was really light and refreshing… I want some more!
Per the other reviews here, it looks like my friends and I missed out on the to-​go boxes of leftover rolls. Booooo… We were there ’til the very end, too, but I guess it’s ‘cuz we were sitting outside (there weren’t enough seats for ALL of us foodies inside). Ohhhh well!
Overall, I would probably return to Maki Fresh if I’m in the area — and to redeem my coupon for a FREE hot sake carafe with any purchase. HUGE thanks to Maki Fresh and Kathleen (SO great to meet you!) for organizing a wonderful Elite event! I left extremely full and satisfied. =D

My first Elite event was
! I had sushi and it was a great time. I got to see my girl TK and other fellow Unilocalers, which made me very happy.
I realize from others’ reviews that I missed some of the offered food items and the touch screen Coke machine. I’m trying not to throw a damn hissie fit.
Anyway, this was a great event. The green tea strawberry lemonade was delicious, as was the food. I made sushi in the back and that was fun. Turns out, I’m an excellent sushi maker. Ha!
The restaurant was very nice with a laid back vibe. I think I will return. I’m feeling it. I want to eat in that red room in the back.
Super double shout out to Kathleen for awesomeness all the way around.

Thanks Kathleen for planning such a great event yet again. Maki Fresh had assorment of sushi including your traditional california roll, hamburger sliders, and chicken salad sandwhiches. The tempura shrimp with jalapenos were my favorite. I really enjoyed learning how to make sushi altough, my attempt at making a california roll was a flop but hey I got lunch for the next day. Anyway, another successful event.

Sushi! — it’s what’s better than the Solow growth model!
Okay a lot of things are better than the Solow growth model and we want to be positive here, but sushi and Unilocalers are very, very good ways to take a break and get away from studying for econ exams for a bit. (I can’t wait to go back especially since the one exam I had today ended up being short and way too simple. Oh well.)
I like weird takes on sushi. BLT sushi? Yes. It reminds me of a time I had caprese salad «nigiri.» I also really liked the one with chicken, and I think red pepper? I will have to get more and more of that. Sad I didn’t get to try any sliders. But I totally enjoyed the Coke Freestyle machine as I do anywhere with one… orange Coke Zero, you almost taste as good as Mezzo Mix.
I’ve made sushi before so I just watched people make it instead. It is way too easy when everything is already there for you. But now I see how rice on the outside rolls do work for non-​sushi chefs so I can try that out sometime.
The owners were so welcoming, I really can’t wait to go back and try more! Thanks for such an awesome event!

Thanks to Kathleen and Maki Fresh for throwing this event together.
The most note worthy thing to mention is Maki Fresh’s generousity. They kept coming out with rolls of spicy tuna, cali fornia rolls, seared tuna, chicken breast roll and more. I loved how they brought out salmon, beef, and tuna burgers outs.
I loved how Maki Fresh went BIG and didn’t go home ;-)

Welp, there goes the low-​carb diet.
Minus the effects on my waist-​line of excessive rice consumption, this was a standout elite event. The owners of Maki Fresh knew what Unilocalers like:
1) Lots of booze (and food)
2) Giving opinions
Between the never ending sushi trays and the surveys on our experience, they had both points well covered. So what if the green tea iced cookie cake was pushing the theme? Everything was abundant, good, and served with a smile. Thanks Kathleen and team for another great event.

Excellent event last night at Maki Fresh! Kathleen, great job organizing the evening.
This was my first event after being diagnosed with a wheat allergy, so I need to give a special shout-​out to Jennifer. When I asked if any of the buffet spread was gluten free, she offered to make me two fresh sushi rolls in order to avoid any cross-​contamination, and she also provided GF soy sauce. I love that she went above and beyond to ensure I had safe, yummy maki to eat. I tried the BLT roll (yes, their bacon is GF) and the Ringo roll, which was an interesting mash-​up of eel, cream cheese, and strawberries. More, please!
My husband enjoyed watching the sushi roll preparation, and he loved the entire spread provided. We’ll definitely be back.

Thanks Kathleen for organizing such a great event!
This was my first elite event and I had a blast meeting everyone; making new friends and seeing old ones as well.
Thanks also goes to Maki Fresh for their generous hospitality. They provided a wonderful array of fresh sushi and other food. The best roll I had was the Maki signature roll; made with flash fried rice topped with tuna, avocado, a slice of jalapeño and drizzled with sweet teriyaki.
Service was fantastic too! They went beyond the call of duty to make sure we were well taken care of. I’ll certainly be back to try more of their sushi dishes.

Now this is what I’m talking about. Tons and tons of sushi, a touchscreen Coke machine, and unlimited sake. Hardly any lines and, oh yeah, sushi rolling lessons. It’s difficult to get any better than this.
Big props to Maki Fresh. They did an outstanding job preparing for and serving all of us voracious Unilocalers. It was quite impressive really. There were some big eaters in the house (myself included) and we all left completely stuffed. I ate a little bit of everything: rolls, burger, chicken salad sandwich, salmon sandwich, cookie bites and other desserts. And there was plenty of wasabi and ginger to go around. Not only that, but those who stuck around towards the end got to take containers of sushi home. Win.
It was great to see everyone. Thanks to Brittany for snapping photos and Kathleen and the folks at Maki Fresh for putting together such a well-​prepared and well-​run Unilocal event!

They had tons of free food. That always makes for a great Elite event.

mmmm… Cold, raw, dead fish… yummy…
Everyone from Maki Fresh went out of their way to be helpful and friendly, even soliciting honest feedback directly. Sake’s always a bonus. And probably loosens the tongue on the feedback a bit. The people here are energetic and interested, a good combination. Looks like they managed to keep everyone’s plates full, too, which is quite an accomplishment.
Looks like I missed a bunch of folks, but we also met a few new faces (like Emily E) and said hello to others before heading home to the new kitty. So yes, we had an excuse for ducking out quickly. (And a few wounds from playing. Kittens don’t always know when to retract their claws. And may well have noticed the fish flavor, now that I think about it.)
*Edit:* And I completely forgot to thank the staff here for bringing out gluten-​free soy sauce when asked. Wonderful touch!

Plentiful amounts of sushi. Didn’t expect dinner, but had more than enough. OM NOM NOM.
Sake was good. Sakrita (sp?) was surprisingly good. Booze is always appreciated, especially when free.
Didn’t try the sushi rolling class, since I’ve already made sushi before. Somehow I found it funny that the sushi teacher was hispanic and all the students were asian. Also, all the asians sucked at rolling sushi. Irony…

My +1 and I had a lot of fun tonight! Maki Fresh and the Unilocal team did a wonderful job putting this event together. The sushi was plentiful and good. I also really enjoyed the «sakerita» (sp?) cocktail.
I’m looking forward to the next event already!

Thanks, Empress and Maki folks!
So glad to finally make an event after too long. Since it’s in my back yard (literally– I live across the street! Sweet!), I really couldn’t have a reason not to go.
Liked the strawberry saketini whatever drink– light! Good veggie fried rice. Tried a couple of random rolls, like the CA and a spicy tuna. Good! The staff was so nice and they definitely hustled to keep those platters coming!
Wonderful to see people like David K. (is twice today a record?!), Gretchen O., Alison B., Lisa B and her new husband (yay!), Katie W., Alexa G., Ben O. and Jodi, James H. and other folks I hadn’t seen in forever. Met a few new people too — and I dig the very Richard-​Simmons-​style-​armbands! (Yeah, I got some new Unilocalstick too!)
I will have to a) return to try Maki fresh for a «real» meal — from what Ben and Jodi told me they are really accommodating even if you come in a half hour before close! — and b) attend a Unilocal event much sooner than 10 months in between!

Sushi. Nomz. Saki. Yum. Sakerita? ZOMG! Hopefully for most of you I’m not talking in code. In case you didn’t understand what I just said, trust me, it’s all good.
Total fun on what would normally be a manic Monday. I got here almost right at 7:00 and I was surprised to see the line to check-​in was almost out the door. I made it through quickly, had my name tag and a beer in no time.
At first seating seemed limited, but then I realized there was a big patio outside. They did a great job of moving tables so we would have room to walk around and socialize. I didn’t get a chance to make my own sushi, however everything I ate was good. The rice bowls were my favorite. Oh, and the roll with the red peppers in it. Nom, nom, nomz…
As always, thanks to Kathleen M., Ken T., and the lovely people at Maki Fresh. Jennifer was super nice and introduced herself to me early in the night. That was cool. I was extra impressed when I found out she was one of the owners. Great way to welcome everyone to your business!

Maki Fresh rocked with generosity — fabulous spread of food. Expected just a few sushi rolls but it was more like bottomless sushi. My favorite roll was the Domo Signature Roll (the tall one with the flash-​fried rice, tuna, avocado, and jalapeño). Plus nice surprise were the non-​sushi dishes like the burger (my favorite), salmon, and chicken salad. The green tea strawberry lemonade saketini was refreshing too :)
Service was beyond 5 stars — the two managers or owners were great about making sure everyone was doing well. But honestly the most impressive part was when they passed out surveys to get immediate feedback on their food — future Elite event hosts, learn from Maki Fresh! These guys really optimized this event! :)
Thanks again to Maki Fresh, Kathleen M, Ken T, and everyone else for a wonderful time! Had a great time too meeting new folks and catching up with everyone else — looking forward to October’s event!