Seeking Assistance: Recreating Beloved Dishes from Dave's Sushi After Recent Incident(s)

Alright so, I am well aware that even before the recent tragedies (and overall decline) Dave’s was not objectively the best sushi restaurant out there. I did learn to love sushi by going there though, and frequented the place probably once a month for a decade. While we will never be going there again, there are a few things I just can’t get from the other sushi options in town. Most of Dave’s’ “recipes” are just the list of ingredients on the menu, there are a few things I just can’t re-create —

  • Their rice seasoning — I know generally it’s just rice and water, properly cooked and mixed with some combination of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt (and maybe kombu or other secrets). I’ve tried making sushi rice a lot and while I have no expectation that I can match the texture (due to the rice breed and preparation steps), I’d still like to be able to match the taste. Learning their ratio would be immensely helpful. To clarify — I can make decent sushi rice, what I can’t make is their sushi rice.

  • Their tempura batter — the one they use for the Popper and any rolls with tempura fried ingredients inside. It stays crisp longer than any tempura batter I’ve had or attempted to make, especially in rolls. While it tastes like any other tempura, that texture is not easy to recreate.

  • Their prepared wasabi — I’m sure this is just a powder + water, as it matches that texturally. The thing is, I’ve tried every wasabi powder I can find and they all taste too “vegetal”. S&B, Eden, Hime, “Sushi Chef”, Wasabits, etc.. I am aware that it likely contains little to no actual wasabi. I just want to be able to re-create what they had. This may or may not be it: S&B Gold powdered wasabi. If this isn’t it, this is just as good (especially if you prep it a few hours in advance)

Another thing I wish I could get is a recent picture of their secret menu. I took a photo of it back in 2018 that I’m sharing for anyone else that hasn’t had an opportunity to see it themselves: https://imgur.com/a/oFcgR32. If anyone has a more recent picture of it or any insight into these other things, I’d love to hear about it! Thanks!