Last Friday I was hanging out with my good friend, Esther and her roommate, Tabitha. The plan was to try a different sushi place from the usuals -- Mikado and one or the other of the Tchopstixses (either the bistro downtown or the naked one in Broad Ripple). So my two friends and I headed out to Post Rd. and Pendleton Pike to Hisago, which had been highly recommended by another friend.

Hisago is one of those places that looks dreary and old school from the outside, located in one of those depressing little strip malls that were probably built in the 60s. But once you're through the front doors, you find a very tidy establishment with pleasant but typical Japanese decor: lots of little porcelain figures, dioramas of zen gardens and pagodas, etc.

We were seated right away. The place was pretty empty at first except for a family of four behind us with an unbelievably adorable baby. (Friend Esther noted her perfectly-shaped little head.) But after we'd been there for a half-hour or so, more people strolled in.

When our server took our drink orders, Esther and I decided to try the plum wine ($4.95 a glass). It was tasty but very sweet, more of a dessert wine.

While we waited for her to come back for our dinner orders, we noted that the place-settings included only napkins and pairs of wooden chopsticks. (Anyone with a chopstick aversion might want to bring some plastic cutlery along.)

The variety of sushi rolls and sashimi (sliced raw fish) was impressive. Everything from the traditional California, Philadelphia, Rainbow and Dragon rolls to Hisago's own specialty rolls, like the Charlie Brown, which had no description with it but I'm guessing involved some yellow and brown. They also had a good assortment of vegetable rolls to choose from.

Esther chose the sashimi and rice entreé, which came with miso soup and a side salad. I ordered the eel and rice, which also came with the miso and salad. Tabitha had the appetizer sashimi and a bowl of miso soup.

Note: If you order individual rolls off of the sushi menu instead of one of the combo plates from the regular menu, soup and salad have to be ordered a lá carte.

We all agreed that the miso and salad were excellent. The salad was very simple with iceberg lettuce, carrots and tomatoes. The thing that made it special was the dressing -- A yummy peanut and ginger vinaigrette. The soup was really flavorful and had generous amounts of tofu.

My eel dish came very nicely arranged in a huge and decorative wooden bowl. The eel had been julienned, barbecued and basted with tempura sauce. It, along with sliced cucumber and very thin noodles, lay atop a large mound of steamed white rice.

Esther's sashimi included tuna, salmon and crab over rice. It came with a sweet and spicy chili sauce. At one point our server saw Esther dipping the sashimi in the sauce and was appalled. She came over shaking her head and showed Esther how to add a little bit of the sauce to the entire dish and mix it together. She was very nice about it. I always appreciate that kind of assistance. It's important to eat good food in a way that maximizes your enjoyment.

Tabitha's appetizer portion of sashimi was woefully small (more suitable for lunch). Fortunately, Esther couldn't eat all of her meal and shared.

Esther's and my meals each came to just under $20 (including the wine). Tabitha's appetizer, soup and Coors Light came to $16. For the amount and quality of food I had, I thought the price was very reasonable.

I can't wait to go back. Apparently they also have karaoke on weekends.

Hisago - 4779 N Post Rd - Indianapolis, IN 46226