One landlocked state brings sushi to another

Sushi and Nebraska don't exactly go hand-in-hand, though that's partially because hand-holding between anyone besides a man and woman is strictly forbidden there. Somehow, though, Omaha's got one famous fish spot, and now Denver has it too: Blue Sushi Sake Grill.Offering "traditional sushi with an American twist" and an oversized drink list, it's putting down roots in LoDo's old Dixon's space, wooing Mile High with a 500-gallon fish tank and extremely blue mood lighting, so expect your fish to look particularly seductive. There's "new world" sashimi (a cherry tomato/ shallot kampachi crudo), classic maki (Cali/ spider/ Philly), specialty maki (a grilled shrimp/ cucumber/ avocado/ spicy sauce Fiesta Roll), super specialty maki (the yellowtail/ spicy crab/ tuna Spanish Fly), and finally, hilariously named nigiri, like tempura-fried spicy crab/ inari "Blue Balls" -- a dish so good, you ironically won't want to finish. As the "Grill" part of the name would suggest, there's also meatiness like River Rock beef tenderloin covered in a jalapeno chili ponzu, plus non-sushi seafood like Sapporo-steamed mussels, sesame sea bass, and a tuna/ sushi rice/ wonton chip dish called Big Eye Poke, aka the best part of every Three Stooges movie.Pair all that food with house sake (there's also bigger-name stuff like Tozai and Rock Sake), or cocktails like the bourbon sour mash/ Sriracha bitters/ mango "Hawkeye", which seems like a strange name to come out of Nebraska, but hey -- they're not married to it.