Sushi Sono: One Of The Best

Hurricane Eye roll at Sushi Sono

Sushi Sono is one of the best restaurants in Howard County, and it took the out of town folks to make that point to me.

Don't get me wrong. I always enjoyed the sushi at the Columbia restaurant, but I started as a Sushi King guy. My 2009 list of best restaurants of Howard County punted a bit and put both the King and the Sono in my "other favorites" paragraph.

Not anymore. Our dinner last weekend was absolutely one of the best meals in Howard County. The fish is delicious, and Sushi Sono delivers a top-flight experience even though it eschews many of the luxuries of restaurants this expensive ($60+ for two without alcohol).

Start with the wait -- because on a busy Saturday you'll have one. Sushi Sono doesn't take reservations, although people who call ahead get some unclear preference when they arrive. "I never let people who call ahead wait too long," the manager told us. It's a unique system, and at least one couple appeared to chaff at the uncertainty. But the manager juggled us with good cheer, and several people just waited out the delay by having a drink at Clyde's.

The standing out front didn't detract because our first sushi hit the table minutes after we ordered. That meant that our overall wait was no longer than at other sushi places where the "make your roll" delay can be longer than the table wait. That also meant that we were lifting creative rolls and tasting the reason to eat at Sushi Sono -- the fish.

Our menu: "bridal veil," "grilled," "hurricane eye," shrimp hand roll, and the mysterious #12. Sushi Sono makes my Top 10 because we could eat an entirely different menu tonight, but I'm not sure that I could return without ordering the "hurricane eye." The #12 was the most dramatic roll of the night -- a thin roll with a tempura shrimp, chopped tuna, and a sauce. Eat it first. The shrimp was hot when it arrived, and the roll had an absolutely unique contrast between hot shrimp and the chilled tuna on top. The "hurricane eye" takes contrast in another direction. The roll comes sliced thin with a dot of spicy sauce in the center and the edge coated in popped brown rice. That crunch on the outside was absolutely unique and as exciting as the first time that we ate it.

Sushi Sono's fish is delicious. So you can orderly pretty freely -- and check out the recommendations in the comments on my prior post, including horse mackerel. You need to ask about specials, as I noted in a 2008 post. The #12 is an off-menu creation, and we only enjoyed it because Mrs. HowChow spotted one going to another table. Ask more than once. We saw a chopped tuna dish go past that looked the the poke that we loved in Hawaii. The waitress mistakenly told us that was the bridal veil. I liked the bridal veil, but it turned out that we had been coveting the tuna tataki -- which will be on my list for the next visit with the "snowball" creation.

(Update: Sushi Sono keeps adding new rolls and specials.  To check them out, scan all the posts about Sushi Sono.)

Again, Sushi Sono doesn't look like most great restaurants. The tables are jammed together. The plates and place settings are plain. But Sushi Sono creates an atmosphere for finer dining than many of the new "upscale" places. The crowds create energy, but not loud noise. The service is almost perfect -- always available for a question or to clear a plate. Our waitress saw me hording the hand roll and warned me to eat it early because hand rolls soften with time.

And then, there is tea. Sushi Sono pours those Japanese mugs of hot green tea. It is delicious. On a cold night, it was a highlight, and the waitresses kept pouring more. Even after they cleared our last dish, they re-filled our mugs -- basically inviting us to sit for a minute even though there were 20 people waiting at the door. Not that we lollygagged. With the fast delivery, we sat at our table less than 50 minutes. But that tea and the delicious fish made this a better date than past nights of disappointing food and dirty plates at other restaurants that promote their service and atmosphere.

That leaves nothing left but my mea culpa. I went back to Sushi Sono because the Washingtonian listed it as #40 in its Best Restaurants edition. That is one of the many folks who I have teased for ignoring Howard County, but it took the hint from downtown for me to re-arrange my Top 10. I wonder what I could learn from the Washington Postdining guide . . . . if they could find us on a map.

If you like sushi, you definitely should also try Sushi King in Columbia. For Asian groceries, check out the H Mart in Catonsville, which sells salmon and other fish for slicing into sushi and all the supplies you would need for a home party. Or click for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

If you're interested in cooking Japanese food, check out my review of Kimiko Barber's cookbooks The Japanese Kitchen and The Chopstick Diet. They're great guides to the Japanese aisle of our local Asian grocery stores.

Sushi Sono
10215 Wincopin Circle
Columbia, MD 21044
410-997-6131

NEAR: Sushi Sono is right on the lake in Columbia Town Center. From Little Patuxent Parkway, you turn into a large parking lot that says "restaurant parking." Then you walk down to the lakefront. The view is actually quite nice, and Sushi Sono is catty-corner to Clyde's.