#15 Roll Comes To Sushi Sono -- Bringing Crunch, Warmth, And A Noodle Chew To Your Dinner

That's actually the "Green Tea Noodle Roll" or something similar

You'll need to cut me a break here because I took notes on a chopsticks wrapper.

We went to Sushi Sono for a "pick me up" dinner, and we got picked up by a new item -- the #15 Roll -- that we hadn't expected.

(Update:  OK.  This is embarrassing.  This post originally described the roll above as the #15 Roll, and that was wrong.  I discovered that in January 2014 when Sushi Sono's staff said that the roll above translates as something like "Green Tea Noodle Roll" and that HowChow had gotten that wrong.  Que lastima!)

(Below, I have revised the post to note the right name for this special, which the chefs continue to tinker with.  And I will post separately about the real #15.  They're both exceptional.)

The "Green Tea Noodle Roll" continues the Sushi Sono run of creating new rolls that are really new.  They're imaginative, but they're real chef's dishes -- balanced, thoughtful mixtures that come together better than anything that I'd come up with myself.

The "Green Tea Noodle Roll" is crab, roe and green tea noodles, wrapped in nori and then fried in the absolute thinnest layer of tempura batter.  Crunch outside.  It's hot at first, then the chewy noodle inside.  There is a sweet crab flavor, but it's subtle.  The roll is more about texture, the crunch and chew of the noodles with a dipping sauce that adds creaminess as well.

That's an amazing contrast with almost any platter of sushi that you want to try.

#12 and #14 Rolls

It's been a long time since we ate at the Columbia lakefront restaurant without ordering the #12 Roll -- a tempura shrimp with squash wrapped in nori and topped with spicy tuna.  It's crisp on the inside with the zest of spicy fish and scallions on top.  On this last visit, we remembered the #14 Roll, which is on the Web site but not all the printed menus.  That's a roll with slabs of seared salmon and a brush of eel sauce on top of a roll stuffed with spicy tuna and crunchy seaweed.

Again, the new roll stands on its own.  But the mix of crunch-warmth-and-chewy green tea noodles contrasted with the other rolls.  That's what makes a Sushi Sono dinner so different than just a platter of different fish wrapped in rice.  You can find unique dishes like the "Hurricane Eye" roll that comes sliced thin with a dot of hot sauce and a crunchy edge of popped brown rice.

I can't recommend Sushi Sono enough.  I wrote last week that it is probably my pick if I could only eat at one Howard County restaurant.  You can scan all the posts about Sushi Sono -- and should ask for the green tea that they serve on the house.  But I have written that sushi -- along with Indian and Korean -- is among the county's deepest cuisines, and Dan commented last week that he -- a veteran of three years living in Japan -- thinks that the fish is even more fresh and authentic at Sushi King in Columbia.  He talks up the eel.  We need to try the King again.