Sushi King: New Rolls At An Old Favorite

There are new rolls at Sushi King -- additions to the two-page list of complex rolls that are a key to Columbia-style sushi.

For me, the wrapped and sauced rolls were a revelation when I started dating Mrs. HowChow.  Until then, I ate a standard mix of sushi and rolls like spicy tuna or California.  Then Mrs. HowChow took me to Sushi King, and I began eating creations like tuna wrapped around a tempura shrimp or a thin-sliced roll dotted with hot sauce and coated with popped brown rice.

Columbia's top two sushi joints -- Sushi King and Sushi Sono -- offer these unique experiences.  Large rolls often with two kinds of fish, tempura or roe, sauces and a vegetable of fruit.  Personally, I love the ones with tempura shrimp like Sushi Sono's No. 12 that includes warm shrimp, cool spicy tuna and roe.  From all these imaginative rolls, you get wonderful mixes of fish flavor, crunchy texture, and salty or spicy condiments.

Last night, we discovered some new options at Sushi King, where we hadn't been since last fall -- Happy Together, Nuta, Tango, and Treasure.  Of the two we tried, I'm a big fan of the Happy Together, which is a variation on my favorites with a coconut shrimp and squash wrapped in rice and then topped with a mix that includes mango, lobster, cucumber and roe.  The plate was drizzled with a yellow, faintly sweet sauce that seemed to be mango, but almost tasted lemony.

The King serves large rolls cut into eight generous pieces.  They're $15-19 each, which is okay because three rolls feed two people.   The bummer is that the same bill buys a few extra rolls -- although probably not more food because the rolls are smaller -- at Sushi Sono.  I liked Sushi King's Nuta roll, but crab stick isn't a flavor that competes with the menu's mainstays like Pretty In Red, Spicy Grilled or Samuri.  I would have been just as happy with six thinner slices and an option to order a fourth roll.

Next time, I have my eye on the Tango roll: tempura eel, mango, avocado and onion topped with seared pepper tuna and a salsa sauce.

Click here for all my posts about Sushi King.  I need to re-post overall review because it's really one of my favorites.  My major impediment to posting had been the dim lighting that kept me from getting appetizing photos.  My new phone has a better camera!  If you're checking out the sushi scene, click for all my posts about Sushi Sono or my August 2009 post about trying new sushi places.

Sushi in Howard County: Getting Beyond My Old Standards

Sushi should be all about fresh, but I find myself returning to old places because they both work for me.

Mrs. HowChow discovered Sushi King from a friend when she moved to Howard County. We ate the unique crazy rolls on an early date, and it is still our favorite splurge after a harsh day at work. "Crispy." "Grilled." "Pretty in Red." "Eastern Shore." Each one is a treat, although I can't make a trip without splurging on the "Samurai" (oooo, fried shrimp inside) and without thinking about who wants to double-date so that I can split the BBQ squid that Mrs. HowChow will not wrap her tentacles around.

But I keep thinking about the sushi places that I haven't visited and the rolls that I haven't nibbled.

I was thinking this last week during dinner at Sushi Sono, our second standard. We had the perfect table overlooking the lake at sunset, and we devoured a "Bridal Roll," a "Garden Something Roll," and a few others. Before living here, I tended to order sashimi or sushi pieces. Yet Sushi Sono and Sushi King have pulled off interesting -- and different -- combinations of fish, wrappers, sauces, and crunch, so I focused on the dramatic rolls. It's a rare treat. Often on a night when I'm tired and want guaranteed fun. So, considering sushi prices, it is hard not to just buy my favorites and enjoy a night with my wife at one of our usual spots.

But I pledge to try new. You need to help steer me right -- the right new restaurant and the right rolls or fish to order.

What is on my list?

• Hanamura in Columbia gets rave reviews. Chris emailed me in January about the "Kevin Roll" and the opportunity to get great fish at a price a step below Sushi King. (Update: I like Hanamura!)
• Nichi Bei Kei in Columbia gets mixed reviews on Yelp, and there is some mention of a sushi chef leaving in the posts from early 2009.
• Katana Sushi started in Clarksville and opened a new location in Elkridge this year.
• Bethany Seafood Restaurant in Ellicott City serves sushi on top of its Korean menu. Some of those Korean places on Rte 40 must be noteworthy.
• Niko Japanese in the Normany Shopping Center also on Rte 40 has a lunch buffet that nuttyturnips says is his favorite.

(Update: Check out all the comments below along with Hal's new comment on another post. Great suggestions about many of these places and more.) If you are going to try sushi check out my prior posts about Japanese food and the comments -- like Kevin on aji at Sushi Sono.

If you want to dive deep on how people pick sushi places, check out Sallet J, Rushworth FS, "Should I stay or should I go: genetic bases for uncertainty-driven exploration," Nature Neuroscience. 2009 Aug.; 963-65. If you don't have a subscription at home, Richard Gorelick is chatting up technical neuroscience articles in the Sun's restaurant reviews.

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

Delicious: Eastern Shore Roll at Sushi King

Imagination and flavor continue to fill the little plates at Sushi King and create new reasons to try the deluxe rolls.

I wrote months ago that Sushi King is the best reason for your friends to drive all the way from DC or Baltimore. I'm still captivated by some of the most-imaginative sushi that I have ever seen.

The big rolls are expensive. They're more than $15 each. But they're superb, and the chefs continue to innovate. Two newer versions rely on a tempura shrimp wrapped on the outside with fish. The Eastern Shore roll tops with roll with crab meat. The Samauri roll wraps it with tuna. They're both delicious, and you can make a reasonable -- although not cheap -- meal by pairing them with some of the smaller rolls by the crispy roll or the spicy grilled roll.

(Update: Keith is the comments reports that Sushi Sono and Sushi King aren't owned by the same family. I was repeating hearsay -- like pretty much everything in the blog -- and was years out of date. I fixed the error. Thanks Keith!)

If you like Sushi King, you should check out Sushi Sono -- also serving special rolls, but in downtown Columbia. If you are at Sushi King, check out Lily's Mexican Market in the same shopping center or Mango Grove for Indian food right up the street.

Or check out a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

Sushi King
6490 Dobbin Road, Ste. F
Columbia, MD
410-997-1269

NEAR: The Kmart on Rte 175 and the DMV/Starbucks/Blockbuster on Dobbins Road. Sushi King is in the same shopping center as the DMV off Dobbins. Look for the intersection with a Blockbuster. The Sushi King shopping center is across Dobbins from the Blockbuster.

Sushi King: Unique Rolls in Columbia

Sushi King is the best reason for your friends to drive all the way from DC or Baltimore.

It is also so hidden that it is a reason to write this blog.

The special rolls are the most imaginative sushi that I have ever seen. Unique designs from high-quality ingredients. Tuna wrapped around rice and a tempura shrimp. A long roll with two spicy sauces and king crab wrapped with tuna inside. A roll grilled so that the sauce across the top looks like melted cheese, but tastes delicious. I have seen nothing like them anywhere else, and I haven't tasted a bad one even after years of trying them all.

The regular pieces are high quality, and the other Japanese food looks good and often includes specials on the board over the sushi chefs. But these special rolls have made my friends happy to drive down from Baltimore or up from DC. They're imaginative. They're delicious. They're heavy pieces filled with flavor.

They're also impossible to just stumble across. Sushi King is in a shopping center next to a DMV off Dobbin Road just south of Rte 175. You turn at a traffic light across from a Blockbuster, and you can't see anything from Dobbin. Mrs. HowChow got the recommendation from a friend when she moved to Howard, and she took me here on an early date.

Try this as a first sample: samaurai roll, spicy grilled roll, crazy roll, and crispy roll (squeeze lemon on top). If you're a big eater, add a pretty in red roll or the Eastern Shore roll. You really won't go wrong, but you should notice that the rolls split into two price points -- about $6-8 for smaller ones and about $13-16 for the larger. The larger ones (samaurai and pretty in red) are huge and worth the price. But you may want to mix it up with the small ones.

You can eat the special rolls in a special room. Make a reservation for one of the two private rooms. Wooden walls, including a sliding door. Wooden benches so that your feet hang under the table. (You aren't sitting on the floor.) Room for six or even eight. The rooms are a beautiful place for an impressive dinner. They're also the perfect way to corral a toddler who comes along. My godson walked around the benches and crawled under the table. He loved the adventure, and the adults chattered happily without worrying that he would disturb anyone else.

All this comes with nice service. A little slow some nights, especially when the place is full. But the waitresses are friendly once they recognize you -- and maybe a little rushed until then -- so sit back and enjoy.

If you like Sushi King, you should check out my post about Asian restaurants in Howard County or my post about local sushi, which highlights Hanamura across Dobbin Road and Sushi Sono in "downtown" Columbia and has comments touting other joints. If you are at Sushi King, check out Lily's Mexican Market in the same shopping center or Mango Grove for Indian food right up the street.

Or check out 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 King

6490 Dobbin Road, Ste. F

Columbia, MD
410-997-1269

NEAR: The Kmart on Rte 175, the DMV/Starbucks/Blockbuster on Dobbins Road. Sushi King is in the same shopping center as the DMV off Dobbins. Look for the intersection with a Blockbuster. The Sushi King shopping center is across Dobbins from the Blockbuster.

Other posts about it: http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-50917005-United_States_Maryland_Columbia_Sushi_King_Restaurant.html (talks about sushi other than the special rolls)

ezColumbia blog listing of Japanese restaurants