Salmon-Skin Rolls: Voted Least Likely To Be A HowChow Favorite, But Now A Crunchy Contrast

Salmon skin roll at Sushi Sono

Who would have ever expected to write rhapsodically about eating fish skin?

It sounds like a joke, but the salmon skin roll has become one of our favorites since I learned about them from a friend.

Almost every sushi restaurant offers their variation on this cooked roll.  Thin pieces of salmon skin with a little attached fish, broiled until crisp and then rolled sometimes with vegetables and the standard nori and rice.

Done right, it's a contrast with regular sushi rolls -- crunch and an unctuous char among dishes that can have a similar texture of rice-fish-nori-rice-fish-nori.  I think we tend to order salmon skin rolls when we have a few people around the table.  One or two pieces punctuate a meal.  We don't need half of the rolls to have skin.

Over the winter, we discovered that Sushi Sono does an exceptional salmon skin roll.  More meat than many other variations and cooked to the precise point where the skin crunches, but hasn't burned.  That version may even be better than our prior favorite at Yama Sushi in Ellicott City.

If you're looking for something fun, I really suggest getting 6-10 people together for one of the private rooms at Sushi Sono or Sushi King.  They both offer special tables where you sit on benches in an enclosed space.  Exotic fun for adults -- and surprising kid-friendly because we have had toddlers wander around the room without bothering anyone outside.  Check out my post about the Sushi Sono room, and call either place to reserve the roms.

Beautiful Butterfly Roll At Yama Sushi

Butterfly roll at Yama Sushi

"Which roll is this?" we asked.  "Look," the waitress said, "You can see."

Of course, that's the butterfly roll.

I have said before that Yama Sushi breaks into the top rank of sushi spots with interesting rolls and dabs of unique sauce.  Our new find is the butterfly roll -- salmon draped over a center piece of avocado and tuna, topped with a spicy mayonaise.  Again, it's fresh fish, balanced nicely and touched off with the sauce.

The design on the plate is just extra, but it's the type of attention to detail that makes Yama Sushi such a smart place.  They do a bunch of nice rolls.  The "sweet mango" wrapped really good fruit around a tempura shrimp.  They coat that plate in a sauce so good that I was dipping other rolls in that long after the shrimp was gone.

India, Italy And Korean-Topped Sushi: CrunchDaddy Recommends All Kinds Of Flavor

Trattoria Amore in Ellicott City

CrunchDaddy is about more than just popcorn.

The four new flavors came out last week at CrunchDaddy Popcorn, and Mrs. HowChow has converted fully to the peanut butter and jelly variety.  I was a bigger fan during the first sampling, but she defended the end of the sample bag last night.  She loved the flavor -- peanut better on the kernels and chopped grape jelly beans that made the sandwich flavor and give a chewy texture on top of the popcorn crunch.  Check out all the new flavors.

But man cannot live on candied popcorn alone, so CrunchDaddy has sampled file food around Howard County.  At my request, he has helped revive the "Trolling" posts that ran through last year.  People send me three paragraphs and a photograph -- recommending the dishes, restaurants or experiences that love in Howard County.  CrunchDaddy's first suggestions go around the world -- India, Italy and Japan:

House of India

If I worked close to House of India, I would probably be there for lunch at least once a week (or struggle to restrain myself).  Staples at the Columbia buffet include chicken tikka masala, palak (spinach) paneer, tandoori chicken, various vegetable curries (I prefer ones with cauliflower or chickpeas) and appetizers such as vegetable pakora, vada or samosas.  The naan bread is hot, fresh and tender, the food incredibly delicious and the wait staff attentive, especially with keeping drinks filled, which is appreciated when eating spicy food.  I suggest that you go hungry or even go on a weekend and make this buffet your main meal of the day.  You'll find it tremendously satisfying and a great value.

People Comment About CrunchDaddy, Ice Cream, Asian Liquor, Italian Food, Schwarma, & More

The "orange roll" at Yama Sushi

I recommend the orange roll at Yama Sushi, but I don't remember exactly why.  I took a photo.  I created a post.  But I didn't write down notes -- or at least I lost them before I could write out an explanation.

But you should definitely try the Columbia sushi joint.  That's one of many places that I discovered through comments that people left on HowChow.  The newest place was Tere's Latin Market, which I tried for the first time in May.  John, Kelsey and others chimed to recommend specific dishes at the Ellicott City spot.  They're joining with one of my Chowhound favorites, Elgringoviejo who has posted about Tere's tacos there, saying he prefers them to R&R.

One question about a possible new place:  Has anyone seen a cheesesteak truck working the area near Rte 216 and Maple Lawn?  Eric emailed me, saying that he had seen the truck twice but hadn't been able to catch the details as he drove past.  Anyone know the story?  Email me.

Beyond new places, the comments provide everything from recommended dishes to reports of meals to requests for information.  As I try to do, this is a catch-all of some recent comments so that you can check them out:

• In the midst of a political argument about the liquor store at Wegmans, Jade's Mama actually made a point about the wares -- or the local lack of Asian wines and other liquors.  I, for one, would buy makkoli or the Shaoxing rice wine that Andrew Nguyen put in recipes in Asian Dumplings.
• Kevin, Rob, Stephanie and others reported on their candied popcorn from CrunchDaddy Popcorn.  I stand by everything that I wrote -- although I think the honey and cinnamon variety may be better than I thought originally.
  

Yama Sushi -- The Secret Is Less Sauce

The Spicy Girl roll

Less is more -- at least at Yama Sushi, which has broken into my top sushi restaurants by making me plan my next trip before I have even paid the dinner bill.

The Ellicott City restaurant takes on the "big roll" style of Sushi Sono and Sushi King, and they're pulling it off.  The Yama chefs have their own style, their own flavor combinations.  Their own way of pulling off a style that calls for multiple ingredients, sauces and generally enough pizazz to be worth $12-20 per roll.

Less sauce.  More spicy options.  Those were the realizations from our last dinner at Yama Sushi.  Take the "Spicy Girl" roll -- tuna and avocado inside a roll wrapped with steamed shrimp and a kimchee sauce.  Just dabs of sauce, but it brightens the entire dish.

The Sweet Mango roll

All three restaurants serve terrific rolls.  The Yama Sushi touch is lighter than Sushi King, where the sauces are all thick and where they dominate some rolls, even some of my favorites.  Yama's rolls are a bit smaller.  The sauces range from thick to watery.  Many rolls are powered by "pepper tuna" or the kimchee sauce or even jalapeno.  You could pick a dozen rolls with no spiciness at all, but it's clear that the Yama chefs have fun with heat.

They're also really creative.  The "Sweet Mango" roll mixed tempura shrimp, mango and a sweet chili sauce.  The roll is actually wrapped in thin-sliced fruit.  They're always playing with exotic wrappers like pink soy paper, and they have more specials than I have seen elsewhere.  Check the board because some sound as good too good to miss.

Sushi Yama In Ellicott City

Am I right that Columbia has its own style of sushi?  Well, it certainly has a new sushi place that steps up the scene.

Somehow I discovered the "big roll" style here at Sushi King and Sushi Sono.  I went from sushi pieces and tuna rolls in Virginia to the magical combinations like Sono's #14 that wraps together tuna, seared salmon and a sauce with a bite.

Now, add Sushi Yama near the top of the list.  The new restaurant in the Dorsey Search village center off Rte 108 delivers fish that almost rivals Sushi Sono,  This is a unique variation on the "big roll" style with a price that is probably a step smaller.