Sushi Maki: Florida's Tasty Solution to Sustainable Sushi

MSC Cali Ocho Roll 

Chicken and Waffles Roll

Budda-Cane Roll with Sugarcane Soy Sauce

Chili Garlic Edamame

"Delicious Fishes, Positive Vibes & Healthier Lives"

I thought I’d seen it all.

The ingredients in sushi rolls, as I have mentioned in blogs past, often vary by geography—macadamia nuts can be found inside sushi rolls in Hawaii; I have seen chunks of mango served in Rio de Janeiro’s version of the California Roll; in Georgia, I have encountered caramelized Benton’s Bacon Rolls whose smoky rich flavors blew my mind. And let’s not forget Florida’s maki with the obligatory deep-fried alligator tails.

So while I expect to come across the most unprecedented sushi ingredients traveling from place to place, I was nevertheless delighted to discover plantains being used as an ingredient in Sushi Maki’s “MSC Cali Ocho” Roll, dubbed “Miami’s answer to the California Roll.” While the imitation kanikama krab was still present, in place of the standard cucumbers and avocado were plantains, a staple in some tropical parts of the world and often considered a close cousin of the banana. Atop this roll sat smelt fish eggs and “mango and guava ginger puree,” which resulted in pure sweetness in the fruitiest sense for this special dish.

The MSC Cali Ocho Roll is a $7.50 specialty item, and is marked as such with MSC’s blue fish logo (the acronym stands for Marine Stewardship Council, the world’s leading third-party certification and eco-labeling program for sustainable seafood). Sushi Maki is proud to serve sustainably-raised salmon, MSC certified sea bass, kanikama krab and all-natural chicken.

Most Sushi Maki locations feature a certain over-the-top sushi roll called the “Chicken and Waffles Roll,” featuring maple mayo, bacon bits, and crispy chicken fingers. Each bite-size square piece of waffle is tucked between pieces of the cut roll—both practical and elaborate in presentation. According to management, this is actually quite a popular roll, not just because of the novelty but for the taste and combination of such familiar flavors.

There is also a $12 “Budda-Cane” Roll, which is presented in the shape of a fish—or is that my imagination?—and contains shrimp tempura, avocado, mango, spicy mayo and sugarcane soy sauce.

Just for fun, why not order the quirkily named “Two Timing Tuna” Roll? Or try the Sushi Tacos, served with salmon miso and spicy tuna, for $2.75 each (or three for $8).

Even the edamame at Sushi Maki is no ordinary appetizer: this restaurant spruces up what would otherwise be a plain snack with toppings like chili garlic sauce; there’s even a lemon pepper edamame for those who like it mild.

For non-sushi eaters, Sushi Maki offers Pad Thai and Wok Fried Rice on the menu. Or, perhaps, they can always request the Chicken and Waffles Roll.

Sushi Maki

www.sushimaki.com

11531 SW 88 St., Miami, FL

305-595-2332

14491 S. Dixie Hwy, Miami, FL

305-232-6636

2334 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, FL

305-443-1884

5812 Sunset Dr., Miami, FL

305-667-7677

Groovy Sushi at Sushi Groove of Salt Lake City, Utah

Ono Black Eye Roll 

Ono Black Eye Roll (Tasmanian Sea Trout, Tempura
Serranos, Mango, Topped with Blackened Ono, Avocado,
Sockeye Salmon, Green Onion, Roasted Ponzu Sauce)

Hebi (Shortbill Spearfish) Sushi

Coco-Calypso Dessert Roll Served with Nutella Ice Cream

Coco-Calypso Dessert Roll (Tempura-Fried Sushi Rice
and Seaweed Wrapped Around Pineapple, Kiwi, Papaya,
Chocolate Chips and Graham Cracker Bits)

Groovy Sushi in Salt Lake City, Utah

A good sushi bar in Salt Lake City, Utah? Hmm.

One man in the city told me, “I wouldn’t try the sushi in this town. Too far from the ocean for me. I’m from California, so I’m very snobbish about my sushi.”

I am from California too, but I’m the adventurous type.

My adventurous spirit paid off at Sushi Groove of Salt Lake City, a local sushi bar that boasts a tagline, “Fresh Cuts Daily.” With colorful, cartoonish sea creature logos and graffiti-style artwork on its menu and a marquee that promotes its nightly deejays and live music, Sushi Groove bills itself as one of those hip and modern, Americanized sushi bars that features a fun and rowdy atmosphere—with affordable prices (the sign reminds you of “$2.50 Tuesdays,” when hot sake, edamame, and some of their nigiri are only $2.50 an order).

Like most sushi bars, Sushi Groove has a menu that separates everything into categories: Starters, Side Orders, Salads, Basic Rolls (such as the California Roll and the Philly Roll, or the Spicy Tuna or Unagi Rolls). But pertinent to its name and in keeping with its theme, the special rolls here are called “Groovy Rolls,” with names like “Maui Wowi,” “Jersey Devil,” “Pineapple Tango,” and, of course, “Groovalicious.” Some of their more unique ingredients include strawberries (in the “Groovalicious” Roll it’s paired with cream cheese), pineapple (served with coconut shrimp if you want to do the “Pineapple Tango”), and marlin, a fish not so commonly found in most of the sushi bars I’ve visited. But to each state its own, as fish and sushi bars vary by region: in Florida, for example, conch and fluke are frequently found on sushi menus; in Louisiana, crawfish are common.

If you love rice, you can indulge in a Rice Bowl—there are eight choices here, with prices ranging from $7.95 for a Teriyaki Tofu Bowl to $10.50 for a Mixed Seafood Bowl. There is even a Mandarin Pineapple Teriyaki selection, with a choice of beef or chicken with vegetables over rice. If you eschew rice, then perhaps you can opt for a Riceless Roll: there are three choices in that section, from Mount Fiji to Cucumber Crisp and Lip Smacker, the latter as high in price as $16.50, but how often can you get tuna, crab, mango, avocado and strawberries wrapped in marlin instead of sushi rice, and topped with eel sauce and tobiko?

Sushi Groove’s Specials, listed on a chalkboard wall menu, is even rendered with colorful chalk. I opted for the Ono Black Eye Roll for $14.95, because I was drawn to its ingredients of Tasmanian Sea Trout, tempura Serranos, mango, avocado, blackened ono, sockeye salmon, and green onions, with roasted ponzu sauce to finish it all off. This creative roll was not only fresh as the marquee promised, but the unusual ingredients all married together perfectly in my mouth—and there was certainly a crunchy, spicy kick to it because of the tempura-fried Serrano chilis. It’s a gargantuan, eight-piece roll that fills you up quickly.

I also tried the hebi, another fish I had never even heard of, as nigiri; I learned hebi hails from Hawaii, and is also known as shortbill spearfish. Although it tasted fresh, hebi in my opinion is a bit plain. I requested a side of the roasted ponzu sauce in which to dip the hebi, which gave it some more flavor.

Perhaps because it’s such a groovy place, Sushi Groove is well-known for its uber-creative Dessert rolls, which look identical to sushi rolls but actually contain no fish at all. The tempura-fried rolls, wrapped with sushi rice and seaweed (or soy paper), contain fruit, Macadamian nuts, even graham cracker, depending on whether you choose the Caribbean Cheesecake or Coco-Calypso, which are both $7.95.

Both Dessert Rolls contain pineapple, kiwi and papaya, and are drizzled with mango sauce and then served with your choice of ice cream (raspberry chocolate, nutella, chocolate fudge, or the tried-but-true vanilla). While the Coco-Calypso Dessert Roll that I chose didn’t contain strawberries like its counterpart, it did feature chocolate chips and crushed graham cracker, and it was “Coconut-Tempura-Fried,” which meant there were chopped up coconut bits mixed in with the tempura batter before it got thrown in the fryer. The result? Heaven on Earth. I loved the crunchy texture, the coconut-tinged batter, the hot exterior mixed with the cold bite of ice cream, the sweet juicy fruit and hint of chocolate, the crisp cracker texture commingled with it all.

Much attention to detail is paid to everything at Sushi Groove, but it’s obvious they take their desserts very seriously.

I may have chosen the off-season to visit Salt Lake City (famous for its powdery white snow and winter ski season), but I did note that some of the names of Sushi Groove’s sake choices paid tribute to its winter wonderland: the unfiltered Snowflake Flight Sake for $9, Snow Beauty Junmai Nigori ($8 for a small serving or $40 for a bottle); and the cold sake named Winter Warrior Junmai Ginjo ($9 for a small, $45 a bottle).

It’s clear Sushi Groove is a sushi bar that wants its patrons to have fun—enjoy good food with music, appreciate art…and don’t forget the Dessert Rolls.

Sushi Groove

2910 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, UT

801-467-7420

www.sushigrooveutah.com

Stop for Sushi on Sawtelle Boulevard

Habanero Roll

Yellowtail Hand Roll with Truffle Oil 

Aburi Salmon Belly and Aburi Yellowtail Belly Sushi

Wagyu Beef Sushi

Give Sushi Stop a Go

Think you can’t afford good sushi these days? At Sushi Stop, the sushi war continues. With an eye-catching menu that reads “All Items $2.75 (excluding market price items),” Sushi Stop combines the casual style of Sushi Mac (where patrons order from a glossy picture menu that indicates everything is $3 a plate) with the high quality of other bargain sushi giants such as Gatten Sushi and Kula, which feature their dishes on running conveyor belts.

On the wall, a sign declares the daily market price on tuna ($4.10 during my most recent visit), which is subject to change; Sushi Stop proudly informs customers that tuna sushi is sold at the market price so the restaurant can keep serving the freshest fish everyday.

Of course, even when you upgrade from the $2.75 items to the $5.50 specials, you still find yourself with pleasant portions and fine cuts of fish, such as the six-piece Whitefish Carpaccio Sashimi or Seared Peppered Tuna Sashimi with garlic ponzu sauce. There is even Seared Albacore Sashimi with crispy onions. And again at the quirkily odd price of $4.10, the wall menu indicates that hand rolls are available with Cajun Crawfish, Baked Blue Crab, even Hawaiian Poke Tuna.

At first glance, it was the Habanero Roll that reminded me the most of Sushi Mac’s famous “Dynamite Mac,” a baked California roll laden with an oven-blackened blanket of spicy mayonnaise; the only difference was in the dollops of red chili sauce on top and hidden baby shrimps beneath the spicy mayo at Sushi Stop. Despite its name, the Habanero Roll wasn’t especially spicy in my opinion, at least not on a habanero level.

The real winners were the Yellowtail Hand Roll with Truffle Oil; as well as the Aburi Salmon Belly sushi and Aburi Yellowtail Belly sushi with yuzu kosho and ponzu sauce, all for $2.75. For those unfamiliar with the term aburi, Sushi Stop literally defines it for you. On another sign on the wall, patrons can learn “aburi” means flame-seared, with a blowtorch used to partly sear the fish, “creating a perfect balance of raw and cooked sushi, and adding a great smoky flavor.”

To my delight, there is even the single-piece sushi featuring buttery Wagyu Beef, also for $2.75. Ponzu sauce trickles from this one, and the crown of chopped green onions perfects it.

With multiple locations in the Southland, it is definitely worthwhile to give Sushi Stop a go.

Sushi Stop

www.SushiStopUSA.com

2053 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles

310-473-3999

2222 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles

310-479-1222

5917 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles

323-468-2496

17547 Ventura Blvd., Encino

818-986-0014

TORO Sushi Bar and Lounge of Pasadena

Super Diablo Roll

Greenbay Roll

Moun-10 Roll

Happy Ending Dessert