Sushi
Page 2
June 7, 2006
Innovation is on a roll at Tsunami in Sugar House
By Lesli J. Neilson
When I try out a new sushi restaurant, first it has to pass some basic requirements. If the place smells funky,
the fish is too cold or cut wrong, or the rice is unpleasant in flavor or texture, I will not return. On the other
hand, if the chefs look like they know what they are doing, have great knife skills and the fish is fresh and
served at the right temperature, I will return.
Because the range of creativity with Japanese cuisine is so vast, you need to frequent a sushi restaurant many
times to discover its full personality. Tsunami in Sugar House possesses a high level of innovation, offering
expertly prepared Japanese food that will keep me coming back. On a recent busy night, it was unique and
refreshing to see three skilled women manning the sushi bar.
I have to disclose that I am an avid sushigoer. I am game for anything, be it uni, sea urchin roe, or natto,
fermented soybeans. I even have eaten inago, caramelized crickets, but I won't go into that now.
Business must be good for co-owners and chefs Scott Coulter and Kris Bodeen. In April they opened a second
Tsunami in the Union Heights development at 7628 S. Union Park Ave. in Midvale.
Sugar House Tsunami's menu is a bit more intriguing than other sushi menus, thanks to a list of 20 small
entrees, but like most Utah sushi menus, Tsunami's is maki-roll heavy. The menu has more than 22 special
rolls and 20 standard rolls (6 to 10 pieces per order) in addition to daily roll specials.
I mostly stick to sashimi or nigiri for two reasons: I find rice fills me up faster and I like to taste individual fish
flavors. Obliged to sample Tsunami's rolls, I was pleasantly surprised. In the D.T.H. ($10) tuna, salmon,
yellowtail and avocado are all tempura-fried, rolled and served with a mayonnaise-based spicy-sweet sauce.
The Lush roll ($14) combines shrimp tempura with cucumber, which is wrapped in steamed spinach and
house-smoked salmon with tobiko, flying fish roe, and the same spicy-sweet sauce. A fetching caterpillar roll
($12.50) combines unagi, fresh water eel, and cucumber wrapped in avocado and glazed with eel sauce. Each
roll was a colorful intermingling of flavors and textures.
As for sashimi, fish such as wild white king salmon ($4, 1-piece nigiri; $20, 6-piece sashimi) or succulent
bonito tuna, katsuo, both from recent special menus ($2.75, 1-piece nigiri or $15, 6-piece sashimi), are
excellent. Request fresh wasabi ($2), which has a cleaner, less lingering taste than its powdered counterpart,
for the salmon. The katsuo comes with ponzu sauce, a blend of citrusy yuzu, vinegar and soy sauce. Or, leave
it up to your sushi chef to create a chef's choice sashimi plate ($17, 8-piece; $29.50, 16-piece). Some may
think this is how the chefs use up less-favored fish but Tsunami's chefs try to accommodate diners' requests,
within reason.
Though not officially on the menu, pretty much any of the standard sushi rolls can be made into temaki, or
hand rolls. Salmon skin hand roll ($4.75) with cucumber and daikon sprouts was delicious. The four-bite cone
was at once sweet, smoky and crunchy. A spicy tuna hand roll ($5.95) was customized with tobiko, or flying
fish roe, and a quail egg (50 cents). The tobiko added a textural element while quail egg softened the tuna's
spicy kick.
Nigiri sushi either can be ordered individually or as a 5-($12) or 9-($22.50) piece chef's choice. One of my
favorite nigiri creations combines smoked salmon, avocado and paper-thin lemon ($3.25). Fresh, smoky and
briny uni ($4) is easily one of my must-orders.
Among Tsunami's small-plates offerings are the restaurant's fall-off-the-bone signature baby back ribs
($12.95), basted in roasted jalapeño teriyaki sauce. The ribs are just as good as when The Tribune tasted them
in 2002. Dynamite scallops ($8.50), a gratin dish of tender bay scallops, mushrooms, green onions and
masago, smelt roe, in a spicy cream sauce packed some serious heat.
Cubes of agedashi, or deep-fried, tofu ($5.95) with ginger, green onions and bonito shavings could make a
main course for a pesco-vegetarian. An escolar poppers special ($9.50), a fatty white fish similar to endangered
Chilean sea bass, had the fish pieces wrapped in peppery shiso leaf, tempura-fried and served with sweet eel
sauce and a sprinkling of masago.
Less-adventurous eaters can opt for large entrees such as steak ($15.95) or chicken teriyaki ($12.75) and come
with rice and tempura onion rings. For starters—do not be deterred by its name—try the squid and seaweed
salad ($5). The squid is thinly sliced and expertly marinated while the seaweed is smoky with a tinge of heat.
My final test for a sushi restaurant is if it makes its own tamago ($2), or egg omelet. It may seem like nothing
special, but crafting the delicately sweet and fluffy egg rectangle, seasoned with mirin rice wine, sake and
dashi broth, takes serious skill. I ran out of room last time, but I bet Tsunami will pass that test too.
Tsunami
2233 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City ; 801-467-5545
M-F, 11:30 am-2 pm; S, 11:30 am-10 pm; Su, 5:30-9:30 pm
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