Article from Spark dated 12/30/2008

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Food: Wrestling with a large list of tasty rolls at Sushi Sumo

ROB KALESSE | spark

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JESSICA BRATTON | spark
Sushi rolls for tuna lovers and dragon masters, attractively presented at Sushi Sumo.
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Server Jenny Ye.

In the Japanese contact sport of sumo wrestling, one of the main objectives is to force your opponent to step out of the ring, thereby earning the victory and the favor of the crowd.

When it comes to Japanese cuisine, sushi rolls face a similar challenge. Restaurants must assemble inventive rolls in the hope of forcing customers to step out of their cuisine comfort zone, and hopefully win them over in the process.

Enter Sushi Sumo, located in the Meadowood Shopping Center on Kirkwood Highway, which combines both Japanese cultural references. This new kid on the block faces the challenge of pulling Delawareans away from the increasingly flooded pool of sushi spots in the state.

Our first visit was quite a promising one.

As we opened the foyer door to the main dining room, a stream trickling over rocks and flowers set the tone of a quiet and calm atmosphere you don't get in many restaurants.

We were greeted and made our way through the thin dining room, which was empty just before the lunching hour on that Tuesday.

Our group, like many, is one that prefers to sit in a booth. But at the same time, we sometimes don't quite feel comfortable asking. This wasn't a problem at Sushi Sumo, because all the tables in the dining room are booths.

Once cozy, we selected beverages and ordered soup and appetizers to get started. The first two bowls to come out of the kitchen were the clear soup ($2.50), a chicken broth and mushroom concoction, along with the lemongrass soup ($5.95), a spicy hot and sour broth.

While the thought of "clear soup" doesn't exactly stimulate the senses, the starter was solid. Even better was the lemongrass soup, a veggie, shrimp and scallop-filled, red-tinted broth that opened up the nasal passages.

Next up were the doughy delights. The gyoza ($4.50), or pan-fried pork dumplings, were out of this world, cooked about as perfect as you could get 'em. The nice and soft inside, wrapped by a slightly crispy outside, soaked up the sesame-infused soy sauce.

At the other end of the table sat the king crab dumplings ($7.50), which were a bit softer and lacked the crispness of the gyoza, but were busting at the seams with hot, king crab meat. Again, that same sweet soy sauce made for a nice dip.

After the pleasantries, it was time to get down to the sushi.

First up was the Tuna Lover ($12.95), a roll which contained black pepper tuna and shiitake mushrooms, topped with fresh tuna. The tuna inside the roll had been seared with the black pepper, so it complimented the smoky, earthy flavor of the mushrooms.

Next up was the Dragon Roll ($10.95), filled with crabmeat and crunchy cucumbers, topped with eel, avocado and tobiko. The roll was tasty and, though a bit on the expensive side, it was thick and hardy, with plenty of fish.

Our yellowtail sushi ($5.50 for two pieces) and eel sushi ($5 for two pieces) were both fresh. The white tuna ($5.50 for two pieces), though fresh, lacked the white color and undertones of sweetness usually present in the fish.

After we were through with the fish, our waitress brought out a bowl of the rock shrimp tempura ($7.50), which featured about 10 lightly fried shrimp atop a spicy cream sauce. The dish tasted like Buffalo shrimp. Yummy.

When we finished with our bout with the tempura ice cream ($4.50), we felt as big as sumo wrestlers. But Sushi Sumo was the bigger champion, for they'd certainly won us over.

2653 Kirkwood Highway

Meadowood Shopping Center

Newark

366-1818

www.sushisumodelaware.com

Hours: 11:30 a.m.- 10 p.m. Mon-Thu;

11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri & Sat;

10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun

Cuisine

Japanese

Dress Code

Casual

Prices

apps: $2-$11.95

rolls: $3.75-$15.95

entrees: $11.95-$98

Payment

MasterCard, Visa, AmEx and Discover

Bring the whole gang

Sushi Sumo has plenty of room for private parties, as small as eight people and as large as 40. And unlike many restaurants around here, they don't charge a room fee.
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