Sushi, sushi, sushi

Recently, I've been craving sushi. I love the melody of flavors in sushi, the dedication to the freshest ingredients and the beautiful presentation. Our craving for fresh, beautiful sushi led Mrs. Michael Scofield and I have to test out Salt Lake's sushi scene.

Sapporo
The first place we went to was Sapporo. They have no Internet presence that I can find, but they have great sushi. The restaurant is on Broadway (300 South) right next to the Broadway Theater. The restaurant has never appeared very busy to me and it certainly wasn't the night we stopped by. There was a couple at the sushi bar with us and another couple joined the four of us later.

The sushi chef was pretty young. (My guess is 17-ish.) But he was friendly and talked to us as he prepared our rolls. So while the chef didn't know what Kobe beef was, I have to give him props for making some excellent sushi. I really enjoyed the bar, the other guests were friendly and the chef did a great job of involving everyone in the conversation. Our waitress was very good. She saw immediately when drinks needed refilled and carefully made sure everyone was happy.

The sushi itself was incredible! I was stuffed after four pieces, but it was so good I had to keep eating. The ingredients were all fresh and everything went together so nicely. Plus, it was the most beautiful sushi I have seen.

I really enjoyed Sapporo and am looking forward to a return visit. For two sodas and two sushi rolls it was about $25. All the fish was incredibly fresh and even the pickled ginger looked amazing! It's definitely worth a visit.

Tsunami
I've posted about Tsunami before, so I'll be brief. They serve some of the best, freshest sushi in the valley. The Tokyo Cowboy is an excellent sushi roll and the prices are great for what you get. But I can't get over the atmosphere. The Sugar House location just isn't as friendly and warm as I would expect from any restaurant. The servers also seem a little stand-offish. I will go back to this place...if someone else is paying!

I Love Sushi
The last place we visited in our sushi sovereign was this little shop in Downtown. The place is known for excellent prices and great sushi. Mrs. Scofield and I have been meaning to go here forever and we finally made it with Jess.

Jess, Ava and I each ordered a sushi roll. They were a little thinner than the rolls served a Tsunami and Sabbarro, but with more pieces. The smaller pieces were easier to eat because they fit in my mouth easily.

I ordered something with yellow tail. The yellow tail was very fresh and flavorful. Unfortunately, the vegetables were not as fresh as I expected. The chef added some sauce and sesame seeds to the top. It made for an interesting texture and a fun presentation, but all the flavor didn't quite go together. I think a little too much was happening for a single roll

The atmosphere here was great. I felt like we were in the home of a good friend and was perfectly at ease to ignore my non-chop stick skills and eat with my fingers. It's a little bit of a sushi diner, restaurant implies no whiteboards with the daily special listed.

Our server was friendly and made great dessert recommendations for the green tea and plum ice cream. The deep-fried banana was great. Tempura does very well on fruit. I loved the green tea ice cream and will definitely eat more in the future.

Three sushi rolls, two desserts and three sodas later the bill came to about $35. Not bad, for all that food. Next time, I will try their bento boxes and branch out into other Japanese foods like ramen.

While there's a lot to love about each of these locations. The first sushi stop is my first love. It has great sushi, a great chef, fun decor and comfortable prices.

What are your favorite Salt Lake sushi places?