Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!

I finally found a good restaurant in Columbia! Sushi King in the Dobbin Center. I was never a fan of Sono - having once spent a night in the bathroom after dining there - so I'd given up on sushi in Columbia. Niko Japanese restaurant in the Normandy Center (route 40 - Ellicott City) is ok, but pales in comparison to my Bethesda favorite, Tako Grill. However Baltimore magazine pointed me to Sushi King (never would've looked for eats next to the MVA Express, but such is the nature of suburbia), and we finally went for dinner.

Loved the food, and the atmosphere, but the service was a bit slackin' and the high proportion of little kids out past their bedtime was somewhat unnerving. One parent was seen bargaining with her tyke in an attempt to convince him that he should "do the right thing" and come out from under the table. I seem to recall spankings being a more effective deterrent to crawling around the floors of public places, but what do I know...?

The real, live plants are a nice touch, though I could've used some scissors to gently prune back the overzealous pothos that was crowding me throughout dinner. I also have never had such a hard time keeping my water glass full in a restaurant. Same for the hot tea; the server didn't ask to fill it up until we were paying the check, despite the fact that I set the glass on the outer edge of the table as a hint (hello? empty! please refill, or remove). Paying the check took longer than getting the food, meanwhile an increasingly angry crowd was building up in the tiny reception area behind me. Guess they were short-staffed?

Since this is a blog centered around narcissistic b!tching and moaning, I figure I can get away with one more gripe (keep in mind this *is* a positive review). When I order the shrimp tempura appetizer I want shrimp tempura...at least four pieces of shrimp tempura. What I got were two shrimp, and a pile of vegetable tempura (there's a reason I did not order the vegetable tempura, and it has everything to do with why I ordered the shrimp tempura). Still, it was tasty, and I suppose there are far worse things in life (bargaining with a toddler comes to mind) than eating some unexpected vegetables.

So if you love sushi, but you hate going to the MVA, you might have missed this one. Do yourself a favor and go there (but try to get seated before 6pm, or it could be a lonnnnnng wait).