Dining for $25 or less: Asahi Sushi

By Karen Nitkin | Special to the Sun

May 8, 2008

Sushi, once exotic fare, has become as familiar as hamburgers. Case in point is Asahi Sushi, a comfortable old shoe of a restaurant that manages to delight customers while making few demands on them. This certainly isn't a place that requires dressing up or one that calls attention to itself with elaborate or overly garnished fare.

It's a neighborhood restaurant, through and through, serving a seemingly effortless mix of Korean and Japanese food, simply prepared and simply presented.

The restaurant hasn't changed its menu much in the eight years it has been open, said owner Jue Chun. But he does like to offer a changing roster of sushi rolls, he said. The ones we tried combined contrasting flavors and textures to satisfying effect, even if they weren't quite thrilling.

The restaurant has a classic Fells Point shape - long and narrow. About 10 people can sit at the sushi bar and another 20 or so at the small tables. It also has a rumpled Fells Point feel, thanks to worn, oddly sized tiles on the floor, plastic place mats on the tables, and a shelf along one yellow-painted wall lined with an eclectic collection of old paperbacks.

In addition to sushi, teriyaki and other Japanese dishes, Asahi Sushi offers Korean specialties like beef kat su, a breaded and fried beef dish ($12.95), and ojinga bokeum bob ($13.95), a kind of squid-and-vegetable stir-fry.

We stuck to the Japanese side of the menu, just because it appealed to us. Our meal began with bowls of excellent miso soup, richly flavored and afloat with tiny squares of tofu and crunches of scallion. Oshinko, the classic pickled vegetable dish, wasn't on the menu, but it was happily provided when we asked for it.

Service was attentive and quick, and in no time at all, several rolls arrived at our table, accompanied by the usual mounds of pickled ginger. These rolls were fresh-tasting and fun, though they lacked a certain zing. The flavors weren't quite strong enough, the contrasts not quite sharp enough.

One, the pickled vegetable roll ($5), was like nothing we had tried before. Evenly sized cylinders of pickled radish, pickled cucumber and pickled carrot created a beautiful mosaic of red, yellow and orange. The taste was refreshing and light, though kind of forgettable.

Another roll, combining yellowtail, asparagus, cucumber and scallions ($5.95), was also fresh-tasting, not spicy, as promised on the menu. A roll with soft-shell crab, called the Spider Roll ($5.95), was the most satisfying of the bunch, thanks to the crunch and heft of the fried crab.

Chicken teriyaki ($10.95) was less subtle in flavor than the cold rolls and kind of addictive. The tender chunks of chicken and sliced vegetables were nearly drowned in a strong salty-sweet sauce. This was served with rice in a just-right portion that we gobbled up in no time.

Dessert choices at Asahi Sushi are simple - green tea or red bean ice cream ($3.95) or mochi ice cream ($2.95). But if you skip the ice cream, you get a sweet treat anyway - slices of Juicy Fruit with the check. How's that for old-fashioned?

The rumpled charm of Asahi Sushi may be coming to an end, though. Chun said he's planning to move to a larger space a few storefronts away, one that can seat as many as 100 people. The menu will stay the same, he said, though he may add more Korean dishes. Sounds like the end of one era and the start of another.