Sushi Stop: A glimpse into the KC sushi scene

Sampling, Hen House, Jun’s Japanese Restaurant, and Blue Sushi Sake and Grill, two staffers, a “sushi expert” and a “sushi novice” set out to find the best sushi in the KCMO area.

Hen House

Corinth Shopping Center, Prairie Village KS 

Price: $7 for 12 pieces

photo by trevor paulus

“SUSHI EXPERT”

Hen House tries. They really try. Their Wednesday “five-for-one” deal on 12-piece rolls drive in the locals even on ice days. While Hen House sous chefs claim to prepare “fresh” sushi daily, fresh to me doesn’t mean sitting in a fridge for seven hours. With all of that in mind, we decided to see what $7 could get us. Popping off the plastic lid to the Philadelphia roll, it seemed like I was looking at a Topsy’s popcorn tin. Every bite I took left me with one chunk of cream cheese, avocado or salmon — nothing was evenly distributed. Plus the rice and seaweed were dry. The globs of fish were chewy and stringy like a banana. It’s too bad there weren’t toothpicks.

“SUSHI NOVICE”

I’ve been going to Hen House for ages — what I didn’t know was they had a refrigerator in a corner with a variety of fresh sushi inside. The practically empty shelves proved that the Wednesday $5 sushi is a popular item. We went with the Philadelphia Roll — 12 for $7. Inside were chunks of crab, cucumber and cream cheese. Unfortunately, the package contained no chopsticks for me to butcher the sushi with. The inside of the rolls weren’t mixed evenly, resulting in each bite tasting differently because the contents inside fell apart after one bite. Maybe it was all I needed though because somehow I tasted an overwhelming amount of cream cheese every time — an unsettlingly strong flavor. I don’t think even the hidden soy sauce packet under the rolls I discovered after we were done could’ve made the experience better.

Jun’s Japanese Restaurant

7660 State Line Rd., Prairie Village, KS 66208

Price: $25 for two rolls

photo by trevor paulus

“SUSHI EXPERT”

We started with an eight piece rainbow roll — a california roll with salmon, tuna and yellowtail layered on top. I found the rice to be a tad sticky, but once dipped in soy sauce, it formed the perfect consistency. While the center was well mixed with crab, avocado and cucumber, the fish was sliced too thick — meaning I could feel the large chunks glide down my throat. Ew. The second roll we got was an eight piece shrimp tempura, it was a much better surprise. I usually find shrimp tempura to be too jazzed up with excessive garnishes, but Jun’s fried shrimp was heavily buttered with minimal spices, resulting in a natural fish taste. The touch of sesame seeds dotting the outside rice added some extra texture to the roll.

“SUSHI NOVICE”

We settled on the eight-piece shrimp tempura (cooked roll with shrimp tempura, mayo with masago) and the eight-piece rainbow (salmon, tuna and yellowtail over a California roll), for a total of $20. After struggling to operate the chopsticks, the shrimp tempura was the first one I tried. For someone who has never had a desire to eat sushi, I was surprised I actually enjoyed it. The fried shrimp’s crunch added a nice texture differentiation from smooth rice. The Kikkoman soy sauce I dipped it in also gave me the comfort of a familiar flavor. Next was the rainbow roll. At first glance, the overwhelming amount of raw fish variations on the top had me thinking it couldn’t be safe to eat. Regardless, I tried the salmon first, assuming I would like it the most. The amount of food crammed into the roll made it hard to tell what I was consuming. I think there was crab? And supposedly avocado and cucumber. Being a newbie, I might opt for the traditional California or veggie roll next time.

Blue Sushi Sake Grill

4705 Rainbow Blvd, Westwood, KS 66205

Price: $22 for two rolls

“SUSHI EXPERT”

We decided to order the eight piece Shrimp Tempura Maki roll at just $5, luckily for us, it was happy hour. Blue Sushi prepares rice the correct way — the white grains were warm and easy to transport with chopsticks. The seaweed hugged the center tightly, securing the fried shrimp in place. The shrimp itself was buttery and heavily seasoned, lacking any natural shrimp taste — and that’s the whole point of sushi.

The second roll was the eight-piece Godzilla Bomb at $12. This roll had a mind of her own. The center was filled with a crunchy blue kani tempura — again, hard to taste — coated in various japanese spices. On top of the seaweed and rice laid a perfectly thin sliced piece of raw tuna and yellowtail fish. The fish was seared to perfection, not too slimy and not too chewy. Unfortunately, the sriracha and jalapeños on top of the fish absorbed that fresh flavor from the rest of the roll and had me reaching for my water instead of another bite.

“SUSHI NOVICE”

My first impression walking in was that I felt underdressed in my sweats. Even though it wasn’t a fancy restaurant, the modern design, Japanese paintings and tables of young couples made me wish I had dressed up. We lucked out and came in during happy hour a little after 5 p.m., so our eight-piece order of Shrimp Tempura cost only $5.50. The mature atmosphere within the restaurant made me worried the sushi would be beyond my comfort zone. However this somewhat plain tempura had subtle seasoning that made sure the other ingredients didn’t overpower the shrimp, the star of the roll. Next on our plate was the Godzilla Bomb. Like the name, this eight-piece, $12 sushi roll looked intimidating. Inside was a blue kani tempura between rice, with a thin slice of raw tuna and yellowtail on top. This was the picture perfect sushi I’d imagined trying one day. The roll was packed with unique flavors and the garnish was a little spicy, but not unmanageable. If only I had figured out to use the chopsticks at this point, I would’ve looked like a pro.