100 Favorite Dishes: #11 -- Japanese Calamari from Koume

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11. Japanese Calamari from Koume

Tucked into a sleepy strip mall near the bustling Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, you'll find a Lilliputian sushi restaurant called Koume.

Walking into the tiny space, everyone is immediately greeted (startled) with Koume's signature welcome--three sushi chefs simultaneously bellowing a long, drawn out," hi, how are you? ". Inevitably, the smooth sounds of  Al Green and other soul singers permeates the small space, setting the mood for canoodling couples, who tend to frequent the diminutive restaurant, as they peruse the menu.  

Many of the dishes at Koume are creative, fun or unusual like their

ironically-named atomic bomb shooters--hama oysters layered with with

quail eggs,Ikura, masago, Tabasco and ponzu. Other dishes, like their

Japanese Calamari ($9) are quite simple but no less delicious. Squid,

lightly brushed with a ginger-soy glaze, is tossed effortlessly onto a

grill.
 
In theory, it couldn't be any easier to prepare. If you

are a cephalopod aficionado however, you know that the line between

perfectly cooked and overcooked squid (or octopus) is very fine and

often crossed--typically not in your favor.

The often heavy-handed breading and overpowering dipping sauce

that accompanies many calamari dishes detracts from the best part of the

dish-- the texture. Koume's simple squid dish highlights the texture

from the tentacles to the tail. Eating breaded and deep fried calamari

seems almost criminal after discovering just how good squid can be.

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