100 Favorite Dishes: Number 12 -- Sublime Roll From Sushi Rock Las Olas

When picking a sushi restaurant, a good rule of thumb is: Don't go to an empty one. The busier the place, the more likely the fish is moving into the kitchen and out on plates quickly, rather than languishing in a fridge. Emptiness is rarely a problem at Sushi Rock...

By Sara Ventiera

July 4, 2012

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When picking a sushi restaurant, a good rule of thumb is: Don't go to an empty one. The busier the place, the more likely the fish is moving into the kitchen and out on plates quickly, rather than languishing in a fridge.

Emptiness is rarely a problem at Sushi Rock. The restaurant might be small, dark, and somewhat incongruous (feels a little weird for a Japanese place to be serving a roll called the Red Hot Chili Pepper, which is a variation of a spicy tuna roll, or a dessert called Puff Daddies, which are like tempura-fried cheesecake balls), but it draws a crowd by virtue of its location on main drag Las Olas Boulevard and its earned reputation for good sushi. One day last year, it was so packed that it let actor Alec Baldwin walk away rather than allow him to skip to the front of a line with a 45-minute wait.

Sushi Rock has a menu full of creative and interestingly named rolls, like the $7 Slim Shady cucumber wrap (full of assorted vegetables served with ginger dressing) or the Strawberry Fields Forever roll (made with barbecued sweet eel, avocado, green apple, eel sauce, and roe, topped with fresh, ripe strawberries).

But our standby is the $14 Sublime roll, a mouthwatering combination of shrimp tempura and baked seafood dynamite, with scallions, sesame seeds, and fish roe, topped with avocado, and drizzled with sweet eel sauce. It's sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy all beautifully blended and rolled into one large bite. Although the title is most likely named after the band (other rolls in this category are the Monkees, Pink Floyd, and Milli Vanilli), it's apt. Eating this sucker truly is a sublime experience.

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