Photos by Amanda LaCasse
Location and Hours:114 W Adams St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Phone: (602) 258-0131
Monday – Friday | 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday | 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Price range: $1.50 – $14
★★½
Recommended Dish: Crunch Crab roll
Discount: 30% off refrigerated rolls after 2 p.m.
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You’re never too old to try something new.
I grabbed a friend and headed down to Harumi Sushi, one of the newest establishments in the downtown Phoenix sushi scene. It was my first time adventuring outside of what I like to call the “California Roll Bubble,” where the only sushi consumed is either cooked or unauthentic.
I was impressed first by the atmosphere of Harumi. The interior is painted dark hues and felt more upscale than the average quick-lunch restaurant. It has an open floor plan with enough tables to host a lunch time rush. The streamline door-to-register walkway was clearly designed to cater to throngs of customers. However, I went at lunch time and there were very few people dining in.
Perhaps it is because you are given the option to grab food from an open front refrigerator, offering freshly made “Grab & Go” sushi packages and dumplings. You can also purchase a lunch bento box ($6 to $9), which would be perfect for taking back to the office or class.
In addition to quick and easy bento boxes and sushi packages, you can order a tempura roll from a select lunch menu.
I picked up a box of chicken and vegetable dumplings ($4.50) and ordered the Las Vegas roll ($10) — the restaurant’s most popular roll, which consisted of fresh salmon, cream cheese, crab salad, jalapenos, avocado, eel sauce and spicy mayo. I didn’t read the ingredients before I ordered — I simply asked what the most popular roll was and ordered it. The man who took my order offered to reimburse me if I didn’t enjoy the Las Vegas roll.
My friend picked two rolls from the refrigerator. Her Dynamite roll ($9) was made of tuna, salmon, crab, avocado, cucumber and Sriracha hot sauce, while the Crunch Crab roll ($7) included crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo and was topped with fried onions.
The service was fast and friendly. The Las Vegas roll was prepared and served quickly; I had barely finished taking photos of the Dynamite and Crunch Crab rolls before the Las Vegas roll appeared at the table.
The Las Vegas roll was artfully presented, garnished with lettuce leaves, sprinkled with sesame seeds and striped with different sauces. The roll itself nearly filled a full dinner plate. I could have easily split the Las Vegas roll and dumplings with my friend and been satiated.
My first bite of the Las Vegas roll was one of luxury — the salmon still warm, the cream cheese and crab salad a contrasted chill. It was utterly delicious. The only problem? The jalapeno — or what should have been a jalapeno — tasted like green bell pepper, to which I am borderline allergic. For the succeeding bites of the Las Vegas roll, I took special care to remove the green crunchy vegetable.
I cleansed my palate with bites of ginger between pieces of sushi as I sampled my friend’s Dynamite and Crunch Crab rolls. The Dynamite roll was thoroughly soaked in sauce, which really drowned out the tuna that was supposed to top the roll. I think I had one bite where tuna was evident. The same goes for the salmon — it was muted by both the various sauces covering the roll and the crab within the roll. I wasn’t enthralled with the Dynamite roll.
On the flip side, I really enjoyed the Crunch Crab roll. I first found it to be a little strange to have fried onions sprinkled on top of a Japanese dish, but they brought a whole new texture to the general squishiness of sushi. I was especially pleased with the cucumber — its flavor was neither masked by the spicy mayo nor hidden by the crab. It added a cool, refreshing contrast to the slight spice of the mayo.
One unique aspect of all three rolls was that the rice was purple. We asked about it and were told that it is an all-natural, stickier, more filling type of rice. I had never heard of, let alone seen, purple rice before. It definitely made even the most mundane part of sushi interesting.
My friend and I split the package of chicken and vegetable dumplings after we had finished our rolls. The dumplings were authentic, slightly sticky to the touch, but not particularly spectacular. The sauce served with the dumplings is really what deserves a remark—it tasted a bit like soy sauce, but slightly sweeter with a hint of ginger. It was truly delicious.
Overall, I will definitely be returning but I will not be ordering the Dynamite roll again. The lunch menu items range from $1.50 for miso soup to $14 for the refrigerated Sushi Combo B, so I could easily eat there once a week without breaking the bank. While they do not offer student discounts, all refrigerated rolls are 30% off after 2 p.m.
Contact reporter at alacasse@asu.edu
