A few friends have been raving about this $3 sushi place, and I didn’t know how I felt about that, but then I started to read their reviews and looking at their menu pictures (that they smartly have put on Pinterest), and then I got pretty excited to try it out. After looking over their website, I understood how everything could only cost $3: you pay a cover charge. If you go for lunch it is $5, and if you go at dinner it is $8. They have lots of rolls to choose from, many cooked dishes, and FREE sake—if you check-in on Yelp or Like them on Facebook. My husband and I headed over on a Tuesday night, and we were pretty surprised at how full it was in there. We got the last table, made sure to Like them on Facebook, and we ordered our free cold (you can also order hot) sake.
We both looked over the menu while we waited quite a while for our waters and sake. We couldn’t believe all the options—there were two full pages of different kinds of specialty rolls—and more salad choices and noodle dishes than I have ever seen at a sushi place. We were both in the mood for sushi, though, so we will have to go back to try the other options some other time. We both started with miso soup, which is only $1.50, and baked mussels. One order of baked mussels came with four, and it was perfect for us to share.
The mussels were served on a salad, which might just be for display, but this hungry pregnant lady ate that up also. The only problem we had with the mussels was that they weren’t warm; they might have been sitting out too long because the service was pretty slow. There might have only been one waitress on because they usually aren’t this busy on a Tuesday night, but it didn’t bode well for my mussels.
We decided on several rolls. First, there was the Baby Lobster Dynamite Roll, which is a California roll with dynamite sauce with baby lobster, eel sauce, masago, and green onion on top. The second one was a Sensual Pleasure Roll with spicy scallops and cucumbers inside, and spicy tuna with mayo sauce on top. Once my husband saw the Smataphobia Roll he had to have it. It was another spicy scallop roll with cucumber inside, but on top it had sliced onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and special sauce. We ordered a fourth roll, the Yellowtail Scallion Roll, but that one never arrived. My husband was pretty bummed about it; they must have just forgotten.
Sashimi is also $3, so I had two orders of octopus, and my husband had an order of yellowtail and ono. The octopus was not chewy, and that is always a good sign. It was flavorful, and if I had still been hungry, I would have ordered a few more orders. My husband really enjoyed his orders also; he said they melted in his mouth and that it had been some of the best ono he has had.
All three rolls were very fresh, huge portions, and very flavorful. The sauces they used all seemed like sauces we have had at other restaurants, but overall the rolls were really flavorful. The scallop rolls could have used more scallops though; it seems like they use a lot of crab mix and then throw one or two scallops in, but overall we were very happy with them. The dynamite lobster roll was just baked, creamy, and delicious. I love lobster rolls, and they had two others to choose from and I would make sure to get those next time.
Maru Maki Sushi is located at 745 E. Broadway
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