Quick Bite Tour: Nagomi Sushi & Noodle

Salmon on the Beach (front and back), Zen (middle). Salmon on the Beach normally comes with cream cheese, but we got it without and thought it was fine. (We don't "get" cream cheese as a sushi roll ingredient.) The Salmon on the Beach is glazed with a spicy honey-sauce and torched. The Zen is topped with a sliced jalapeño and white tuna, with eel sauce, and tempura shrimp inside.

Thanks to reader Faye for the tip on Nagomi Sushi & Noodle, on Plymouth Road in the same small strip mall as Bagel Fragel. Nagomi has been open just one month, which we consider to be a little too soon for a full review, but we enjoyed our meal and wanted to share.

Nagomi may be new, but they have very experienced chefs.  Noodles and sushi rolls at affordable prices are their strength, and they have some unusual rolls not seen at other restaurants. A number of the rolls include cream cheese (we don't like this in sushi), but you can request them without the cheese. For the noodles, the owner recommends their miso ramen in particular.  (We'll have to try it on a return visit.)

There are basically two kinds of worthwhile sushi restaurants: those which are best for bare-bones traditional sashimi and sushi and those which are best for creative maki rolls.  Nagomi is in the second category, and they do it well. So here's the quick tour...

Nagomi Spicy Tuna and Tamago.  The Nagomi Spicy Tuna is only on the lunch menu, but Faye recommended it and they'll do it at dinner if asked. We thought it was outstanding; it used a solid hunk of maguro covered in their own in-house made chili sauce (sweet, with honey and chili paste, very unusual).  The tamago was nice, and not overly sweet.

Hamachi and Scallion hand roll; not a huge quantity of fish, but nice flavor and well-formed. 

Tori Kara Age (fried chicken) appetizer.  The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the coating very thin and crispy. We thought it could have used a bit of salt as seasoning, but perhaps the expectation is to use soy sauce?

Kitsune Udon, featuring the same sweet tofu skins used to make inarizushi served up hot in a bowl of udon noodles. Spice it up with some nanami togarashi pepper blend.

Nagomi's ginger dressing is different from the usual ginger dressing found at Japanese restaurants in the area. With seven fruits in the mix (we're sure of apple and know there's some citrus too), it has a mellower yet more complex flavor.

Nagomi Sushi & Noodle
1754 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734) 761-5800
http://nagomia2.com/

Comments

[Julie Saul]

Looks fabulous!!!!! We must try it!!

[Del]

Their curry udon is also really good. It is an interesting Japanese curry and not at all what I expected. It has a ton of flavor, but isn't very spicy.

I love the Salmon on the Beach and thought I didn't like cream cheese in a roll until I tried this. It is so good and just melts in your mouth.

[chiwei]

Any idea on where the chef came from? Is he Japanese or Korean?

[Ed Schenk]

I am glad you included some of the cooked Japanese dishes in your post. The curry probably has whats called Java Curry. It comes in several spice levels and is available in Japanese groceries.

It's unforunate that more people don't have Sashimi. The fish should be the star.

[Joe, Kitchen Chick's husband]

@Ed: There are a number of prepared Japanese curry blocks out there (like the surreally named "Vermont Curry" -- huh?). But I wouldn't blindly accuse a Japanese restaurant of using a product like that without asking. These guys might well make it from scratch. I haven't tried it. On the fish thing: yes, but to do that requires extremely good sourcing and enough turnover to keep it at the peak of freshness. That's hard here, and I haven't been to many restaurants nationally that do it well either. (Weirdly, one of them is in Denver.)

@Chiwei: the owner is Korean, as is at least one of the chefs.

[Tafari]

That salmon on the beach looks tasty as well as the chicken appetizer. I will have to give this place a try!

[andi]

Try the avocado bowl - it's beautiful and oh so tasty! This place is the best for good sushi and the staff is so friendly!