Sapporo Sushi Serves It Up on the Wild Side

You could stand on a corner and look around until a restaurant sign draws you in. But we've got a better idea. Each week, Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:

Sapporo Sushi

Overview: Every town can boast a selection of sushi joints these days, a far cry from a decade agao when it was a hard treat to find. But most of the restaurants follow the same tried and true formulas, focusing on offering freshness or some other aspect to draw business.

But Sapporo Sushi, on Community Drive in Warren, offers sushi rolls and sashimi crafted with wild rice, instead of the weaker-flavored white rice found in most restaurant. Be prepared: the dark, rich color of the rolls is quite a contrast to what most places serve up and it can be a little surprising.

The wild rice gives Sapporo Sushi's rolls a hearty flavor and fullness that the regular rolls lack, however. If you enjoy sushi or sashimi by itself as a meal, you'll find the wild rice stays with you a bit longer, making it ideal for a lunch or dinner.

If that was all Sapporo did well, the story and this article would end here. But it's not.

Dive into the chicken teriyaki, which exudes a rich, smoky roasted flavor without having too much sweetness. Scoop up spoonfuls of rich, sweet udon noodles and enjoy the flavor.

Even the restaurant's miso soup, often a staple handed out without too much thought at other restaurants, has a complexity that make it full of savory flavor.  

Décor: Sapporo Sushi fills a narrow space in one building in the Community Shopping Center, with four dark, neo-formal dining tables and an inviting sushi bar. Japanese-themed window panels and wall hangings line the walls, and paper lanterns hang from the ceiling.

Entrees: Sapporo Sushi offers sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, udon soups, tempura and other treats normally associated with sushi houses.

Address: 4 Community Place, Warren
Cost: $$
Phone: 908-668-8878