The Bowdoin Gourmet

Its been a while since I’ve had sushi here at Bowdoin, so I was particularly excited to pick some up at the cafe this afternoon:

This is the “Starburst Combo”, featuring cucumber, tuna, and California rolls, and two giant spicy-shrimp rolls. The tuna and California rolls, which I’ve had before here, were pretty good. The cucumber rolls were OK, but they needed more actual cucumber. Look at them; they’re little more than rice balls wrapped in seaweed. Its one thing to skimp on expensive sushi-grade fish, but cucumbers?

The highlight of the selection was the pair of spicy-shrimp rolls. I’ve had a fair amount of sushi over the years, and I do believe that these were the single largest pieces I’ve ever encountered. These weren’t one-biters – they weren’t even two-bitters – they took three full bites to get down. Their size introduced some logistical troubles in picking them up with the chop sticks, dipping them in the soy sauce, and then eating them over several bites. In the end, however, I was willing to endure the awkwardness because the rolls were so delicious.