I didn’t really care much for Hello Sushi when it occupied this space, but Chef Cong has turned it around and made it his own. I usually visit Umami for my favorites and the specials, but sushi week is all about chasing down the best nigiri bento in Baton Rouge. Umami doesn’t have a bento box, but they do have a nigiri lunch special with your choice of miso soup or a side salad, chef’s choice of five pieces of nigiri sushi, and your choice of either a tuna, salmon, or yellowtail roll.
The addition of the octopus is a very nice touch and as always everything is perfectly crafted and just out the ocean fresh, but although Umami is my favorite Baton Rouge sushi bar these days, Sushi Yama still has the lead in the bento box competition, mainly because it is an actual bento and the cucumber salad before, the sliced pineapple after, and the shrimp tempura that comes with put it over the top. The bento is a mix of hot and cold mini dishes and this Umami plate, as lovely and delicious as it is, is still a sushi lunch, not a bento box. Here’s a parting shot to meditate upon. I am always filled with anticipation after I fill whatever container is provided with soy sauce and await the sushi. We all know that anticipation is often greater than the event itself or the resulting memory. Umami is good to me before, during, and after.
