Too subtle?

continued

well-spaced tables, and a handsome sushi bar as the focal point of the dining room. We were greeted by an enthusiastic young woman, who quickly showed us to a table and within seconds delivered a cup of hot tea.

Over the course of several visits I found much to like about Umi Sushi. The one problem was that the food often crossed the line from subtle to blah.

In the generous $13 dinner bento, the fried foods stood out. Two gyoza dumplings were stuffed plump with well-seasoned ground meat, and the panko-breaded shrimp and sliced vegetables (onion ring, broccoli, and sweet potato) were, if not classically tempura-airy, admirably crunchy outside and cooked in a way that let their essential flavors shine through. The tempura’s biggest drawback was that the accompanying dish of dipping sauce was stingy, both in quantity and flavor—and the flavor shortage was a recurring problem. Friends and I tried various bento permutations—those built around spicy chicken, beef bulgogi, and salmon and chicken teriyaki. Of these options, only the spicy chicken bound with a moderately hot chili sauce was robust enough for my taste—the bulgogi was passable, while the teriyakis were tame enough to pass for hospital food. A bowl of udon can be a wonderfully understated dish, but it takes the right touch to make it interesting; Umi Sushi’s stopped short, presenting its thick noodles in a virtually unseasoned watery broth.