100 Favorite Dishes: #11 -- Japanese Calamari from Koume
Categories: 100 Favorite Dishes
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11. Japanese Calamari from Koume
Tucked into a sleepy strip mall near the bustling Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, you'll find a Lilliputian sushi restaurant called Koume. Walking into the tiny space, everyone is immediately greeted (startled) with Koume's signature welcome--three sushi chefs simultaneously bellowing a long, drawn out," hi, how are you? ". Inevitably, the smooth sounds of Al Green and other soul singers permeates the small space, setting the mood for canoodling couples, who tend to frequent the diminutive restaurant, as they peruse the menu.
Many of the dishes at Koume are creative, fun or unusual like their ironically-named atomic bomb shooters--hama oysters layered with with quail eggs,Ikura, masago, Tabasco and ponzu. Other dishes, like their Japanese Calamari ($9) are quite simple but no less delicious. Squid, lightly brushed with a ginger-soy glaze, is tossed effortlessly onto a grill.
In theory, it couldn't be any easier to prepare. If you are a cephalopod aficionado however, you know that the line between perfectly cooked and overcooked squid (or octopus) is very fine and often crossed--typically not in your favor.
The often heavy-handed breading and overpowering dipping sauce that accompanies many calamari dishes detracts from the best part of the dish-- the texture. Koume's simple squid dish highlights the texture from the tentacles to the tail. Eating breaded and deep fried calamari seems almost criminal after discovering just how good squid can be.
Koume Japanese Restaurant
11905 W Sunrise Blvd, Plantation, 33323
(954) 577-9277
Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB.
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| Photo: Misha Grosvenor |
Tucked into a sleepy strip mall near the bustling Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, you'll find a Lilliputian sushi restaurant called Koume. Walking into the tiny space, everyone is immediately greeted (startled) with Koume's signature welcome--three sushi chefs simultaneously bellowing a long, drawn out," hi, how are you? ". Inevitably, the smooth sounds of Al Green and other soul singers permeates the small space, setting the mood for canoodling couples, who tend to frequent the diminutive restaurant, as they peruse the menu.
Many of the dishes at Koume are creative, fun or unusual like their ironically-named atomic bomb shooters--hama oysters layered with with quail eggs,Ikura, masago, Tabasco and ponzu. Other dishes, like their Japanese Calamari ($9) are quite simple but no less delicious. Squid, lightly brushed with a ginger-soy glaze, is tossed effortlessly onto a grill.
In theory, it couldn't be any easier to prepare. If you are a cephalopod aficionado however, you know that the line between perfectly cooked and overcooked squid (or octopus) is very fine and often crossed--typically not in your favor.
The often heavy-handed breading and overpowering dipping sauce that accompanies many calamari dishes detracts from the best part of the dish-- the texture. Koume's simple squid dish highlights the texture from the tentacles to the tail. Eating breaded and deep fried calamari seems almost criminal after discovering just how good squid can be.
Koume Japanese Restaurant
11905 W Sunrise Blvd, Plantation, 33323
(954) 577-9277
Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB.
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