Lunch Box

by Elisa Ludwig

Takeout sushi joints are a dime a dozen in this city, and short of giving away the goods for free, there are few opportunities for these quick-serve restaurants to distinguish themselves from the competition. In reality, of course, there are vast differences in quality from one sushi bar to the next, and relative newcomer Kami Sushi on Sansom Street is one of the better ones around.

A tiny second-floor room with bar-only seating, Kami is pretty easy to miss. There's nothing special about the decor, which is dominated by coolers stocked with boxed combos and bottled drinks. A disturbingly placed mirror along one wall, ostensibly meant to give the illusion of a wider space, gives you the option to watch either yourself or the sushi preparation behind you while you eat.

Kami's prepackaged sushi reflects the needs of its takeout audience — when there's not much time to savor sea urchin, California and spicy tuna rolls will have to suffice. Ordinarily, when you buy prepackaged or fast-food-style sushi and related items, you do so with the tacit understanding that you're trading in taste for time and convenience. All too often, in those little Styrofoam trays, dumplings desiccate and harden, rice becomes extra glutinous, the fish is either chilled into bland oblivion or becomes more pungent in its see-through sarcophagus. This is not the case at Kami. Boxed shumai, bejeweled with tiny peas, are as good if not better than most of their liberated counterparts, with a paper-thin dough encasing a perfect little nugget of scallions and shrimp. A white tuna/spicy tuna/salmon-and-avocado combo retained its respective fresh flavors and was equally rewarding.

With a slightly longer lunch break, there are some great made-to-order treats to be had at Kami. Many of the items that interested us (striped bass, lobster salad, the obligatory spider roll) were not available — such is the dilemma of venturing beyond what's already on display. The above-mentioned white tuna is just slightly sweet and buttery soft. Vegetarian dragon roll, which substitutes carrot and spinach for the eel but still comes wrapped in avocado "scales," is a wonderfully textured variation on the theme. The smoked salmon roll might make you rethink your bagel habit. And the shrimp tempura roll was a good stand-in for the spider roll, with none of the unwieldy claw business of soft-shell crab. In the end I came away from Kami feeling that true wasabi-induced high, and — takeout look-alikes be damned — I plan to return.

Kami Sushi Express 1526 Sansom St. 215-755-3100
Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Appetizers, $1.50-$9.75; sushi, $2.75-$7.75
Not wheelchair accessible. Smoking not permitted. Credit cards accepted.

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