Minato Restaurant

I got a hankerin' for sushi this weekend, so I went this time to Minato in Baltimore's Mt. Vernon neighbohood. I truly lucked out, as there was an empty parking space right across the street from the restaurant! (Doesn't happen too often.)

I've already discussed Chiu's Sushi, my favorite sushi place in town. So what was different about Minato? Well, not the price. I usually spend about $30 when I go out for sushi; this night was no different (that's why I eat it so rarely). One thing that was different was the size of the sake. It was small - about half the size of the small sake carafe at Chiu's. The entrées were some of the same, with some additions, including tempura don (tempura over rice) and tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet). I was happy to find the ever-popular bento box on the menu. This is, basically, a prix fixe Japanese "combo plate" featuring four different items, usually plus soup and salad. It comes in a handsome lacquer-looking "box" tray. Minato's bento box is a pick-and-choose type of deal; you can pick and choose which four dishes go into your bento box! For mine, I got to choose:

• one type of sushi / sashimi;
• one type of dumpling, tofu or seaweed;
• one type of meat or salmon teriyaki or skewer; and
• one other type of meat dish, such as a shrimp fry, breaded pork cutlet or calamari.

I chose some sashimi (I'm not sure what kind, but I liked it), steamed crab dumplings, salmon teriyaki and red snapper fry. This was all for $15.95, and this includes miso soup and white rice.

I also got some extra pieces of sashimi - yellowtail and giant clam, I think. Each piece came alone (no 2 or 3 piece deal), and each cost about $2.

The whole price for this meal, including the bento box, a la carte sashimi and two small carafes of sake, was $32. No dessert that caught my fancy (that is, nothing a la tempura), but it was still all yummy. My next sushi outing: probably sometime in November.