Hon Sushi, Lawrenceville

Sushi makes me happy. It's colorful, refreshing, delicious, and pretty darn good for you. Authentic Japenese and Korean dishes also make me happy... they are full of flavor and ingredients that I seldom use at home... enter Hon Sushi in Lawrenceville. It's crowded into a strip mall with a bunch of chain joints, so it's kind of easy to miss. The decor at this place is gorgeous.... really elegant and modern with semi private tables for larger parties or smaller, dark wood tables set up for twosomes. They have only been open for about 8 months, but it is quickly becoming a favorite of ours (and we've already brought tons of people there!)

Ever since my first visit I have been starting my meal with their sunomono, a mixed seafood salad served with cucumber in a ponzu sauce. They happen to make this dish amazingly well.... their dressing is the right amount of tangy and citrusy without overpowering the fish. Octopus, giant red clam, crab, and shrimp were present on this particular visit, but the ingredients are always changing slightly, to whatever is fresh and plentiful at the time. I have had squid and salmon make appearances in this dish as well. Crunch from cucumber plus tart from the dressing plus sweet delicious seafood = one hell of an appetizer.

Matt orders the Ishi Yaki Bibimbop, which is a veggie, rice, and meat all assembled together kind of dish. While he has ordered it before at different places, this is by far the most impressive, most delicious and most beautiful version I have ever seen (or tasted). Look at that picture! It's a (burning) hot stone bowl filled up with a whole cooked egg, mushrooms, sprouts, carrots, pork, rice, cucumbers, herbs and spices topped with a delicious spicy sauce and mixed table side. PLUS it comes with about 5 small plates of assorted accoutrements.... on this occasion I recognized kimchi, sesame tofu and some sort of marinated green beans, plus two bonus dishes that I was not familiar with but were also absurdly tasty (not to mention perfectly paired with the Bibimbop). This is the kind of dish that makes me almost forget what I am there for.... ALMOST. And then I remember the rolls.

There is one roll that people fall in love with the moment they try it. To date, JS is the biggest fan (he has admitted to wasting entire days thinking about the next time he will be able to get to Hon Sushi for this roll), but no one has ever been dissapointed. This is the volcano roll. I know, the place that you go to probably has something by the same name, but I assure you they are NOT the same. Not even close. This is a california roll topped with jumbo lump crab meat and avocado then drizzled with spicy sauce and layered with octopus. It is then wrapped in foil and lit on fire for 2-4 minutes (at your table). It warms through the entire roll (which is surprisingly nice) but it gives a very unique and smokey feel too the octopus and makes the crab simply dance in your mouth. The avocado gets soft and creamy, the spicy sauce thins out a bit... it's amazing. Really special. I reccomend this to anyone... hell, even Matt tried a bite! The scent of gently cooked meat takes over the table... literally makes the mouth water.

All of the rolls at Hon Suhsi are impressive. Colorful and tastefully arranged, I have had several of the specialty house rolls. If I had to complain about anything, I would say it seems that spicy sauce makes an appearance in the majority of their offerings, which is silly. The fish is very fresh and can stand on its own (or paired with other fish or veggies that will compliment it). Sauce drowns flavor. Other than that, though, this place is all aces for me.

All in all, if you are craving some serious sushi or would like to try a traditional Korean or Japanese dish, you should check out Hon Sushi. It's a pleasurable experience from the decor to the service, and of course, the food is wonderful

Hon Sushi

3349 Brunswick Pike
Lawrenceville- 08648

609 269 5795