Fresh Sashimi at Open the Sesame

It's that time of year again, when McDonald's filet of fish ads run constantly and my coworkers do Friday runs to in Echo Plaza. Yes, it's the season of Lent, when Catholics are expected to abstain from meat on Fridays.

Regardless of your faith or level of adherence to it, it's a good time to start eat more fish. When I arrived at Open the Sesame to try its sushi last week, I had already been on quite a fish kick. It started on my weeklong vacation in Southern California, when I ate giant crab legs at the Harrah's buffet, fish tacos at the San Diego-based Rubio's chain and swordfish sliders at a rooftop restaurant. The kick continued with a trip to Iberia in the Ironbound district of Newark, where I enjoyed clams, mussels, shrimp and lobster in a garlic sauce, and it would continue after my trip to Open the Sesame, when I ate at the new Wabi-Sabi in Morristown.

Full of those Omega 3 fatty acids that are so good for us, fish is a healthy source of protein, and I don't eat it as much as I should.

before at Open the Sesame. This week, we'll give you a run down of the sushi options.

The standard lunch menu has about eight sushi options ($8.95): spicy tuna roll, salmon avocado roll, eel avocado roll, California roll, etc.

I instead went for the regular sashimi plate ($12.95) of nine assorted fish, prepared by sushi chef Inoue San, who stands behind the counter, dressed in black. All lunch sushi options come with miso soup or a salad with ginger carrot dressing.

My soup arrived promptly, a rich broth with soft diced tofu, seaweed and fresh diced scallions.

Next came the sashimi: a beautifully arranged plate of sliced salmon, tuna, white tuna, fluke and other varieties, with a side of rice. Even the lemon on the plate was peeled decoratively. The fish was firm and flavorful, without a fishy taste. The white rice was fresh, a little sticky, a good accompaniment to the fish.

As I enjoyed my fish, rice, wasabi and ginger, I took a better look next to the sushi counter and saw a specials menu filled with several other options, among them fire roasted sushi, black and white roll and crunchy philly roll.

I noticed the drink menu, too, late in the game, and wished I had ordered lychee or coconut juice instead of water. But that would have upped the bill even more. As it was, my bill was a little more than $13, almost double what I might spend on a typical lunch trip. Still the service was prompt and polite, and I would have paid as much for comparable takeout sashimi at a store like Whole Foods, around the corner in Union.

Though sushi is not the most filling lunch it was healthy, pleasant and a refreshing change from the usual sandwich – worth the $13.

A sign on the door notes that the family of the sushi chef survived the earthquake and was doing well. Open the Sesame is accepting donations for the people of Japan, and will forward donations to a worthy charity at the end of March.

I was thankful to be enjoying such a good meal in comfortable Springfield, my heart thinking about the poor people in Japan dealing with death, destruction and evacuations.