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Business & Tech

Sumo's Summer Sushi and Hot Hibachi House Deals: Hungry Yet?

I'm dreaming about my next sushi dinner as I write about the summer menus at two of downtown Rochester's favorite restaurants.

 

Nothing says "summertime" like Red Blossoms and Candy Canes.

At least that's the case at .

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"We wanted to switch it up," manager Courtney Labbe said. "Our customers make requests, our staff and chefs have fun creating new things so we thought we'd get creative and feature a new Roll of the Month."

Everyone on staff had a chance to create a specialty sushi roll and then cast a vote.

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The winner for June is the Red Blossom by server David Centofanti. "It's a play on a crab rangoon with fried crab, jalapenos, spicy mayo and cream cheese, topped with baked red snapper," Labbe said. 

The Roll of the Month will sell for $10.50. All specialty rolls are 15 percent off during lunch.

July's winner was created by Labbe. "It's called the Candy Cane. It's a salmon roll with avocado and topped with red and white tuna."

Tried and true

While the new specialty rolls are creating a buzz, there's nothing quite like the California roll at Sumo. 

"That's by far our most popular traditional roll," Labbe said. "We sell about 800 a month."

The Green River and The Devil are Sumo's most popular specialty rolls, with about 350 of each sold a month.

"The Green River is one of my favorites," general manager Lisa Hocson said. The roll of her choice is a spicy raw tuna roll topped with tuna, salmon, white tuna and Kani crab garnish.

But Hocson said it's one special ingredient that makes it the winner in her book. "It's the green river sauce (house-made ginger dressing with pureed spinach) that makes it great."

The green river sauce is also featured on the Waterfall roll with a Kani crab and cucumber roll topped with scallops, sweet soy and spicy mayo.

All the sauces, including the ginger dressing, sweet soy and spicy mayo, are made fresh in house.

Hot deals at the Hibachi House

Across the street the Hibachi House, which opened last year, is welcoming summer with some sweet ongoing deals:

  • Monday is Family Night. From 5 to 9 p.m. kids eat for $5 and parents enjoy 10 percent off their meal. "We'll have games, activities and crafts too," Labbe said. "The staff is really excited!"
  • Thursday is Loopy Night down in the bar. Drinks will be $3-$4 from 4 p.m. to close. "A lot of our drinks are saki-based as a way to introduce it to people," Labbe said. The most popular drink is The Green Hornet with unfiltered saki, melon liqueur and sour mix.
  • Monday through Saturday features Express Lunch. From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. lunch is 15 percent off with a 30 minute guarantee. "We've also expanded our roll menu at Hibachi House," Labbe said.
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