Recently Central Pa Sushi held a dinner party at Zen Japanese in Mechanicsburg and what a great decision that was. I must say that I think that this place has become my new favorite for sushi in the area. The rolls were amazing, took a bit of time to get out due to 25+ hungry sushi members but were well worth the wait. The wait staff was friendly and when I asked the best rolls on the menu the boss’s daughter gave me great descriptions and what she recommended was delicious.

I loved breadcrumbs on the rolls over  having batter tempura served at other places, seaweed salad roll was super tasty, dragon roll wasn’t much for presentation but best eel I ever tried and portions where just right.  Overlooked at first, Zen is tucked in a shopping center off Simpson Ferry Road is a great find for any sushi lover.

Zen Japanese, 5205 Simpson Ferry Rd
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
(717) 697-8500

Nothing goes with Santa quite like sushi of course! Central Pa Sushi group is dining this Sunday (December 14th) at Okini, 3402 Walnut St Harrisburg. One more sushi dinner before the holidays. The invite is open to anyone in the area that enjoys such delights or interested in giving it a try. Over 30 sushi lovers will be attending the event starting at 6pm.

A very large group of Central Pa Sushi went for sushi and hibachi last sunday. I could probably be so bold to speak in saying that sushi wise they really kicked it up a notch, serving some rolls in martini glasses and adding over 15 new chef rolls to the menu. The sweetheart roll was to die for (spicy tuna topped with tuna shaped like hearts) and the three different kinds of dragon rolls (we tried the black one and the mango one, both nice). Some of the nicest sushi I have had in this area.

Hibachi was just a hit and miss for me.  Made fresh veggies although not as seasoned as I like but we enjoyed the show, you must want a lot of interaction because they will toss food at you the whole night, not to mention squirt sake in your mouth til you are drunk (might not always happen but last week the chef was mad, in a good way).

Service was super friendly, with a party of 25 we had atleast 4 servers asking us if we needed anything at all times. Was a really good night, great sushi and for a great price.

Fuji Do wins again, Central Pa Sushi Group held it’s Halloween bash this Tuesday at this little Paxton Street favorite and once again showed how amazing it is. For the price nothing really comes close to the quantity and quality of the fish served at Fuji Do. One of the longest running sushi bars (now that there are dozens of them in the Harrisburg Area) and they have never short changed us. We took some snaps of the portions, Fuji do is one place that you will never walk away hungry. Enjoy.

Central Pa Sushi has hit an all time high when it comes to members of its local sushi group. Earlier this week they topped 260 members with an average of 25 – 30 attendees for each dinner party. Upcoming events include a halloween sushi dinner at Fuji Do on the 28th, a Evening out at Mikado Japanese in Mechanicsburg, Sushi, Thai, Hibachi and Udon at Fujihana! in York and Saturday Night at Okini! in Harrisburg. All taking place in the next few weeks.

So over 40 members from Central Pa Sushi invaded Tokyo Diner tonight for hibachi and of course loads of lovely sushi. The meetup has been going strong since this past March and new members seem to join us every day. Hibachi tables are a great way to mingle because you can just get up during the meal and walk around. I would say this meetup was about half new member and half returnees. Over all it was a splendid evening.

Pictures can be found here

Video can be found here

Next Tuesday is looking to be one of our largest sushi meetups to date. Over 40 members of Central Pa Sushi have RVSPed for this weeks sushi meet at Tokyo Diner (Mechanicsburg, Pa). Central Pa Sushi is a local meetup group for people looking to meet others in the Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and surrounding areas and of course enjoy lots of japanese cuisine. The RVSP is still open for this Tuesday (September 30th) for those looking for a fun evening out. Can RVSP on our website.

Tonight the Central Pa Sushi group went to Wasabi on Willow Street to try out the sushi. I’ll start by saying the rolls are perfect presented, neatly rolled and delicious.  Not to mentionthe prices are great, the sushi combos were well under 18 dollars and no one walked away hungry.  Wasabi is a Japanese restaurant with nice interior design, very comfortable and pleasant place to eat. There are a number of regular tables, as well as a few tatami tables (low table where you take your shoes off and sit) and a sushi bar. The staff also gets an A+ in my book, they were very welcoming and friendly, adding to the already positive environment. I think we all agree that we will be back again.

Being a sushi lover I have tried out the local sushi wherever local may be that week. I really try to eye up the most interesting dishes I can find while still ordering my old favorite: the spicy tuna roll.

I quickly came to realize that not all spicy tuna rolls on the menu are created equal however as long as the tuna is fresh I will happily tuck in to them all. The sushi standard at most sushi bars I have been to is the diced tuna in a spicy mayo. The darker the tuna the nicer the roll in my opinion even the generously diced tuna rolls up pretty nice in my book. Like I said this is the type of spicy tuna roll you will find at most American Japanese sushi bars locally Fuji Do does nice spicy tuna and a tres amigo with this method. However if you wanted a hand roll (cone shaped roll) you would have a minced tuna roll.

That minced tuna roll method, which is not an all-time favorite but if prepared with fresh ingredients you cant go wrong. Most times out of not they add a bit of a tempura flake when mixing in the mayo giving it a bit of a crunch. My only dislike the fear comes from wondering about the quality of the fish. I mean with minced fish you can never tell if it’s the picking off the bones and I will admit that some sushi places I have been to the roll is just a squishy mess. At the same time I would have to commend Okini for making the mince spicy roll proud, it has a small crunch and the rolls are kept pretty tight.

Moving on to the last spicy tuna what I like to call: Chopped tuna hell fire. I was recently at Benihana who serves up a mean spicy tuna roll with dark fresh tuna and crushed peppers. Oh, yes you heard me right, there is no mayo in this puppy they go right for the heat. I would have to say this was pretty spicy. There was once a place in York called Zen Mitsuru that could make a spicy tuna hell fire that could make you cry.

Those are the free basic spicy tuna rolls which you can get pretty much any sushi bar in the U.S. Although the Chopped Tuna Hell Fire is one of my favorites its pretty rare when it comes to this mayo loving market. When it comes to the spicy rolls you usually can’t go wrong and when ordering a hand roll they tend to really pack it in there making them almost a meal in themselves.

Central Pa Sushi has been around five months now and we are booming. Crossing out every sushi place in the area with dinner parties hitting 12-42 people! So this is an open invite to those looking to get out this summer and have some fish!

August 17th – Fuji Do Feast in Harrisburg

August 28th – Dinner At Mikado Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar

September 9th – Wasabi in Lancaster!