The description for the Black Dragon Roll at the new Grey Whale Sushi & Grill included shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, eel, avocado and eel sauce, so imagine our surprise when we found those ingredients rolled with black rice.
My wife and I commented to our server, Parton, who had recommended the Black Dragon (eight pieces for $10.95), that neither of us had ever enjoyed a roll prepared with black rice.
It was a pleasant surprise, and after 20-plus years of writing about restaurants, those pleasant surprises don’t happen often.
Typically, specialty rolls feature white rice. But at Grey Whale, diners can choose brown or black rice for a $1 extra, or, in the case of the Black Dragon enjoy the black rice as the way the roll is prepared.
Our entire experience proved to be pleasant, from the historic-looking room to the service, presentation and price. If I dare say, Grey Whale already is among the best sushi restaurants in Lincoln.
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Hui Guo officially opened the restaurant on April 7 in the Grand Manse, right across the street from my office at 129 N. 10th St. Grand Manse tends to limit signage -- Hurts Donuts uses a banner and painted stairs to bring attention to its location -- so Grey Whale is not easily visible from the street. One of its entrances is next to Blue Orchid and above the Boiler Brewing Company on the south side of the building.
Guo has been in the United States for eight years, living and working in Indiana, North Carolina, New Orleans, and, before moving to Lincoln, in New York City, where he worked at Haru Sushi. He came to Lincoln two years ago because his sister was here attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He worked at Shogun before opening his own place.
His goal is to provide quality sushi -- he’s receiving daily shipments of fresh fish -- at affordable prices. His rolls start at $5.50, with most of the specialty choices costing $9 or $10 for eight pieces.
“My sister is a college student, and I know college students don’t have a lot of money,†he said.
Food
On our visit, my wife and I enjoyed three specialty rolls (Empire, Grey Whale and Black Dragon) and an appetizer, takoyaki (octupus balls), a popular and tasty deep-fried Japanese street food costing $6.50.
Mango and a sweet special sauce made the signature Grey Whale roll ($11.95) unique, while Empire, wrapped in soybean paper, proved to be our favorite with its combination of spicy tuna, spicy salmon and spicy yellowtail.
The presentation was, well, quite something. Our rolls were arranged on a serving dish with bamboo resembling a giant pan flute. Later, we saw a table of six people receive their orders on a miniature ship.
With two glasses of house wine ($5 each), our tab came to $50 before taxes -- an extremely affordable night. Grade: A
Atmosphere
Guo chose to open in the Grand Manse because he loves its history. He’s done little remodeling, he said, out of respect for the building. He’s even put one of the room’s two safes to use as a party room.
The room is gorgeous with wood floors, moulding and giant windows that fill the room with light during the day. Plants sit on the window sills. The tables and chairs are contemporary brown and black. There’s a bar with stools, where diners can watch the chefs at work. Grade: A.
Service
Guo’s attention to detail is evident here. Meals begin with the arrival of hot towels to cleanse hands, followed by a cup of clear soup. The black-clad servers know the menu. Parton, our waiter, was quick with recommendations and checked on us frequently.
Guo had his kitchen and floor staffed properly for a Saturday night. Having enough bodies in the kitchen is a must at a sushi restaurant because it takes time to create the rolls, and, in some cases, the extremely complicated artistic food displays.
Grey Whale’s to-go menus are easy-to-read, with detailed descriptions of the specialty rolls. The website is up and running. Grade: A.
Specialty diets
The restaurant includes eight vegetable rolls, a variety of appetizers, including edamame and vegetable dumplings, two entrees (vegetable tempura and vegetable udon) and vegetable teriyaki bento box. With fresh fish, vegetables and rice, many of dishes should be gluten-free-friendly, but double check on the rice. Grade: B+