Is the best sushi restaurant in America in Terre Haute?

Ahem! Now that I have your attention.

Well, perhaps not, but Sushi Umi was one of the dozen best sushi meals I have had in the United States, and arguably the best maki I’ve eaten between New York and California.

I was in Terre Haute this weekend for a conference, and at the suggestion of Dr. Tom Adams of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (my son is a student there), I tried Sushi Umi. Dr. Tom has a webpage: “Dr. Tom’s Guide to Terre Haute for the Cultural Bereft: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~adams1/bereft.html
which deserves your attention, should you be traveling on I70.

Sushi Umi is run by Chef Qi. Yes, a Chinese chef, hailing from Shanghai. Chef Qi was trained by a Japanese sushi chef in Indianapolis, and whatever he was taught, he has certainly taken to the craft.

It must be confessed that the Nigiri suffer just a bit from the fact that fish come through Chicago, and so are slightly less fresh than what one would find in a city with direct transportation.

However, Chef Qi makes up for this by a dazzling display of creativity. The mango sunset roll was a tuna roll surrounded by mango paving, topped with a dot of Japanese ponzu, freshened with bits of spicy radish. The lobster tempura roll was fully admirable, as sublime as any soft shell crab roll I have eaten.

Perhaps best was Chef Qi’s Crazy Roll: half the pieces had shrimp tempura inside and eel outside, the other half were reversed. Crazy and delightful.

If Terre Haute is not precisely a serious dining destination, Sushi Umi is.

Sushi Umi
2801 South Third Street
Terre Haute, Indiana 47801
812-232-SUSHI

Tom Adam's website wrote:So you've relocated to Terre Haute from Seattle, Philadelphia or some other urban center and you're thinking that now that you live in a rural midwest town of less than 60,000 people, activities such as attending the opera or the ballet are a thing of the past. Au contraire mon ami! Terre Haute is rife with cultural tid bits if only you know where to look. Fear no more, for Dr. Tom's Guide for the Culturally Bereft shows you exactly where to go to experience the finest in cuisine, art, music and general DrTomfoolery.

This is a treasure of a website.

Terre Haute is a mere 179 miles from Chicago, which really is very achiveable for a weekend run about.

Thanks for the tips!

Regards,

I'll have to check it out. We usually make an afternoon trip or two to Terre Haute over the holidays while visiting relatives in Casey, IL. The only "destination" dining I've come across is Moggers Brewery for great onion/jalapeno straws and burgers. Last time I was there they'd hugely expanded their beer menu. Part of the experience, tho', is sitting in the main brewery with it's high, dark-timbered ceiling and gigantic, lustrous bar. There's always Champagne Velvet.
Hmmm...little gems in Indiana.

M. Moggers Brewery
904-908 Poplar St.
Terre Haute, ID
812-234-9202

Yes, I think that I am correct in my assessment of Sushi Umi. I was in Terre Haute (for the last time?) for my son's college graduation from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. After the ceremony I had an hour before I needed to head to the Indy Airport, and so I went to Umi, and explained that I wanted a sushi platter for $40. Boy, was it beautiful. Chef Qi made a long dragon roll with mackerel blanketed by avocado, a sublime lobster roll, a snapper (?) roll covered with papaya slices, soft shell crab, caviar, tempura. What a guy (and a sweetheart)! What a talent! Just north of the Terre Haute exit (exit 7) off I-70.

My son dismissed Rose Hulman because he thought it would be too country for him - if only I had known sooner!

Will just have to soldier on somehow and learn from this error .