foodies and fish lovers - this one's for you. i have been waiting to write this review for a long time, my friends.
now that i no longer work at the bento box, i can finally let loose and tell the world precisely how i feel about this restaurant....
i know, i know, you were hoping for a massive bashing, but what better review can there be than from a former employee who will happily continue to be a customer for years to come?
i'm a sushi fiend, and i'm also picky about my sushi, and after more than three years of trying out sushi restaurants in this town, i can definitively say that the bento box has the best sushi in wilmington.
that said, let me give you the insider scoop on a few things. for starters, unless you know you're the type of person who enjoys heavy, saucy, broiled seafood, *do not order* the palm beach, port city or lobster roll. no one on the staff thinks these rolls are incredible sushi. if it were up to the them, they'd be cut from the menu. but there's a portion of the population who can't get enough of these rolls, and for those people, they stay on the menu.
here's the thing - chef lee goes to great lengths to bring in fresh, sustainable, and, when he can, local seafood. this man cares about fish, and he thinks you should, too. if you catch him at the sushi bar during a rare quiet moment, he will talk your ear off about some fish. do yourselves a favor and try some rolls that really highlight his efforts.
for starters, some of my current favs: the delicious (good training wheels for anyone attempting raw fish for the first time), miami vice and sesame shrimp (for those ready to graduate from plain old shrimp tempura rolls), pain (for those who like it hot - ask for it "painful" if you really want to light a fire!), counselor and ny (when i really just want to taste my fish), and one tree hill and rainbow kc (for days when i need to chill on the carbs).
and don't forget that these guys have a full kitchen in the back ready to rock out an ecclectic asian menu. try the lemongrass chicken (*so* worth the wait) or red curry - of which i'm finishing leftovers as i type.
yes. i went back to my former place of employ just two days after my last day of work in order to get the curry. because even after working there for nearly a year, i'm still head over heals for the bento box.
and *that* should say it all.