Southfield, MI — If you were to ask any of my former and present coworkers if I was one of the “go-to foodies” at work or someone always trying new or exotic cuisines, their response would probably be: you’ve come to the right Jeff!

My early foodie years were during my first job after college, working at a news radio station in Grand Rapids. It was only part-time, so I also had a second job at Jimmy Johns’s downtown. During the year I lived in Grand Rapids, I really started pushing myself to try new foods I had typically never been exposed to growing up in my household. From sushi to Pho, kale, Thai, Indian, to whatever sounded new! From 25 onward, I developed a habit of essentially always saying yes when it came to new food. After all, a life without adventure sounds rather.. stale?

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The food exploration continued during my years of traveling, moving, and living across the country in pursuit of the next career jump, even if the leaps eventually only turned into hops. Overall, it’s been an incredible journey. Seeing the beautiful lands of this planet and enjoying the bountiful regional and cultural foods it yields. The food, of course, wouldn’t be what it is without the people who craft it. And through our foods, we tell and learn one another’s stories. One food, in particular, requires quite the skill set, skills that require patience, sharp attention to detail, and precision: sushi.

I’ve been a sushi enthusiast since I first tried it at 19. I always make it a point to find at least two to three solid sushi establishments within my network when I move somewhere new. Unfortunately, despite having been back in Metro Detroit now for ten months on the dot, I’ve only had a chance to check out about two sushi restaurants so far. Thankfully, both were definitely more than satisfactory and will likely get future posts about them after the next time I pay some visits, so stay tuned! But I did happen to try a new sushi joint last week at the suggestion of a colleague, who joined me in the meal as well.

On Thursday, my good friend and colleague Juan suggested we check out Ninja Sushi in West Bloomfield Township, which is on the northeast corner of the roundabout at 14 Mile and Farmington Road. We had both seen it at least once at the station after another one of our buddies, Ahmad, had brought some in during a dinner break earlier in the week. Ahmad gave it rave reviews, and the rolls looked well prepared, from what I observed. But the minute Juan mentioned the word ‘sushi’ without having even finished asking, I was already forming the word to say resoundingly: YES!

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The toughest part was honestly deciding between the two of us which rolls we would get. We decided on four rolls after the easiest possible round of food negotiations. Juan is quite the foodie himself, is well-traveled, and enjoys all foods with no restrictions, so he’s a great foodie to split a meal with. We both happened to want the Firecracker and Ninja Nuke (pictured at the top) since we both love spicier foods with a kick, and then I chose the Dynamite, and Juan picked the Spicy Shrimp Tempura.

Spicy Shrimp Tempura Rolls

I’m not the biggest fan of shrimp, but these particular rolls would be the ideal way for me to enjoy a shrimp-based roll. There was a fair bit of crab salad with well-portioned shrimp, and spicy mayo is great on anything, but of the four, this was my least favorite. But don’t be fooled; it was still great; I just preferred the other three more.

Dynamite Rolls

The Dynamite Rolls were great in terms of heat and flavor/texture. The spicy crab salad and spicy mayo paired beautifully and kept a lovely consistent heat from the first bite through the last, with some little lingering sensations. The deep-fried texture and crunch, with the pleasant mild heat and hefty amounts of spicy tuna smothering the rolls, made this my second favorite among the four.

Firecracker Rolls

The Firecracker Rolls featured shrimp tempura, crab salad avocado, crab stick on top, and spicy mayo torched. Overall, I was impressed. Mostly due to the mass of food substance strewn generously on top, the rolls essentially were covered in another rolls-sized worth of shrimp and crab stick. I was expecting a fair bit of heat from this roll, but there was hardly any spice, but this roll still got the job done in terms of quality and filling.

Ninja Nuke

These rolls were by far my favorite! The heat on these was the most intense; it definitely widens the eyes as your sinuses are set ablaze but in a good way. This roll had not just a little bit of everything, but it had a LOT of everything that hit on all four corners of food. It had the heat, solidified by the jalapeño slices on top of each roll, the texture being the light panko crunch, and the spicy tuna and spicy crab salad bring home the complete foodie grand slam with presentation and flavor. If you can handle some heat, this roll is a great option.

While I had my list of best to least favorites, so did Juan! Our biggest difference was Juan’s favorite ended up being the Spicy Shrimp Tempura Rolls (his bonus pick), while mine was the Ninja Nuke, closely followed by the Dynamite (my bonus pick). There are a plethora of sushi options on Ninja Sushi’s menu, including raw/cooked sashimi, roe fish egg rolls, and raw/cooked nigiri. The fancier, multi-ingredient rolls are under the Chefs Special Rolls or Hometown Rolls. Many of the classics, like Philadelphia and California Roll variations, are under Regular Rolls.

Juan and I enjoyed splitting and sharing the four rolls we sampled on this first try. The pricing was fair enough for the quality and, at times, surprising amounts of food. I was glad Juan made the suggestion because I was looking for a new sushi spot to add to the foodie roster, and it helps to have a great place like Ninja Sushi close enough to our station so it can be a reoccurring dinner guest! So the next time a coworker asks if you want to try a new restaurant or food with them, what are you going to say?