I’d arrived at 990 Broad Sushi Kitchen, the newest downtown Augusta restaurant by the Frog Hollow Group, a little earlier than my friend Tricia. By the time she got there, I already knew what I wanted—just about everything.
I figured we deserved a splurge. It was our make-up birthday dinner (we were born in the same month), following a semi-disastrous evening with an overly salty meal and a depressing movie that we realized too late was all about aging. “We’re going to be spending a lot of money,” I announced as she sat down.
Luckily Tricia was up for it.
The high-end sushi restaurant, which opened soon after Hurricane Helene in the former Pho-Ramen’L location, has been described as that earlier restaurant’s next evolution—and I already liked the changes. It keeps Pho-Ramen’L’s baos and some of its noodle soups, but adds my favorite cuisine, sushi.
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Both Tricia and I had seen lots of posts online raving about the food. And my friend Jennifer had already texted me: “Are you going to review 990?”
The answer was a resounding yes.
The restaurant’s interior is much the same as when it was Pho-Ramen’L—gorgeous lucky cat mural, dark walls with splashes of Chinese red, moody lighting. There are small plates like gyoza (fried dumplings), crab rangoon with a sweet chili sauce, avocado dressed in a wasabi vinaigrette and blistered shishito peppers; three bao selections—pork belly, lobster or duck; and three noodle bowls, plus two fried rices.
The nigiri menu offers nine varieties, with familiar seafood plus items like BBQ eel, Alaskan spotted prawn, fattiest bluefin tuna belly and the sophisticated uni, or sea urchin. Crudo options—crudo is raw fish dressed in vinaigrette—include everything from tuna to salmon plus yellowtail and whitefish, and a crunchy cucumber “crudo” too, enhanced with ingredients like crispy rice or a quail egg or yuzu-infused Asian pear. And the maki rolls continued this theme of unique ingredients.
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I loved reading the descriptions; consider the New Page roll, with shrimp tempura, sliced lemon, smoked salmon, eel sauce, cucumber and sesame seed, or the Vegetarian roll, with Japanese pickled cucumber, seasonal mushroom, avocado, shallots, shibazuke (a Japanese pickle) tartare sauce, cucumber and sesame seed. Even the humble California roll is elevated with real snow crab, avocado, wasabi vinaigrette, crème fraiche, cucumber and sesame seed.
Not to mention the Sousaku Nigiri (sousaku means work or creation)—in other words, the specials menu, which our server explained changes about every other month. That evening’s menu featured four unique nigiri, the Otoro Caviar, bluefin tuna belly with truffle, soy, serrano, wasabi and caviar; the Hinomaru, red snapper, shiso, kanzuri and yuzu; Sake Aioli, cured salmon with garlic aioli, lime, caviar and black pepper; and the Wagyu Nigiri, with wagyu beef, ponzu, serrano, wasabi, garlic chips and kaiware. You can also order a platter featuring all four or a chef’s choice of eight pieces of nigiri.
The menu is rounded out with cocktails, beer, Japanese whiskey, sake and wine, plus desserts, including liquid varieties like the Shogun Espresso, with Japanese whiskey, espresso and brown sugar.
First things first, our server brought us the customary warm towels for our hands, then at our asking, listed off several of his favorites on the menu. Happily, they matched up with I was craving. For the two of us, we ordered the assorted sousaku nigiri—one each of the four special nigiri—plus the lobster bao, the hurricane roll and the yellowtail jalapeño crudo.
As we chatted, I peeked out of our booth now and then. We spoke briefly with another friend out with her husband and a couple. The Japanese chef was visiting all the tables that evening, offering up plates of his creations; I smiled when I saw him being charmed by the laughing baby in the next booth, out with his parents for a date night.
The first dish to arrive was the lobster bao. Full disclosure, my husband and I traveled to Maine this past summer, where I enjoyed to the fullest three plump lobster rolls and a full lobster dinner in a matter of four days. I had to admit: This lobster bao could go toe-to-toe with any of them. The bao was so tender, light and fluffy, and the lobster tasted so fresh and firm, seasoned lightly with just mayo and chives and perhaps a dash of citrus.
The Kamikaze roll was next, filled with spicy tuna—but not too spicy. It was a great balance of spice and tang, with the super-fresh salmon on top of my bite and a crunchy puffed rice topping. It was also artfully presented, with a pale green stem atop the roll and dollops of the coral spicy mayo on the light blue plate.
Our sousaku arrived next—but with it a perplexing problem: How would we share the nigiri to ensure we both were able to enjoy each flavor? Happily, our server noticed and came to our aid: “Would you like a knife?” It’s highly improper, but we took turns dividing each succulent bite in half so we could share.
Our server had also told us that, in his opinion, the Otoro Caviar was one of the best things on the menu. My bite first gave me a hit of heat from the serrano pepper, a musk from the truffle soy, and salinity from the garnish of caviar—super complex and enjoyable.
The Sake Aioli, though, was also right up there in terms of flavor and taste. Salmon is always one of my favorites though when it comes to sushi; this bite was buttery and beautifully enhanced by the creamy garlic aioli—definitely a flavor I would never have thought of with sushi, but it worked so well.
The Hinomaru featured some garnishes that I wasn’t so familiar with. Yuzu added a citrus note, while the whole shiso leaf was both minty and grassy, and it was lightly spicy from the kanzuri. While it wasn’t necessarily to my taste (the shiso was a little overwhelming), I definitely appreciated the opportunity to try some new and unique ingredients.
Our final of the four was the Wagyu Nigiri. I’m a little bit of a sushi snob and tend to turn my nose up at sushi that’s made of anything other than seafood. This one humbled me; it honestly may have been my personal favorite. The beef was amazingly tender, with rich flavors of soy and a crisp grilled edge. The garlic chips were also a nice touch with the rich beef.
The yellowtail jalapeno crudo was our last dish. I loved its presentation, with the super-thin slices of yellowtail tuna dressed in ponzu—a light and tangy sauce of soy, citrus, rice vinegar and other ingredients. Slices of serrano pepper—super spicy!—dotted the fish, which were lovely and firm and fresh. To cool our mouths, we sampled the jalapeno granita in the center, which was a little spicy, a little salty but also beautifully cooling.
In the end, while we did order a lot, it actually was a light and sophisticated meal. We eventually continued our night at Antonio’s in North Augusta, where Tricia ordered cannoli for her dessert and I went out of the box by ordering its rich Alfredo sauce with breadsticks for mine! (Along with sushi, cheese dip is one of my other weaknesses.) A few words of advice: It was a little cool in the restaurant for me, so you may want to bring a light sweater. Also be sure to make reservations; we were there at 6, so fairly early, but it filled up quickly. You can make your reservations right on the website—easy!
Several weeks later at a work meeting, a friend introduced me to some new co-workers as a restaurant reviewer and asked for some favorite restaurant recommendations. The words 990 Broad came out of my mouth almost before she finished asking the question. For sushi lovers, it’s truly a game changer.
Make Your Reservation
990 Broad Sushi Kitchen
990 Broad St.
Sushi cost: $8 to $30 per item
