I first tried sushi when I was 11 years old, and until the Spicy Tuna Roll arrived on my plate with its delicately folded side of ginger and lump of Wasabi, my pre-teen imagination nearly collapsed in on itself thinking of what would be served before me — after all, sushi was raw fish. Would my raw fish be served in original form, with a head and staring eyeballs? Or would it be disguised in small bits as something appetizing and cooked? How closely would my meal resemble Barbie and Ken, my beloved guppies? And how does raw fish taste?

To my great surprise and joy, the fish arrived in perfectly disguised form — wrapped in rice and vegetables and looking like it had never been even a distant relative of Barbie or Ken's. In the 10 years since my first hesitant endeavor, sushi has become by far my favorite food, and I have gotten considerably braver in my roll selection. In my three years in Nashville, I have made it a point to try every Japanese venue the city offers, so one could imagine my happiness when I heard that Zumi, a new sushi restaurant, had opened in Hillsboro Village, within walking distance of campus. Nashville has some delicious sushi eateries (highlights: Virago, Sushi Yobi and Ru-San's), but seems to lack tasty options in the casual dining sector. Ken's and Taste of Tokyo both offer quick and cheap rolls, but have never satisfied my craving for fresh fish and original flavors. Luckily, after two visits to Zumi, I know that I have finally found a restaurant where I can have an inexpensive and well-flavored sushi dinner in under 30 minutes.

When you walk into Zumi, located right next door to chicken favorite McDougal's, you are greeted by a large menu that takes up half of the far wall. Like at McDougal's and Vandy classic Cafe Coco, you order your food at the counter and are given a number for your table. After selecting from the expansive front porch, the cozy back deck or the main indoor dining room, you wait for your food for no longer than 10 minutes before being greeted with a surprisingly large roll (all Zumi rolls are eight pieces). I ordered the Pacific Queen (yellow fin tuna, avocado, mango, cucumber and macadamia nuts with poke's sauce) and edemame sautéed with garlic soy on my first visit while my roommate had a spicy tuna roll garnished with cucumber and togarashi pepper with miso soup. Thanks to coupons obtained at the Taste of Nashville fair, we each paid a total of $3.00 for our meals. My tuna roll was fresh and perfectly textured, and the mango fused sweetly with the fish for an unexpected aftertaste. The poke's sauce was a great alternative to soy sauce and added a spicy tang to my sushi. The edemame was served in a large portion as soon as we sat down to our table.

We decided to go back the following week to see if the food would be as enjoyable when it wasn't free. Happily, the Tropical Crunch (grilled unagi, avocado, cashews and pineapple with tempura crunchies, pepper, and sweet soy reduction) and the tuna and crab salad properly named Black and Gold (thanks for the shout-out, Zumi) proved an even more delicious mesh of flavors. Even without coupons, every roll at Zumi is under $9.00. The fresh salad, rice, and noodle dishes I have yet to try (eagerly anticipating the grilled salmon, avocado, tomato, crunchy won-ton and soy-orange dressing salad) don't exceed the $11 mark. Zumi Sushi is the perfect option for the Vandy student seeking a quick, healthy, and cheap meal — check out all of their menu options at http://www.zumisushi.com/. The one downfall? It closes at 9 on weekdays and 10 on weekends.