Bites Nearby: Sumoboy Sushi & Teriyaki House

What is it about sushi? Midwesterners grow corn and soybeans, and our culinary roots lie somewhere inside the American diner — burger, fries and a malt, please.

Which is why we use sushi, the Japanese dish of vinegar-flavored cold cooked rice with a raw fish garnish, as a celebration: a birthday for mom or Sally's straight A's. Not everybody likes it and many won't try it, but sushi-lovers love sushi, truly, deeply.

, 9393 Mentor Ave., is an affordable restaurant serving lunch and dinner. Northeast Ohio's sushi hub is closer to Cleveland, but as you move east, Sumoboy is one of three sushi restaurants in Lake County.

In its fifth year, Sumoboy is open daily until 10 p.m. Its menu, hard to navigate for an amateur, is available at delivermefood.com. (It has no website or social media page.)

At lunch, specials include meals with three ($10.50) and two ($8.75) types of sushi rolls. Eel at $8.95 and salmon donburi (which means rice bowl) for $11.25. Each lunch special comes with a soup — miso, won ton or mushroom — and salad — avocado, seaweed, tofu or squid.

At dinner, there are a dozen lo-mein stir fry options, teriyaki options (BBQ eel) and sumo boxes, which are numbered to 16 and combine teriyaki favorites with California rolls and shrimp tempura. Those range from $11.95 to $15.

Sushi and sashimi (raw seafood sliced thinly with a dipping sauce) can be ordered a la carte for about $5. And there are party platters, a good idea for those celebrations and an opportunity to venture into the world of tekka, yellowtail, futo maki and eel. (It is the third time eel has been mentioned. There is something about eating eel to a Midwesterner that bears repeating.)

Its dine-in area is quaint and patrons can sit at a bar area at its rear and eat. Sake, beer and other spirits are served.

Of more than 30 online reviews, many are negative. "Since it opened four years ago, this restaurant has been in decline. Others must feel the same way," writes one reviewer.

"The service was rude, the portions were very small," writes another.

But Darren B. of Cleveland on yelp.com seems to offer a more realistic approach: "No ... it may not compete with Blue Ribbon in New York City where the owners can go down to the docks and pick out their own fresh fish. However, this is the eastern suburbs of Cleveland and expectation levels have to fall in line.

"It is a casual place with good solid service and the Teriyaki offers non-sushi eaters some food choices to accommodate everyone's palate."