Staying In: Tokyo Bowl

Once upon a time, the drive-through window just spit out burgers and fries. These days, there’s no need to leave the car for grilled chicken, a frappé, even sushi and tempura. Sushi comes out fast and cheap at Tokyo Bowl, around for more than a decade at the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and 123rd Street in North Miami.

Dining in has its advantages, including an all-you-can-eat sushi special, but a simple menu and quick service make takeout a cinch. We had a family-size order in our hands five minutes after paying. The Tokyo Bowl focuses on sushi, covering the basics and beyond, including an eight-piece Mexican roll with tempura shrimp, avocado and a sprinkling of fish eggs. The basic veggie and salmon rolls were good enough to have come from a fancier place at about the same price as an order of nuggets. 

For picky kids not sold on uncooked food, stick with the California roll, with cucumber and cooked crab stick, or you, too, might hear: ‘‘Icky raw fish.” The namesake bowls start with white rice, broccoli and carrots bathed in a brown sauce and add chicken, beef or lightly fried white tuna. For a guilty pleasure, try the tempura.

The Tokyo Bowl will throw just about anything in the fryer, including shrimp, chicken, vegetables (fat sweet potato and cauliflower slices), even creamy slabs of cheesecake. On the side, we slurped up cool, stringy seaweed salad and a garden salad with ginger dressing. Everything was packed in sturdy plastic bowls and plates with snap-on lids. Worried about a sushi meal not filling you up? At the drive-through, you can super-size it with a combo platter.

This story was originally published June 11, 2010 at 8:06 AM.