To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge — there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

I am curious to know what most sushi eaters prefer. Is it just the standard table experience where everyone in your party looks each other in the eye? Or do you like sitting at the bar, around the dugout, watching and listening to your meal get prepared? Well, if you haven’t sat at the bar at Samurai, it’s definitely a fun atmosphere that should be tried at least once.

Two of the main points about sushi are precision cutting and attention to detail. To see it all in action, and to take in the playful banter of the staff, seems to make everything taste even better. Case in point, this week’s dish, the Volcano.

The dish consists of lightly seared tuna surrounding a mound of spicy scallops then topped with a seaweed salad. It’s garnished with two sauces (ponzu and spicy mayo) and thin lemon slices. If you’ve heard the term “too pretty to eat,” that could easily be applied to this dish. Its vibrant colors are a spectacle for the eyes, but don’t let that saying go to your head. You need to eat this.

The freshness of the fish and scallops combined with the salty and briny seaweed are balanced with the spiciness. Each of the sauces has a little something different to offer, whether creamy or tangy, and if you opt for the splash of lemon, it just brightens everything up.

The best way to eat might be the most meticulous, but if you treat each piece of tuna like its own crostini, and top it with a slight slathering of each sauce, the spicy scallops, the salad, and a little squeeze of lemon, you’re in business for one of the best bites of the night. Every flavor, every texture come together like that last piece of the puzzle that’s been sitting on your table for the past two weeks. Just do it already.

Samurai Restaurant is located at 2588 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. For menu and other information visit them online at sushitahoe.com or give them a call at 530-542-0300.