Dallas sushi restaurant celebrates NBA playoffs with Dirk Nowitzki roll

Also rolls for Jason Kidd and the team.

Sushi Zushi

Mavericks sushi rolls

DALLAS — If Dirk Nowitzki were a sushi roll, how would he taste? We'll give you a hint: not too spicy, with crawfish and cucumber.

Stoked by the Dallas Mavericks' presence in the 2011 NBA playoffs, Dallas sushi restaurant Sushi Zushi is sharing its playoffs fever with new Mavericks-themed signature rolls.

"The playoffs are so exciting -- when we saw that the Mavericks were going further and further, we wanted to do something," said manager Josh King. The Oak Lawn spot is the only Dallas branch of this small Texas chain based in San Antonio.

"Something" turned out to be three limited-edition rolls named for the team and its two star players. "We picked our favorite players," said King.

The Dirk Roll has crawfish and cucumber with a special sauce inside, and is topped with escolar, avocado, on black tobiko, or fish roe -- "not too spicy," King said.
The Kidd Roll has crab, cream cheese, and avocado inside, and is topped with orange tobiko, seaweed, "and some eel sauce to make it darker," King said.
The Mavs Roll has shrimp tempura and cucumber and is wrapped with salmon and escolar.

King describes escolar as being like white tuna -- "it's not so average and it's buttery," he said.

But the explanation for how they came up with the particular combinations -- "we more or less went with our popular items and put them together," said King -- sounds like a missed opportunity. Why not use ingredients that resonate with their namesakes?

Wouldn't a proper Dirk roll have a wurst in the center with some sauerkraut, topped with spatzle? You know, German stuff. A Kidd roll would have some aged cheddar -- because he is old, see, and maybe some corned beef and collard greens, because he's half Irish and half African-American.

The Mavs roll should have pickles and ham, all the ingredients of Miami favorite sandwich, the Cuban, because we want the Mavericks to eat the Heat.

Sushi Zushi will feature the special rolls through the play-offs, possibly a week after. They also created a signature drink.

"It's called the Mavericks charm, it's our lucky drink for the Mavs -- it's a little blue," King said. That's more like it.