Right off the beaten path and not far from the maddening crowd lies an oasis of culinary beauty called Ikebana.

Blissful serenity is the motif that greets you as you transit across the portal of the transformative Japanese restaurant located on E. Naylor Mill Rd. in Salisbury. Bamboo and pagodas, flowers and jade… they all dapple the tapestry of your repast at the four-year-old eatery such that one almost begins to lose one’s sense of time and place. In fact, after just enough of a premium sake, (I’m told they have the largest selection in town), I momentarily thought I’d morphed into British superspy James Bond in the movie You Only Live Twice — but then, as always, I spilled something on myself and was promptly slapped out of my rice-wine-inspired delusion of grandeur.

What’s not a delusion, however, is the utterly delicious and artfully presented festival of food that’s in store for you at Ikebana. Given that I am fairly new to the world of sushi and sashimi (the difference being, I only recently learned, that the former is anything made with vinegared rice; whereas, the latter is raw fish served chilled, sliced and arranged without rice), I figured I’d be well advised to sample as many of the offerings as I could, which I’m pleased to say I did, even if afterward I considered temporarily renting out my stomach as an ersatz aquarium.

The adventure began with miso soup followed by a delightfully tangy shredded-crab and cucumber salad in a spicy cream sauce topped with masago that really tickled my palate awake. The appetizer triumvirate was completed with a surprise treat called edamame, which are steamed, lightly salted soybeans that Ikebana spruced up with a delicious soy-garlic sauce, rendering them unforgettable. When you try it, though, make sure you drag the soybeans out of their pods with your teeth rather than just chomping and swallowing wholesale the entire bean-baring pod like some crude feral creature — which is exactly what I did until corrected by a merciful (but snickering) dinner companion.

To start the main course, the dizzying mélange set before me was a veritable treasure trove of tempura, teriyaki and hibachi artfully displayed in a “Bento Box.” The vegetable tempura included yummy helpings of deep-fried mushrooms and zucchini, though the real star was actually the sweet potato, especially incredible to me, considering my hatred of sweet potatoes has always bordered on epic. Well, not anymore.

As I was revelling in the variety of flavors I was enjoying…and hoping I had room for more, our waitress delivered a marvelously crafted sushi “boat” that in size and scope seemed more like a full-blown armada. And I don’t really blame them, considering the owner-chef of Ikebana earned his chopsticks during the two years he’d spent training at the illustrious Benihana of Tokyo, so he obviously had a lot of talent to express.

By the time I came up for air the first time, I had basically ripped through the bento box’s precious cargo of fresh tempura shrimp, mouth-watering teriyaki chicken (Yakitori) and oh-so-succulent Beef Teriyaki in a frenzy that made me know at once what it must have felt like to be Moby Dick. (Yes, I am the white whale.)

From there I proceeded to the next hat trick of treats. First was the Tuna Tataki, which is fresh tuna, lightly seasoned and scrupulously seared, topped with masago and their homemade sauce. Not only does the dish have a meaty texture, it actually looks like London broil. The two other must-haves are the Spicy Salmon Crunch Roll — topped with bits of tempura — and the Salisbury Roll, which is capped with spicy shredded crab and their sweet eel sauce. And by the way, Horatio, eel on the plate neither looks nor tastes like what’s wound up on the end of your fishing line by mistake. It’s actually quite delicious.

The choicest cuts of tuna, white tuna, salmon, flounder and shrimp, meanwhile, constituted the sashimi roster, each reassuringly meaty in its texture and all enlivened by some dipping sauces that I tried. Though it was the first time I’d tried sashimi, I know for certain it won’t be the last.

I probably saved the sushi for the end because of some preconscious sentiment that no matter what else happened, I could always depend on the sushi to be there for me. As a result, it was relegated to being the least exotic thing I’d eaten all night — though don’t think for a second it was the least appealing. In fact, one of my happiest discoveries during my night at Ikebana was a piece of sushi called Futo Maki, which is a tightly wound bundle of joy that consists of egg, mushroom, avocado, cucumber, crab and asparagus. It’s one of their “healthiest” rolls that vegetarians also love… but the exquisite combination of all those flavors with the dipping sauce added makes for a party in your mouth that even Paris Hilton would arrive on time for.

So, do yourself a favor: Get your girl or get your guy (or get them both) and head on over to Ikebana for one of the most memorable meals you’re gonna have in this area. And don’t fret about the cost, either. I have it on good authority that Ikebana’s prices are the most reasonable in the Salisbury area for this kind of quality cuisine. Banzai!

 

Ikebana, 501 E. Naylor Mill Rd., Salisbury, Md., 410-742-6127, www.ikebanarestaurant.com