Sake House Baltimore Deal of the Day

The carefully rolled nature of sushi makes it ideal for starting snowballs, which is why it's commonly known as "snowman heart." Eat to the center of snow with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of Japanese cuisine and drinks at Sake House, located in Laurel.

Sake House sates cravings for authentic eastern eats by serving up a tantalizing treasury of sushi, tempura, teriyaki, and sashimi in an elegant environment. Stoke stomach flames with a honey wasabi tuna appetizer, a fan of sliced seared tuna drizzled in honey wasabi sauce, lounging on a bed of cucumber ($10.50). Or, jump face first into a variety of un-cooked entrées, ranging from broiled una don (eel) ($18.50), to house sashimi ($20.50). Fresh from the kitchen, try a hot grilled Hibachi dinner, which arrives tableside with an entourage of shrimp, soup, salad, a signed photo of Pat Morita, vegetables, and fried rice, and is available with a choice of meat, fish ($18.00–24.00), or vegetables ($15.00). For dessert, try a tempura banana ($4.00), or cool down with the paradoxical tempura ice cream ($5.00), which spent years in therapy trying to reconcile its internal and external temperature contradictions.

An extensive drink menu temps customers with seven varieties of premium sake, and undecided imbibers can sample a flight of three two-ounce servings ($10). Large windows bathe the spacious, high-ceilinged dining room in natural light, while exposed stone walls and fresh bamboo make it a must-see tourist attraction for vacationing pandas.

Sake House

Sculptures of simple wooden sailboats glide across the wall behind Sake House's sushi bar, where chefs bend intently over long filets of fresh fish. In front of them in the dining room, tables draped with tidy white tablecloths stand out against the dark, wooden walls, and platters littered with colorful sushi travel on the arms of servers. Behind the bar, bottles of chilled sake wear poetic labels such as "Bamboo Dew", "Soaring Cloud", and "Black River", and at hibachi tables, chefs deftly manipulate their knives across steaks and lobsters or carve their initials into broccoli trees.