Kame

250 Cabot St., Beverly

978-922-9333

Handicapped accessible

Hours: Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 9:30 p.m.

Major credit cards accepted

After years of sushi eating, boredom sets in.

It's like any relationship. In the beginning, when one is first introduced to California rolls and spicy tuna, there is excitement. It's new and fresh. It seems dangerous.

There is more experimenting with each trip. The rolls with cooked fish are no longer enough. Avocado and crab rolls are for sissies. Eel is the new thing. Then sashimi. Fish roe is consumed and digested without a second thought.

Then comes the boredom.

This is when it's time to experiment. To try something out of the ordinary, one needs to visit a Japanese restaurant with options. Kame in Beverly is a good place to start expanding one's sushi palate.

Kame is especially good for experimenting because of its unpretentious atmosphere. It's OK to ask "What is that?" and "How do you eat this?" The crowd is friendly, dressed casually.

My dining partner and I opted to do some experimenting and to try some of Kame's basics.

We started with the hamachi-kama appetizer ($8.95). The dish consisted of a platter-sized piece of yellowtail marinated in teriyaki. We had the option of a salt marinade, but chose the more basic sauce.

The fish -- which we thought might be chicken for a good minute -- was meaty and moist. The sauce was the highlight. Even when the fish was mostly devoured, we dipped our chopsticks in for last tastes of the thick teriyaki.

I can't lie -- it was very difficult to eat. There was some yellowtail in the lap and confusion about whether the dish would be more effective as an entre than as an appetizer, but we managed.

The confusion led to relief when our ordinary appetizer was served. The shumai ($4.95) was steamed and light. We were happy to sample the familiar. It was tasty with its spicy mustard sauce on the side.

Our next focus was a plate of sushi. Again, we mixed basics and experiments. We were happiest with the basics. The tuna was soft and spicy. The eel and avocado roll was the favorite. All of the fish was fresh and flavorful with little need for soy sauce, ginger, or other extras.

Bo Saetang, who runs the restaurant, has worked at Asahi in Salem. At both, one can tell that sushi is the priority.

For more experimenting, we tried an entre that seemed unique, the chicken katsu agemond ($12.95). It was described as tender meat dipped in a light bread crumb batter and fried to perfection, but we were a bit disappointed with the dish.

It wasn't an experiment. It actually looked and tasted much like a giant chicken tender that might be served in a chain food restaurant. It came with a dark brown sauce, which we hoped would save the meal, but it was basically an Asian barbecue dip, which didn't add much to the meat. We generally ignored what we had hoped would be a pleasant surprise.

My dining partner and I wanted to continue to order and eat the experiments, but we were most pleased with the basic sushi offerings. Not only were the basics our favorites but they were also the least expensive items on the menu.

Sushi diners should take risks. At Kame, there are other risks to take -- such as the yaki-ika ($4.95), which features broiled squid and ginger sauce, or the chawan mushi ($5.50), a custard soup with shrimp, mushroom, chicken, and gingko nuts that probably cures boredom for miso lovers.

But like any good relationship, it is the basics that are important. Kame has mastered the basics, and that's really all that matters.

MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN