The Silver Spring Penguin

Downtown’s Sushi Jin (8555-A Fenton St) has a choice to make. It can dim the lights, crank up the techno and become Silver Spring’s next scene. Or it can stay on its current path to mediocrity.

For now, expect unremarkable sushi, boring teriyaki, unappetizing prices and muzak so painfully bad, it would trigger spontaneous hara-kiri.

An order of unagi ($5) arrives as two slices of seared eel, each draped over a moulded, two-inch log of rice. The eel itself is tender, devoid of the soft bones that usually give it a little crunch. The rice is overwhelmingly sweet and mutes the flavor of the fish.

The toro ($10) offers two slabs of fatty tuna — supposedly the best-tasting and therefore most expensive part of the fish — over rice logs. Unfortunately, the tuna is bland, and the thick slices don’t flatter what should be a delicate piece of fish. Again, the rice is overwhelmingly sweet.

For a real jolt of sugar, the futomaki ($7) packs a sweetened omelet, yellow bell pepper, avocado slices, cucumber, imitation crabmeat and that friggin’ rice into a tight seaweed sleeve. It’s like a pack of Starburst with wasabi.

From the grill, the beef teriyaki ($13.50) arrives on a sizzling platter with a modest bowl of steamed unsweetened rice. The beef is sliced thin, grilled with a vegetable medley and then drenched in a sweet and salty brown sauce. However, the dish doesn’t stand out from what one might find in the frozen food aisle of a local grocery store.

Desserts at Sushi Jin should be avoided like the clap. The pumpkin pudding ($5) is a runny slurry of gourd and ground rice. It’s a soupy mess. The red-bean ice cream ($5) is creamy and rich but suffers from freezer burn. Ice granules rob the diner from what should be an indulgence.

The dining room is clean and comfortable, but its long shape is more conducive to a bar. This could work in Sushi Jin’s favor. A little bit of track lighting, deep ambient techno and seriously stiff drinks could go a long way to masking mediocre food. It could be downtown Silver Spring’s next big scene.

For now, patrons must grit their teeth in the dull fluorescent glow, smothered in nauseating piano renditions of “Endless Love” and the love theme from “Superman” (”Can You Read My Mind?”).

Anyone know the Japanese word for “Oy vey”?

Sushi Jin, 8555-A Fenton St, Silver Spring, (301) 608-0990.