I find myself out and about in Howard County during lunchtime a lot, and I always wonder what to eat when I’m in a pinch.

Several months ago, I saw a post in the Columbia subreddit: “Let’s settle this once and for all! What’s the best Sushi place?!”

I love sushi, and a lot of sushi restaurants have lunch specials, so I decided to tackle the question.

To maintain an even playing field, I ordered pretty much the same rolls at a few locations.

I didn’t have a single bad piece of sushi. This was great, but the question — what’s the best sushi spot in Howard County? — remained. The answer, I think, is that there are plenty.

I didn’t make it to every sushi place mentioned on the Reddit thread, and surely only scratched the surface of options; please let me know what I missed. Until then, here are four spots worth checking out.

Sushi Q6 Normandy

8450 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 135, Ellicott City

I frequent Sushi Q6 in the Normandy Shopping Center. It’s only a five-minute drive from the Howard County government campus, where I spend a lot of time reporting. The first time I went, I met a friend who immediately flipped my menu to the lunch specials. Since then, I’ve always ordered the salmon lunch.

For $15, it comes with soup, five pieces of salmon nigiri and an eight-piece salmon avocado roll. I can never finish it all in one sitting, but it is delicious.

This winter day, I went on the early side for an 11:30 a.m. sushi lunch feast. To my surprise, a steady stream of early lunchers flowed into booths.

Sushi Q6 has four other lunch options: tuna, everything, sashimi and sushi. They range from $15 to $18. There’s also a pre-selected sushi roll menu: Diners can pick two for $12 or three for $16.

Sushi Tendou

8194 Westside Boulevard, Fulton

My colleague Clara Longo de Freitas, a breaking news reporter, joined me for an outing to Sushi Tendou.

We were swiftly seated at a table and went straight to the lunch menu. I ordered an avocado cucumber roll and a salmon avocado roll, while Clara decided on a salmon tempura roll and an Alaska roll. While I have no complaints about any of the sushi I ate during these trials, Sushi Tendou had some of the freshest-tasting raw fish.

Each sushi lunch special comes with either soup or a salad. The lunch options consist of any single roll plus three pieces of nigiri for $15, any three rolls for $15, or any two rolls for $12.

Clara and I both opted for the piping-hot bowl of miso soup. It was tasty.

Umi Sushi

8167 Main St., Ellicott City

Having opened less than a year before the pandemic began, Umi Sushi not only survived but is thriving. I went there at noon and tables were already filled.

Like Sushi Q, Umi Sushi has sushi entrees for lunch, but Umi’s include soup and a house salad. The five options are salmon, tuna, sushi, sashimi, and sushi and sashimi, and they cost $15.75 to $19.95. There’s also an option to pick two rolls for $12.75 or three rolls for $16.95, both served with soup and salad.

I went for a sushi entree and two rolls. I was feeling particularly hungry and also wanted to try out more of the menu. I didn’t finish every piece, but I left happy and full.

While I visited in the throes of winter, I’ve heard the outdoor space is stunning. Once the weather warms up, I’ll be back.

Sushi Sono

10215 Wincopin Circle, Columbia

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Sushi Sono. Tucked away and overlooking Lake Kittamaqundi, this beloved spot is worth finding — even if the lunch specials don’t exist anymore.

Here’s what happened: As someone who needs to look at a menu before I get to a restaurant, I saw that Sushi Sono had lunch specials. So color me surprised when I sat down on a recent Friday and the lunch specials were not on the menu. The server taking my order said they were long gone, and she had me order off the a la carte menu.

Trying to stick with the other lunch specials I had, I ordered a salmon skin roll ($8) and an Alaska roll ($8.50). The rolls were super fresh and came with heavy helpings of ginger and wasabi.

While you may spend a couple extra dollars (especially if you add soup or salad), Sushi Sono is a great option for a quick bite.