Food review: Cornet sashimi (pencil fish)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of pencil fish sashimi
Food rating: 5.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

The pencil fish was raved about endlessly on Yelp, and that Zushi Puzzle is the only place that carries it, and that it's special ordered from Japan, yada yada... Although I know better than to believe such nonsense, my curiosity got the best of me and I caved. Much to my dismay, pencil fish was nothing more than glorified halibut or any other firm white-meat fish. Though I'm not sure what it was supposed to look like, it didn't look very appetizing and didn't taste like much either. The cut was very thin, but there were a few tough stringy things here and there, which I could've done without. The texture was very firm, a tad chewy, and a tad slimy. I'd liken the flavor to similar to that of halibut or sea bass. I'm not a huge fan of the chewier texture of these leaner white fishes, and prefer fattier fish that tastes richer and has a smoother texture (i.e. salmon, hamachi, toro, butterfish). Aside from the cut, there was nothing necessarily wrong with the pencil fish, but it's just not something I would personally eat again.

Food review: Shiro maguro toro (albacore tuna)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of white albacore tuna toro sashimi
Food rating: 2 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

I took one look at this and immediately wanted to send it back. I was expecting it to look gorgeous like this. Instead, I was served this half-pink-half-brown, greasy-looking block of fish. I was already uneasy about having more albacore tuna after the first batch was old, but it was too late to cancel the order. I attempted to bite off a little piece to test it out, but there were such huge bands of tough tendony stuff that I couldn't bite through it. It was so bad, I chewed off what fish I could, and spit out the rest. Not the best thing, especially after just having my wisdom teeth out. And after all that work, the fish itself was nasty! It tasted even older than the regular albacore sashimi, and was so greasy it was sickening. There's a big difference between being fatty, and being straight up oily. It didn't matter anyway, because it was impossible to chew and was old. The whole situation was almost comical, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Whatever you do, never ever order this, please!!

Food review: Maguro sashimi (red tuna)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of red tuna sashimi
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

You'd be surprised at how many sushi places butcher red tuna sashimi. Maguro is very lean and firm, so the cut is more critical than with a softer oilier fish. Luckily, Zushi Puzzle nailed the cut of this red tuna, which you can tell just from looking at it: the white tendony things are very thin and sparse and the color is deep red. My previous 2 maguro experiences were not up to snuff, so when this dish arrived, I was able to breathe a big sigh of relief. The flavor and texture was confirmed after the first bite--it was fresh, tender yet firm, and mild and clean. The tuna had lots of flavor and a slight metallic hint that is characteristic of maguro. Although I wasn't blown away by the tuna, I was very happy with it, considering that it's been a couple months since I've had decent maguro sashimi. However, I still think that the red tuna at Sushi Delight is better.

Food review: Hamachi sashimi (yellowtail)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of yellowtail hamachi sashimi
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

It's really hard to go wrong with hamachi. This was my second favorite sashimi after the butterfish. I didn't like the chunky blocks that they cut the fish into, but it didn't affect the flavor, so I won't dock it. The cut was actually more fatty than other hamachi that I've had (notice the color), which made the flavor extra rich and buttery. The texture was semi-firm and smooth. Unlike the hamachi at Sushi Time, they removed all the skin, thankfully. Unfortunately, like the butterfish, I tasted traces of onion on the fish, probably due to being cut with an oniony knife. It is these little things that make me question whether I'm going to come back to this place. Although it didn't change the flavor drastically, it's not what I was expecting (plus sushi chefs are supposed to be more conscientious than that). It's a real shame too, because the hamachi was actually pretty good aside from that.

Food review: Sake sashimi (salmon)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of salmon sashimi
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Did I like it? Yep. Is it the same stuff I've had everywhere else? Yep. That basically sums it up. Tasty, but nothing to memorable to distinguish it from all the other salmon I've had. The texture was firm and smooth, the freshness was acceptable, and the flavor was decent. There was nothing bad about it nor nothing amazing about it. It passed my minimum-standards-for-salmon-sashimi benchmark test, so I'd be down to order it again. But not until I try their wild Alaskan salmon first. I'm dying to try some salmon sushi that just blows my mind.

Food review: Butterfish sashimi

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of butterfish sashimi
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Though not as good as Cathy's perfect-10 escolar, the butterfish was certainly the best sashimi out of the others I tried during my visit to Zushi Puzzle. After a not-so-good start, I was happy that the freshness and tastiness of the butterfish was helping to redeem things. Butterfish has a high oil content, which lends a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture that I love. No chewy tendony things, thank you! The flavor of the fish did have traces of onion (like the hamachi), so I suspect it was cut with a knife that had just cut an onion. This is careless and sloppy of the chef, who should know how much this can distort the flavor. The fish was also overly watery and it was obvious that it had just been thawed out. I'm aware that a lot of sushi is frozen and thawed that day, but I'd just rather it not be so recently thawed out that it's still full of water. It simply waters down the flavor. Nevertheless, butterfish is a really nice fish, so even those issues didn't affect my enjoyment of it much. It really does taste like butter: rich, creamy, and mild. It's similar to toro, so if you like toro (who doesn't!) then you need to check out butterfish.

Food review: Shiro maguro sashimi (albacore tuna)

Restaurant: Zushi Puzzle (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of white albacore tuna sashimi
Food rating: 5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

The only other time I was at Zushi Puzzle was with a bunch of people who wanted mostly rolls, so this time I wanted to put the real stuff to the test. I realize y'all are probably sick of my same ole reviews of red tuna, white tuna, hamachi, and salmon sashimi, but it's my standard benchmark, a litmus test, if you will. I know what those things should taste like, so if they can't get something as simple as this right, I don't need to come back.

So first up, the albacore tuna sashimi: This fish had potential, but it was old. This is the second time in a row I've been subjected to old albacore tuna. It really pisses me off when sushi places don't throw out their leftover fish daily, especially for the prices they're charging. So, from now on, I'm establishing a new rule: if I get served old fish, I'm simply sending it back, and never ordering it again. No second chances, especially when they're putting my health at risk. Even though it wasn't old enough to start discoloring, the albacore tuna still tasted fishy, and had that granular texture indicative of old fish. What's worse is that we'd already ordered the albacore tuna toro, which I assumed would be cut from this same fish, and equally as old. You can read if my hunches were correct.