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: 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.

Food review: Seared tombo tuna salad ("the catch")

Restaurant: Coco500 (San Francisco)
Food description: Seared Pacific tombo (albacore) tuna atop salad of organic baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and butternut squash, ginger, and sesame seeds
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Of all the things I tried on the lunch menu, this salad was the absolute best by far. The other dishes were overpriced and just so-so, but this dish made Coco500 worth my while. My biggest complaint is that they're ridiculously stingy on the portions, especially given their prices. This particular salad would work fine maybe as a lunch appetizer, but not a main course (unless you order the vacherin for dessert). Regardless, this salad was the best I've had in a while and I highly recommend it, despite the minute portions. Since it was the catch of the day, I'm not even sure when they'll have it again--it should really be a regular menu item. Anyway, the tuna itself was extremely fresh, ultra tender, and seared perfectly, leaving it warm on the outside and cool on the inside. It really was at its peak freshness and was a great cut with a mild lean flavor. The spinach and tuna were dressed in a light marinade of sesame, ginger, and garlic, and worked well with the mushrooms and butternut squash. All the ingredients combined together in harmony without anything standing out more or less than another. The resulting flavor was buttery, mild, nutty, and meaty. The spinach was just barely sauteed so that when you chewed it, its texture would blend with the other ingredients, rather than being all raw and crunchy. I thought this was a rather nice detail because it's annoying when you're chewing something that's all smooth except for that one ingredient that takes longer to chew than everything else. It was the cherry on top of an already great salad, and made a joke out of the last seared tuna salad I'd had. Nicely done!

Food review: Bincho roll

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Albacore white tuna and avocado roll with tobiko (flying fish roe)
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Unlike some of the other offerings at Sushi Time, this roll did not disappoint. The white tuna and avocado complemented each other like crab and hot butter, as if they were destined to eaten together. I tasted zero fishiness this time, only smooth buttery deliciousness. Though rich, it only needed nothing more than a quick swig of beer to cleanse the palate. The portions of fish and avocado were sizable compared to the rice, and the tobiko added a nice hint of texture and flavor to the mix. Though I'm more of a sushi person than a roll person, it was great for what it was. Nothing spectacular, but no complaints either. It makes for great filler in between bites of sashimi.

Food review: Spicy white tuna roll

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Albacore tuna and cucumber roll topped with spicy mayonnaise and sesame seeds
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

I always like to get the spicy tuna rolls when we go to a new sushi joint, partly because I like the spicy mix of flavors and partly because I get to eat it all - M doesn't like the mayo! Normally I don't see the albacore used in the spicy tuna roll which turned out to be a pretty good change in this case. The mayo dollop on top was not too mayo-ey and let you taste the rest of the ingredients without being overwhelming. The spiciness was just right, and it was a little bit sweet as well. Overall good flavor - and yummy sesame seeds. I dislike when the sesame is lost completely and they did a good job here of balancing. I'm curious if they didn't use the red tuna in the roll because it isn't normally very good - it sure wasn't on this visit. Well, I am pleased with this rendition of the spicy tuna roll by Sushi Time and I would have it again.

Food review: Shiro maguro sashimi (albacore tuna)

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of white albacore tuna sashimi
Food rating: 6.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Wow, this dish was really tough to rate, so if I order it again, I'll have to revisit the rating. Eating this dish nearly turned me bipolar: one bite had me fantasizing about having it 24/7, and the next bite had me squishing my face up in anguish. Here's what was going on: if you look at the photo, you'll notice that the left half of each piece is slightly discolored. Guess which part that is? The part you don't want to eat. It has hit the air too long and tasted fishy and old. It's really a shame because the other half was exquisite, some of the best shiro maguro I've had. The texture was soooo smooth you didn't even need to chew, it just melted away. It was really impressive up until the point where the fishy aftertaste part kicked in. It was dark, so I couldn't figure out what was going on, otherwise I would have just eaten the fresh part. Overall I'd say the dish was more manic than depressive, so I've tried to balance the rating accordingly. It's tough because normally, if you know the fish isn't fresh, it's risky to even eat it at all. I guess since the rest of it was so good, it was a risk worth taking. But if it's like that again, I'll be forced to put it in the food poisoning category.

Food review: Shiro maguro toro (albacore tuna)

Restaurant: Sushi Delight (San Francisco)
Food description: White tuna albacore toro nigiri sushi
Food rating: 8.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

This dish may not look like much, but it'll make you go mmm the whole time. Along with the bluefin toro, it's one of the best things at Sushi Delight, and some of the better toro I've had. Both of those items are specials, so they might not be available all the time. This toro is albacore, so its slightly less fatty than bluefin toro, but tastes pretty close. The texture is softer than bluefin toro so it still melts in your mouth nicely. I always try to prolong the experience of toro by eating it v e r y s l o w l y and hope more will magically appear, but it never does. Otherwise, I'd be sitting there for days gorging myself. Since we go to Sushi Delight regularly, the chef always hooks us up with something really fresh, this time it was the albacore toro, which was a special treat. I'm not sure if it's always this good, or if we're only getting it at its best, but you can ask the chef yourself what's really fresh and he'll recommend something good.