Food review: Fire ball nigiri

Restaurant: Sushi Delight (San Francisco)
Food description: Spicy tuna deep fried and topped with maguro tuna sashimi and spicy sauce
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

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.

Food review: Escolar sushi

Restaurant: Kabuto Sushi (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of escolar sushi on top of seasoned rice
Food rating: 10 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

This is the best sushi I've ever had. For those who always get the regular hamachi, salmon, tuna combo at sushi joints I highly encourage you to seek out places that serve escolar. I've also seen it labeled as white tuna, super white tuna, premium white tuna or butterfish but whatever it is, it is so delicious. Kabuto is my favorite sushi place in the city. It's a bit of a hole in the wall in the Outer Richmond but it is worth the trek out here for the escolar alone. Kabuto is quality sushi, the chefs are well trained and I've never had a bad slice of sushi here, they're also really well known for their innovative rolls. But back to the escolar, this is my favorite sushi of all time, it's so rich and buttery and I don't know how but every time I've had it here it's tasted so fresh I feel like it must have come right off the boat and straight into my mouth. The taste is really fresh and sweet and the texture is so rich it just seems to melt in your mouth. This is my first ten rating so trust me when I say this sushi is the best in San Francisco.

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: Maguro sashimi (red tuna)

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of red tuna sashimi
Food rating: 2 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

(Pardon me while I go off for a sec) This maguro had no business being anywhere near my stomach nor any kitchen nor any restaurant! I actually told the host on my way out my sentiments toward this barely edible dish. He blamed it on the fact that it was a sashimi cut rather than a sushi cut--but trust me--I've had enough sashimi in my life to know which cuts are just inappropriate to serve. (Ok, done ranting). But I think you get the picture. There were two major issues that prevented me from eating more than a few bites. First, you can tell just from looking at it that there's huge pieces of tendon cutting through each piece. You'd need a chainsaw for teeth in order to chew through that stuff, and I should've sent it back (I normally would have). The second issue was that half of each piece was discolored (see photo again), which meant it was getting old and tasted fishy. The shiro maguro sashimi also suffered from this problem, which is a bad sign for a sushi place when two of the fish you ordered are not fresh. This is a big problem and makes me think twice about coming back to this restaurant again. It's a shame because I thought some of their other fish was so good.

Food review: Sake sashimi (salmon)

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

The salmon sashimi was just "ok" for me. It wasn't as fresh as I'd hoped, and overly oily (I suspect it was farm-raised). It was so oily that when you picked it up, it began to fall apart. Normally fattiness in sashimi is a good thing, particularly with toro, but with salmon (which is fattier by nature), it had maxed out it's fat limit. The added oiliness gave it a slimy texture, and given my vivid imagination, this was not something I found enjoyable. After just having the delicious hamachi, I really expected more from the salmon, but unfortunately it didn't deliver. At this point, I'd say there are other things on the menu I'd rather experiment with before attempting to give this salmon another try.

Food review: Hamachi sashimi (yellowtail)

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of yellowtail/hamachi sashimi
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

I'm going to give a big bravo to the hamachi sashimi at Sushi Time. It was the best out of the trio and was unbelievably fresh, compared to the on-its-way-out shiro maguro counterpart. The color of the fish was perfect and was so fresh, the juice was literally oozing out of it-- something I can't say I've seen before. The texture was firm yet smooth, and cut from the edge of the fish to include some of that nice darker meat. The resulting flavor was creamy and rich and lasted long after you swallowed it. One downside of the hamachi was the presence of a thick piece skin lining the edge that is slimy and tougher to chew than the rest of the fish. It doesn't taste that good and kinda grosses me out thinking of where the outside of that fish has been. I assume the chef has included the skin for a reason, but I'm just not at the point where I can appreciate it, so I'd rather have it removed. Other than that minor nuisance, the hamachi had a mouthwatering effect on me, and exceeded the salmon and maguro by quite a bit. If only I'd known this beforehand, I would've said "screw the other sashimi!" and just eaten a triple serving of hamachi.

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: Miso soup

Restaurant: Sushi Time (San Francisco)
Food description: Japanese soup made with miso paste, tofu, scallions, and seaweed
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Finally, miso soup that's got-it-going-on in the flavor department. Usually, miso soup is the much neglected step-child of sushi restaurants, but this time, the chef gave it some love and actually put a little effort into it. A good quality darker miso paste was used, giving the soup a full, hearty flavor, rather than that watered-down nonsense they serve elsewhere. For me, it's all about the broth (everything else is just filler), so once you get the broth right, the rest is history. The seaweed was seaweed, and the tofu was microscopic, but like I said, I'm only really paying attention to the broth factor. My only complaint was that there wasn't enough of it, and that they didn't share the recipe with all the other sushi joints with terrible miso soup.

Food review: Super dynamite roll

Restaurant: Red Box Sushi (San Francisco)
Food description: Deep fried spicy sushi roll with white tuna, hamachi, and salmon in a spicy mayonnaise topped with kabayaki sauce, masago (smelt roe), and scallions
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Again - look at how beautiful that layout is! But this time, unlike the maguro, the flavor delivered. Yummy fried crunchiness on the roll casing, not too much mayo, not too much roe, and a yummy scallion layer. I would have given this a 8.5 or even a 9 if it had been a little less spicy, and please note, I realize that spiciness is a "to taste" flavoring. However, for me it was slightly overbearing on the mix of other flavors inducing a cancelling effect and could have been toned down just a bit. Regardless, this and the salmon were easily my two favorite dishes of the night and I will definitely be ordering this again if we go here again. Also I wanted to note that the dynamite rolls at different restaurants use different ingredients, I'm curious if the lack of maguro (red tuna) in this one is purposeful because they know its not as good... hmmmmm.

Food review: Maguro sashimi (red tuna)

(maguro is red)

Restaurant: Red Box Sushi (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of red tuna sashimi
Food rating: 4.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Ok... before you flame me for giving something from Red Box Sushi a 4.5, as you can see I've only ordered this once, so I will have to check it again and update the post / post a new message if it improves. First off, I had such high hopes!! It looked so beautiful - really the presentation here is exquisite. So after admiring the layout it was extremely disheartening to bite into the maguro and get... mushy flavorlessness? I mean you know when you sometimes get that over-refrigerated or twice frozen feeling about sashimi. I got it. It was mealy and tasteless and I really don't have anything else to say about it. If you have had the Red Box maguro sashimi and it was good, please post your experience in the comments so we can get an idea if this is common with them - thanks!

Also, note for those who like Kirin beer, they do not have it here.

Food review: Rock and roll

Restaurant: Red Box Sushi (San Francisco)
Food description: Sushi roll with eel, hamachi, avocado, watercress, and wasabi mayonnaise topped with kabayaki sauce
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

The rock and roll was excellent at Red Box Sushi. I would have rated it an 8.0, had it not been for the wasabi mayonnaise. I appreciate what the chef was trying to do by adding this element, (adding creaminess and then offsetting its oiliness), but it was just overkill. The combination of avocado, eel, and hamachi was already rich and creamy enough (you wouldn't add mayo to guacamole now would you?) and the watercress was just enough radish to contrast the oil. I was totally savoring this roll until the wasabi mayo kicked in and started obscuring the flavors. I think the typical recipe only uses eel and avocado, but the addition of big chunks of hamachi was a good call by the chef. Maybe I can get him to make it special for me next time sans the mayo!

Food review: Hamachi sashimi (yellowtail)

(hamachi is white)

Restaurant: Red Box Sushi (San Francisco)
Food description: Raw slices of yellowtail sashimi
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Judging purely by looks alone, I thought the hamachi was going to be stellar, but was surprised when the texture left something to be desired. Each piece was strewn with chewy tendony tissue, usually more common in tuna than hamachi. I'm not exactly sure the exact cause of this--I think it has something to do with the area of the fish--but it's something I'm very critical of and think chefs should be ultra conscious about. These inferior cuts of fish are totally fine when used inside sushi rolls, but shouldn't be served alone as sashimi. On the bright side (though my jaw was a little tired afterwards), I enjoyed the freshness and delicious flavor of the hamachi and would love to see if the chef uses a better cut the second time around. It definitely has a lot of potential, but is difficult to recommend after this first pass.