Chunks of raw fish can enter
the body either as something completely blissful, or as something morally
corrupt. In my experience as a sushi eater (which spans a commendable +10
years), you either get beautiful, fresh, exceptional cuts of fish, or you get raging
diarrhea. There is no middle ground.
That is why when you (the
starry-eyed, fish hungry customer) walk the thin line between pain and
happiness that comes with choosing a sushi restaurant, a couple things might be
worth remembering. The first is to be open-minded; the second is to go forth
with a thirst for adventure. Being open-minded will make you enjoy the food
more, and, in the event you end up choosing the wrong restaurant, the adventure
will make the diarrhea a little more bearable.
With that being said, I took
my good-natured vegetarian friend to Sushi Bistro this weekend, and my stomach has
never felt better. Luckily Sushi Bistro is on 6th and Balboa, which
is just a stone’s throw away from my apartment. Every time I’ve gone they never
disappoint. Being just one of over thirty sushi restaurants in the Inner
Richmond alone, Sushi Bistro goes above and beyond to prepare unique, delicious
rolls that are literally fresh-to-death.
(Pun intended.)
Weekdays are usually pretty
mild, but night times and weekends can get busy. My friend and I went on a
Saturday around 6:30 and had no problem getting seats at the sushi bar. The two
of us kicked things off with the house Miso soup ($2.50), a vegetable tempura
appetizer ($7.95), and a bowl of cucumber sunomono ($4.95). The bistro, with
it’s deadly atmospheric pairing of tasty and trendy, is a little on the pricey
side compared to other small restaurants in the area, but SB gives you what you
pay for with quality and creativity.
Our soups are brought out
quickly, followed not long after by the cucumber sunomono, which is one of my all
time favorite menu items. SB’s cucumbers are cold, fresh, thinly sliced,
sprinkled with sesame seeds, and pickled in a sweet vinegar, similar to the
pickled veggies on a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.
“It’s tasty,” says Sarah the
vegetarian with a bemused look on her face, “but it kind of just reminds me of
sweet pickles…like, the only real difference is they threw on some sesame
seeds…big whoop.” She means well. And I’ll be damned if she doesn’t just have a
way with words. I explained to her later on how pickles are made.
Next came the veggie tempura
appetizer:
For me, good tempura is all
about consistency. The tempura flakes on their own aren’t very salty, and thus
don’t over power the vegetables with grease and salt. The light battering on
the veggies made them soft and chewable, while the tempura flakes added an
element of soft crunchiness. The fried sweet potato and zucchini were the
audience favorites, while a sad piece of tempura-fried cantaloupe came in last.
Sarah muttered for a long time about how fried cantaloupe just didn’t seem
right.
While we browsed the menu
for our next courses, the wait staff rushed to and fro down the back hallway
that led to the kitchen. The restaurant grew busier and livelier as the dinner
rush reached its plateau, but each of our waiters was curt, professional, and
friendly. Our water glasses were always filled before they were empty and the
waiters were quite patient with us as we called them back time and time again
to order more food.
Now, having been friends for
over 10 years, I knew full well what I was getting myself into taking a picky
vegetarian to a sushi dinner. But, in an effort to see the glass half full, I
thought of it as an opportunity to try the veggie sushi she always raves about.
Still, with 23 signature sushi rolls (some topped with lobster AND smoked
salmon) tantalizing me on the inside menu, I couldn’t help but wish, at least a
little bit, that she liked fish. Even just for an hour. Instead, the wishing
was interrupted when I low-key choked on a sesame seed mid bite as Sarah points
to “baby lobster” on the sashimi list and sighs, “um, that’s the saddest name
ever.”
Since it looked like there
was no righting the wrong the baby lobster had done, I allowed two of our 3
main course picks to be vegetarian…against my better judgment.
Unbeknownst to me at the
time, Sarah had ordered the Fortune Roll with added cucumber ($7.95), along
with a plain avocado cucumber roll ($4.95). I didn’t get a chance to read what
was in the Fortune roll, as I was busy scouring the signature list for some much-needed
protein. However, upon receiving the rolls it became clear that only two variables
differentiated the two. Other than the extra light coting of tempura batter and
a drizzle of eel sauce on the Fortune roll, the two were exactly the same: just
brown rice, avocado, and cucumber. [Sigh.] If her taste in sushi reflected the
way she decorated, her apartment would only fart throw pillows from Pottery
Barn.
My selection, however, was exceptionally
awesome. I’d always been curious about the house’s special Ahi Tuna Poke ($14.95)
because A. specials are usually special for a reason, and B. because having
tried the most perfect cubes of spicy ahi tuna on a trip to Hawaii some years
back, I have been trying ever since to find something comparable to satisfy my
cravings in the city. There seemed no better time to put Sushi Bistro’s ahi
poke to the test.
It tasted just a beautiful
as it looks. Though I was a little thrown when the tuna was served on a bed of
mixed greens, instead of the white or brown rice I’d grown accustomed to seeing
it paired with, the whole thing was stupid good. The thin, crispy wonton
strings added a classic Asian flavor to the prime cuts of tuna, while the
creaminess of the avocado slices perfectly balanced the hints of slight soy
marinade that seeped out of each ahi piece. Even though there wasn’t much left
of it by the end I still insisted on a to-go box, knowing I would be up in a
couple of hours sleep-eating it in front of an open fridge. It still makes for
some bomb.com leftovers if you don’t wait more than a day to eat it. After
that, no matter how legit the sushi was, you start dancing with the devil.
To finish things off we
filled in the cracks with mochi ice cream, tiny balls of chewy Japanese rice dough
filled with flavored ice cream. The mochi are sold individually for $1.65 and
come in flavors like green tea, mango, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, and red
bean to name a few.
Sarah settled on chocolate
at the last minute and I chose green tea. It’s difficult to describe the taste
and texture of mochi just because there’s really nothing else like it in
America that I can think to compare it to. I’ve always wanted to live in Japan
anyway, but once I found out they were basically the mochi mecca of the Pacific
Ocean it was a real game changer.
Even though my mind and
stomach felt like we’d gotten a substantial amount of food, I was pleasantly surprised
when the bill was only $52.80 altogether. Our waiter was happy to split the
check down the middle for us, and my and Sarah’s totals came to a respectable
$26.40 a person. We each left a $5 tip because our various waiters were nice
and I hate to look cheap by not leaving enough. After the last waiter packaged
my salad for me, Sarah and I rolled off our bar stools and waddled home, full
to bursting with dank sushi and adventure. And we both lived happily ever
after.
The End.
Prices:
Miso soup // 2.50
Cucumber sunomono // 4.95
Vegetable tempura appetizer // 7.95
Avocado cucumber roll // 4.95
Fortune roll + cucumber // 7.95
Ahi tuna poke special // 14.95
Mochi // 1.65
Sushi Bistro
431 Balboa St. (6th&
Balboa)
Open 7 days a week
5:00-10:30pm
(415) 933-7100
* Great for small groups,
can get loud on nights and weekends, not the most kid friendly but definitely not kid unfriendly, full bar
complete with sake, beer, wine, and other fancy drinks, you could find cheaper
sushi, but I don’t know why you would.
**Editor’s note, I did, in
fact, sleep-eat my leftovers that night.
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