Where there's smoke there's fire. Where there's a line of 20-somethings happily waiting in a long line, heads down, tweeting on their iPhones, there's some trendy form of food to be had—whether it's grilled cheese or sushi the size of a burrito.
Thus, I didn't really need to know where exactly where Sushirrito was to find it. Even at 2 pm, the tiny, new to-go restaurant had a line snaking down a block of New Montgomery off of Market Street—the block usually known for its line of people waiting for sandwiches at The Sentinel. I had just gotten back from Crunch, the gym next door, and in the locker room, I overheard two women discussing the scene with the wide-eyed curiousity of a couple freeway rubberneckers.
"What was that line outside? Did you see it?!"
"Sushirrito."
"Sushirrito?" Pause, while putting two and two together. "Oh my god. That's sooo Bay Area!"
After bagging the line yesterday (I'm too old and too busy), today I wisened up and got to Sushirrito at 11:30 and walked right in to put in a few orders from the six-roll menu: the Three Amigos ($10.50), the Mamacita Roll ($10) and the Crispy Ebi ($9.50) I have to admit, the idea of a burrito-sized maki roll (a small burrito should you be envisioning some kind of El Farolito bohemoth) is so basic it's kind of genius. As someone that loves sushi and hates the heaviness of a big deli-style sandwich, I was excited to try them all.
Although the Crispy Ebi, fill with tempura-fried shrimp, plantain, avocado, crab and melted pepperjack cheese (yes, melted pepperjack cheese) was oddly tasty, my favorite was the Mamacita made with tuna, Japanese gourd, shiitake mushroom, avocado, cucumber, green onion, daikon radish, tobiko and crumbled rice chips all sauced with something they call Mexican kabakayki. It's all about the crumbled rice chips, and luckily you can add those to any order.
Peter Yen is the man behind Sushirrito—just a downtown working guy who had a hankering for a lunch he couldn't find. He collaborated with Ty Mahler the former executive chef at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. The two source fish that's sustainable, organic rice and produce and use recycled packaging and all that good stuff.
Although this is their first location they hinted that there are more in the plans. And there should be. I think I'll find myself eating here all the time.
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