Midtown Lunch

On Monday Grub Street dropped a bombshell of awesomeness– a new food truck has opened in L.A. called Jogasaki, selling… wait for it… wait for it… sushi burritos. I’m guessing “awesomeness” isn’t the word everybody would choose to describe a sushi burrito. Perhaps to you it sounded like another stupid new food truck, with an ill advised idea, by some deluded individual trying to discover the next Kogi in the worst place imaginable. To me, it sounded like the greatest idea of all time. Does that make me crazy? (Apparently it does.)

What can I say? I am no stranger to eating sushi from a truck, and I’m a firm believer that wrapping anything in a gigantor tortilla makes it better (french fry burrito anybody?) And yesterday I got a chance to put my theory to the ultimate test. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for… the SUSHI BURRITO.

Pretty much what you would expect a “sushi burrito” to look like.  Flour tortilla, wrapped around rice and your choice of filling… california burrito (avocado, crab and cucumber) is $4, spicy tuna or salmon skin for $5, fish tempura $6.  I went with the salmon skin, which I normally like- but as a burrito it was kind of terrible.  I usually like the crunchiness and strong fishy flavor of salmon skin, but in burrito form there was waaay too much of it.  And there was no sauce, so the whole thing was super dry. (Throwing some eel sauce on the thing would have definitely helped.)  The burrito is kind of huge, especially for the price, so I could see myself liking the spicy tuna burrito or one of the tempura burritos.  But that will never happen,  because I will never be able to go to Jogasaki again without ordering one of their 2 special burritos.

This is the “Jogasaki Special”, and it’s what everybody should order.  Rice, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, crab meat and your choice of bbq’d eel (Special #1) or shrimp tempura (Special #2).  And instead of a flour tortilla it comes wrapped in rice paper, which is way more conducive to eating a ton of rice and raw fish.  Here’s where I should probably tell you about my cheap sushi philosophy.

Seeing as how my lunch limit is just $10, sushi is always a difficult proposition for me.  The ideal sushi Midtown Lunch, for me, has always been a place that will give you 3 rolls for $10 or $11.  And my goto order is spicy tuna (you might say the secret ingredient is mayo!), eel and avocado (for something sweet) and shrimp tempura (for something crunchy).  It’s the perfect combo… and the Jagasaki Special gives it all to you in burrito form!  And for only $7.  It’s no surprise I thought this was the greatest lunch of all time.

I went with the #2 since fried is always going to win out in my book, and in a lot of ways the crunchiness is the key to this creation.  Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “Zach, that looks disgusting.”  (We’ll also accept: “It makes me sick to visualize you eating that.”)  But I promise you… if you like spicy tuna, and california rolls, and shrimp tempura (or barbecued eel) you will *love* this.  The spiciness of the tuna, the sweet crab meat drenched in mayo, the creaminess of the avocado and the crunch of the shrimp tempura. Held together decently by the rice paper (whatever you do, don’t unwrap it all the way) it could be the greatest under $10 Japanese raw fish creation since the chirashi bowl. Trust me. Just give it a try.

So… Jogasaki is not without its flaws.  And if you don’t like mayo, or cheap “crab”, or spicy tuna then this is obviously not for you.  It’s a ton of rice and the burritos are huge (a good thing in my book, but I know there are carb avoiders who feel differently.)  Plus the salmon skin burrito is borderline terrible.  In fact I actually feel bad for the people who order it, because they’ll most likely walk away thinking that sushi burritos are a complete failure.  And I can assure you 100%, they most certainly are not.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• I love spicy tuna, california rolls, and shrimp tempura!   Getting them all in one giant nugget of goodness for just $7 sounds like heaven!
• I believe that wrapping anything in a tortilla makes it better
• The flour tortilla might be for hardcore fans, but the rice paper wrapper is something everybody will like
• It’s way more filling than just eating sushi, and the same price as one roll at a place like Whole Foods

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I don’t care what you say… sushi burritos are an abomination
• I don’t like mayo
• I don’t like too much rice
• Spicy tuna is not real sushi.
• I only eat quality raw fish
• The salmon skin burrito is one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten.

Jogasaki Truck, Follow them on Twitter for their daily location