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Second Helpings

Sushi Floats This Boat

    Japanese cuisine became part of my regular diet when I moved to the Bay Area. These days, if you were to go to Durban, South Africa, where I grew up, you can eat sushi and sashimi until it comes out of your ears. But this is a recent trend dating back just six years or so. Before that, for many years, your only Japanese option in the Indian Ocean city was a restaurant at a large beachfront hotel that offered a Benihana-type scene. Namely, heat, sizzle and sake.
    Odd as it may seem, the person I eat Japanese with most often these days is from Kansas. His sushi tastes are distinctly Californian. Sashimi and sushi rolls of any sort are drowned until they’re helpless in wasabi and soy sauce. And any Japanese meal has to have an unagi hand roll “with avocado and sprouts”—which in fact is a pretty tasty treat if one is peckish and wanting something substantial.
    Contrary to what one might expect, the unagi hand roll ($4.95) at Samurai Sushi Boat on Grand Avenue in Oakland doesn’t come sailing past you on a wooden vessel. It has to be specially made by one of the congenial fellows behind the counter. And having now tried many unagi hand rolls, I can agree with Mr. Kansas that yes, this fun eatery does a good job making them. The seaweed cone that warrants the “hand roll” name means chopsticks are not an option. The sticky rice, fresh avocado and crunchy green sprouts, the juicy portion of unagi, dipped into a little soy sauce (better than a complete dunking if you ask me), with sesame seeds thrown into the mix, all make for a pretty delectable chew.
    When I first got into Japanese food, I thought sashimi was the only way to go. Experimentation has led to many additions. I think of the unagi hand roll with avo and sprouts as having come to me via Kansas, and I sometimes catch myself wondering if Dorothy would have approved.
    Samurai Sushi Boat, 3336 Grand Ave., (510) 419-0601. Open 11:30 a.m.– 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Mon.– Fri.; 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Sunday.
                              

—Wanda Hennig
—Photography by Lori Eanes