I’ll level with you. Although I’m apparently from a food capital of the states (since when did Atlanta start having AMAZING food?), I never get to experience a lot of food trends. It took doughnuts about three years to get to us after everyone else enjoyed them, and we’re just now getting into the cupcake and juicing fads. Whenever I get to come back to school and eat my weight in trendy foods, I get excited. So, obviously when I found out about Uma Temakeria’s Sushi Burrito (a trend that started out on the best… I mean, West Coast), I lost my shit.
I first heard about Uma Temakeria through Urbanspace’s Penn Plates, where they have a lil’ booth offering some of their most popular items. After experiencing the wonder of their temaki (cone-shaped hand rolls) at Penn Plates, I made a vow to visit the actual restaurant to try my very first Sushi Burrito.
Helpful for all us Barnumbia students, Uma Temakeria is right off the 14th Street stop for the 1/2/3 trains, so I didn’t even have to venture off our own little train line. When you get off the train, you’re immediately greeted by many sandwich signs telling you that you have reached sushi heaven.
Photo by Molly Schwartz
When I walked in, I just about burst into tears because every single option sounds amazing. I’m pretty decisive when it comes to food, but I stood and eyed the menu for a solid ten minutes before I made any semblance of a decision.
On top of having all the Sushi Burrito options in the world, you can also choose to get Temaki, which are those cone-shaped hand rolls I mentioned earlier. They have a ton of pre-decided suggestions, but you can also make your own of those as well. I went with their Tsumi Tuna when I tried it at Penn Plates, and to be honest, I still dream about it. They also offer make your own rice bowls and market sides, like Miso soup and Edamame Hummus.
Photo by Molly Schwartz
I went with the “Make Your Own Sushi Burrito” with white rice, Yellowfin tuna, Ginger Miso sauce, cucumber, carrot, and green apple, and as soon as I got it, I thought the heavens had arrived.
Photo by Molly Schwartz
LOOK AT THAT. Looks good, right? It was amazing, but it’s definitely a process to eat it. However messy you are eating a regular burrito, you’ll look like an actual caveman eating this. The outer ends of your Sushi Burrito are in no way wrapped and the contents of your delicious meal will pretty much be everywhere, which just means that you get to eat a mini snack version of your meal when you’re done devouring it.
In addition to make your own Sushi Burritos, Uma Temakeria also offers three burritos with the contents already decided for you. So if you’re indecisive as hell, they’re helping you out.
The three options are the Uma-Ritto with salmon, tuna, tobanjan mayo, cucumber, carrots, tempura crunch and sesame seeds; the O-Maki with fresh crab, salmon, apple, pickled rhubarb, cucumber, wasabi-ginger sauce, and crunch; and the Summer-itto with seaweed salad, pickled rhubarb, carrot, cucumber, zesty citrus & wasabi-pea.
photo by Molly Schwartz
Basically, if you like Japanese food — RUN, don’t walk to Uma Temakeria.