Every day before work I drive by a mysterious place called Kazu Sushi Burrito. I had already seen sushi burritos on all of the hipster foodie websites, but I had no idea there was a place to get them in Jacksonville, Florida. The idea of a sushi burrito sounded like heaven to me. Mexican food and sushi are both my favorites, so the idea of them being combined blew my mind. I decided to try it out after work one day, and it was a very good decision.
Atmosphere
I brought two of my foodie friends and off we went. When we walked in, all of us paused for a minute. In front of us was a Chipotle-esque sushi place with a selection of toppings and proteins to fill your burrito with. Instantly, I knew I was going to like it here. While staring at rows of salmon, shrimp, tuna, avocado, shrimp sauce, and rice, I had to remind myself that drooling isn’t socially acceptable.
The resturaunt itself was pretty small and next to the window was bar seating, which is where we sat. It had a very calm and relaxed vibe throughout the place. There was a couple people eating there and even more getting their burritos to-go. I liked eating there and people watching. 10 out 10 would recommend.
How to Order
The options and combinations were endless. Tuna, salmon, crab, chicken, tofu, white tuna, spicy tuna, chicken katsu, shrimp tempura—and those were just the meats. The toppings were endless and included avocado, shrimp sauce, eel sauce, cream cheese, asparagus, pineapple, mango, and jalepeño. Basically, it took me a really long time to order.
Ordering was a little intimidating. The ingredients are endless and they all look equally delicious. Not only do they have sushi burritos, but they also have bowls and salads. You can either choose a burrito on the menu, including a fried burrito, or you can create one yourself.
There is a crap ton of ingredients, so I suggest going back a couple times to get the perfect order. I ordered a white rice burrito with salmon and shrimp tempura. I added some avocado, corn, lettuce, shrimp sauce, and eel sauce. One of my friends got a spicy tuna bowl and the other got a ginger salad with shrimp. All of us were extremely excited about our decisions.
How to Eat a Sushi Burrito
I’m not going to lie, I stared at the burrito for a good five minutes wondering how I was going to eat the damn thing. I even asked my friends for suggestions on how to eat it properly. Ultimately, I decided my best option was to just dive in full force, and eat it like a classic burrito.
Bad decision. It completely came apart, causing a majority of the toppings to fall out on to my plate. I wiped my face and tried eating the burrito from the rice side instead of straight into the toppings. This method was a lot more successful because the rice held on to the toppings in my mouth. Learn from my mistakes and eat rice side up.
Taste
Basically, a sushi burrito is a giant sushi roll. This blessed roll of deliciousness tasted exactly as you’d expect. Outstanding, amazing, I truly felt blessed to be there eating that burrito. The shrimp tempura was perfectly crispy and the salmon melted in my mouth. My toppings were exactly what my taste buds were craving, and the mixture of avocado with the eel sauce was insane.
The cool thing about sushi burritos is you can create such different meals, combinations, and flavors at one spot. You can go to Kazu Sushi Burrito every day of the week and create a completely different meal every time.
Overall thoughts
Honestly, my little adventure to Kazu ended exactly how I thought it would, in pure bliss with a full tummy. Seeing the long row of toppings right when you walk in is a little scary. But then you realize you get to create a personal, giant sushi roll and the fear disappears. Once you conquer how to eat your meal, you’ll realize how unique and brilliant the idea of a sushi burrito is. There are also burritos that Kazu creates, as well as salads and bowls. Both of my foodie commrades enjoyed their salad and bowl, so clearly Kazu hits a home run on all of the menu options.
So many options! So much deliciousness available to me every day on my way home from work. I’ve found another source of happiness, and it is the sushi burrito.