Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Breaking down the San Francisco Giants’ new ‘sushi burrito’

he San Francisco Giants have introduced a concession item billed as “a sushi burrito” to AT&T Park this season. Here’s what it looks like:
(PHOTO: MLB.com)
(PHOTO: MLB.com)
According to a description on Cut 4, it is “rice, avocados, tuna and other fresh ingredients inside a seaweed wrap” and it is called the “SF Giants roll.”
It’s probably delicious, but here’s the rub: What part of this so-called “sushi burrito” is a burrito? Because that looks a heck of a lot like an uncut nori roll to me, and, in fact, my local sushi place sells a sushi item fitting this exact description — rice, tuna and avocado inside a seaweed wrap. At Ichiro (the Manhattan sushi restaurant, not the Yankees outfielder), it’s creatively called a “Tuna Avocado Roll.”
I guess the question, then, is what are these “other fresh ingredients?” Is there something in there that makes this more burrito-like, like beans or salsa or sour cream? Or is it just a matter of scale, and the name means only to suggest that this is a burrito-sized piece of sushi — though I’m not sure there are any specifications for the size of sushi or burritos. 
Maybe “sushi burrito” just means that this sushi is intended to be eaten with the hands, like a burrito. Portability is definitely an important quality in ballpark food. But if that’s the case, I’ve got some big news for you: You already can eat sushi with your hands! Just pick up a piece of sushi, dip it in the little bowl of soy sauce and wasabi you’ve mixed, and eat that sucker.
Actually — brace yourself — you can eat pretty much every food with your hands, so long as you don’t mind getting your hands messy. When I’m eating alone and free from society’s oppressive fetters, I just pick up my steak and take big, delicious bites out of it. Why not? Tell me why not. You eat Buffalo wings with your hands, right? How is that different? Don’t judge me.
I think I’ve lost the point, which is this: Not much about the Giants’ purported “sushi burrito” appears to be a burrito, except that much like burritos, it’s probably good.
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