Raw fish is wonderful, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel
comfortable preparing it at home. I need the security that comes
from knowing a professional sushi chef is slicing and dicing the
raw tuna and salmon from behind an immaculate counter.
Raw fish is wonderful, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable preparing it at home. I need the security that comes from knowing a professional sushi chef is slicing and dicing the raw tuna and salmon from behind an immaculate counter. I am afraid, and rather confident, that if I were to recreate a rainbow roll in the comfort of my own kitchen, I would be stricken with a horrendous case of salmonella or some other type of food poisoning – and I really don’t want that to happen.
So, when my husband mentioned he wanted sushi for dinner, (which, in his case, really means teriyaki chicken or beef), we decided to venture to AJ Sushi Restaurant in downtown Hollister. This is one of two Japanese restaurants in Hollister (the other being Miyako Japanese Restaurant). AJ Sushi is also on a very short list of places in Hollister that serve dinner until 9pm – most close by 8pm, making a late dinner impossible without trekking beyond city limits. But I digress …
Upon entering the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by the sushi chef, who was carving thin slices of salmon at the counter. We were quickly seated and our waitress took our drink order; a cold sake and a Sapporo, a kind of Japanese beer. I decided to order edamame – steamed soy beans – for an appetizer ($2.99). The large bowl of bright green pods was warm and satisfying.
The menu offered an array of rolls – both raw and cooked – with fun names like the Godzilla Roll – a deep-fried creation that featured scallops, albacore and masago, which are crunchy, vibrant orange fish eggs about the size of a pin head – and the 911 roll, made with spicy tuna and cucumber with avocado on top.
There were even rolls for people who are new to sushi. The appropriately named Beginner Roll is made with cooked chicken, crab, avocado and cucumber. There was even a Burger Roll that featured cooked beef, cheese, onion, lettuce and cucumber. Rolls range from $3.99 for the Kapa Maki Cucumber Roll to about $10 for the Rainbow Roll of crab, avocado and cucumber decorated with an array of raw fish.
There were also sushi pizzas – which I haven’t tried – that featured mixes of tuna, salmon and eel arranged in a circular pattern on a round dish. A small pizza is $7.99, and a large is $14.99.
More traditional offerings include sashimi, such as the shime sabe – 10 pieces of mackerel ($8.99). Appetizers – which range from $2.99 to about $9 – include seaweed salad, homemade chicken eggrolls, mixed tempura, pot stickers and deep-fried soft-shell crab.
My husband ordered his typical Japanese fare of chicken and beef teriyaki, which was served in a Bento box and was accompanied by rice and a salad of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots ($7.99).
I decided on two hand rolls – spicy tuna and spicy salmon – for $3.99 each. We both also ordered miso soup, which was standard with a few cubes of tofu and bits of seaweed in the cloudy, fragrant broth.
Our meals arrived promptly as there were not many diners in the brightly lit restaurant, but our waitress said the staff had been busy preparing to-go orders. The Bento box contents looked delicious – toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on thinly sliced beef, and the chicken teriyaki was accompanied by a tennis ball-sized mound of sticky white rice. My husband looked pleased with his order and dug in with a smile.
My rolls were overflowing with sliced raw fish that looked fresh and smelled sweet. The tight seaweed wrappers also held rice, a few slender sticks of crunchy cucumber and a mild red sauce. The spicy tuna hand roll also included masago, which provided a pleasant crunch.
We finished our meals quickly and left feeling satisfied – and without fear of food poisoning.
