Before we get into this week’s topic, I need to apologize for the lack of a post last week. I spent Monday evening, Labor Day, in the ER after slicing a nice bit of my thumb off while hastily chiffonading some perilla leaves. All is well, and I’ve healed up nicely, however I left the hospital with a hammer of gauze on my thumb, thus preventing me from the most basic of skills. I’ve got a wicked new scar though so I mean, worth it.
On another note, this is going to be a rather long one, as this was something we wanted to explore to its fullest. For the TL:DR, head down to the bottom to see the final results! Look for the table comparing items side by side.
If you know anything about me, you know that I absolutely LOVE sushi. It’s my deserted island food. I learned to make it while going to Culinary School, and presented a platter of it for my Creative Final. The smell of soy sauce has an almost pavlovian effect on me. One time while I was working at America’s Test Kitchen for an Internship, I went into a walk-in fridge where someone had spilled some soy sauce. I was done for. My mouth started to water, and all I could think about was satisfying a raw fish fix!
Onto this weeks discussion: Grocery Store Sushi. We all know it doesn’t compare to sitting at a sushi bar and watching the chefs artfully roll and prepare amazing food before you. But sometimes you just have that craving, and you need to be able to satisfy it. The question for the ages however is this: Who makes the best grocery store sushi? My sister and I had way too much time on our hands this past weekend and we were determined to find out. After some research into grocery stores in the Portland (ME) area, we determined that those carrying sushi were Trader Joe’s, Shaw’s, Hannaford and Whole Foods. Off we went, armed with a large cooler with ice to preserve the quality of food during its trip home and the knowledge that by completing our task we would be helping not only ourselves, but the people of our state as well.
So what did we take into consideration? Well a lot of things. The first was presentation, how the sushi looked in its packaging. Did it look delicious and clean? Next was execution. Are the rolls tight? Does a piece fall apart as soon as we pick it up? We also wanted to pay particular attention to the rice. Is it overcooked or undercooked? What is the seasoning like? Obviously the fish and filling was crucial. Were the fillings made with ripe vegetables or were they over? Did the fish taste clean and fresh or was it fishy and bitter? Lastly the cost comparison. Are you getting what you paid for or are you paying for way more than you get? These were the categories we took into consideration before we began testing. It helped us to keep focus and find the best ways to directly compare what we purchased.
We headed down toward Trader Joe’s determining along the way that the goal was to purchase at least a California Roll from each store so we could directly compare their products. Upon arriving at the store, it was not immediately obvious where the sushi would be located, though admittedly, we aren’t hardcore TJ shoppers. On our last pass through the produce section we finally found “the sushi section” (though calling it a section is generous). It consisted of very few options. One, a California roll that consisted of ground imitation crab.... and literally nothing else. Another was a true california roll that had the usual fixings of crab, avocado and cucumber however it was made with brown rice and also had carrot. While agonizing over their vast selection, we spoke with two shoppers who saw us debating. One told us to check the dates because the previous day she had bought sushi from them that had been incredibly dry. The other said flat out, “Don’t buy it”. With all the gusto we could possibly muster after such encouraging words, we decided that in order to get a better direct comparison between stores, we would purchase a white rice California Roll. We were pretty certain at this point that this would be the worst sushi we purchased.
We were wrong.
Off to Whole Foods we went. While Trader Joe’s produces their own sushi, at Whole Foods it is run by Genji, a global company operating inside the store. We were excited to see a broader selection, including raw fish options. The assortment was vast, and at a glance we could tell the quality was quite high. The salmon looked particularly nice. It was clear and bright with nice fat lines and it had me salivating. We knew we needed a California Roll, so into the basket that went. After much deliberation, we also settled on a mixed Nigiri plate that also included some salmon rolls and tuna rolls to offer some variation. After swinging through the pastry section (I mean who goes to Whole Foods without buying pastries? Am I right?) it was off to stop number 3.
We went into Shaw’s the same way we went into TJs; not really knowing what to expect but hoping for the best. Again, we aren’t typically Shaw’s shoppers, so finding the sushi was not easy. In fact we almost missed it. But nestled near the produce section and the fish section was a cooler containing some prepared foods. Stuffed between the wall of the cooler and some type of tuna wrap we found something resembling sushi. The selection of the four rolls were made by Bento Express (a name you’ll soon learn was familiar to us). We hemmed and hawed over purchasing anything, as frankly nothing looked very good, but again we picked up a California Roll (after checking the expiration date of course). Into the cooler the purchase went, and headed to our last stop.
As we are Hannaford shoppers, we made a bee-line straight for the sushi counter. The sushi here is also sold by Bento Sushi, the parent company to that of Shaw’s Bento Express. As was at Whole Foods, the selection was nicely varied, offering traditional rolls, some special rolls, nigiri and combination plates. With a California Roll and Nigiri combo plate similar to that of the one from Whole Foods in hand, we were on our way. Well, actually, we did a little extra grocery shopping, refreshing some staple items.
Once home we decided to put each of the purchases through the ringer. We photographed them in their packaging as purchased and then with their lids off. We also wanted to see how plating the food changed its appearance. No I’m not so pretentious as to always plate my store bought sushi....but I often do, after all, we first eat with our eyes. Trader Joe’s looked ok but not great while both Hannafords and Whole Foods sushi shined. And then there was the sushi from Shaw’s. It couldn’t be helped in any way and nearly fell apart when I moved it from carton to plate.
Let’s also talk about the Yakumi, or condiments, that came with each. Both Trader Joe’s and Shaw’s came with packets of Soy Sauce, some Gari (pickled ginger), and wasabi. Hannaford’s came with packets of Soy Sauce, and then fresh gari and wasabi placed loosely in the package. Whole Foods only came with a packet of Soy and fresh gari.
And finally we get to what you really wanted to know. How was all of this store bought sushi?! Let’s go in the order in which we ate them.
Starting with Trader Joe’s. We picked this one to go first because we figured it wouldn’t be a contender. And we were right. It wasn’t. It did however, manage to shine in a couple of areas. The first was that it held together well. Anyone who eats a lot of sushi will understand why this is worth mentioning. Nothing is worse than the moment you pick up a lovely piece of sushi only to have it crumble to pieces in your soy sauce because it wasn’t rolled tight enough. In that aspect TJs was a winner. The other surprise was that the filling actually tasted pretty good. Sure it was overly sweet and one note, but honestly, I kind of want to know how they seasoned it so I can do some experimenting with my own sushi. But on the whole, the experience was not good. The rice surrounding the roll somehow managed to taste both dry and soggy all at the same time (a feat that was honestly kind of impressive). The sesame seed crust did not help it’s cause as it only managed to overwhelm the flavor the crab with its pungent taste and aroma. The quantity of rice also completely overwhelmed the filling as you can see in the photos. I did like the low-profile packaging however for a couple of reasons. One, it meant you could stack multiple containers on top of each other with less chance of them toppling over and two, it used less plastic which is always appreciated.
Next to the table was the Bento Express Sushi from Shaw’s. *Sigh*... I just... I don’t know how to say all of this nicely. I’m someone who can almost always find at least one good thing about every situation. This? This was just horrifying. Horrifying and utterly perplexing (we’ll get to that later). Bento Express offers sushi with an extended shelf life. This sushi I imagine is prepared off site (possibly by machine), packaged, and then shipped to stores. The avocado had gone brown, it was clearly not rolled well and was suspiciously square shaped. Ever the optimist, I hoped that the rice would be good. Wrong. There was nothing about this sushi that was redeeming. And I mean nothing. I can’t even say that it held together. It was a gummy, super vinegary mess. And honestly there’s nothing more worth saying about it.
Moving on to something much more promising. I’ve purchased sushi from Whole Foods in the past, but never ate it with the intention of evaluating it in mind. So I was excited to eat it and think about it more critically. The selection at the Portland Whole Foods is very good. Probably anyone could find something they would enjoy. Be it white rice, brown rice, raw fish, cooked fish, just rolls, or a mixture of nigiri, they’ve got it going on. Our mixed nigiri plate included pieces of tuna, salmon, shrimp and even a tobiko gunkan maki, on top of the salmon and tuna rolls. The Cali roll included the standard imitation crab, cucumber and avocado. First we started with the tuna and salmon rolls. Both were quite good with a nice fish to rice ratio and a tight roll. Though when we tasted the tuna roll, my sister mentioned that it tasted a little funny to her. Shrugging it off as nothing, we moved on to the california roll which was good as well however, the vinegar taste of the rice somewhat overpowered the filling.
Next we tried the nigiri, the thing I was most excited about. The pieces of salmon were as delicious as they were beautiful. The rice to fish ratio was quite good and the fish tasted amazing. It was buttery and flavorful and not at all fishy. It was probably the best grocery store salmon I’ve ever had. Then however, our joy turned to pure horror. My sister grabbed a piece of tuna nigiri, dipped it in some soy sauce and placed it in her mouth. The look on her face when she began to chew will surely haunt me for years to come. After gagging and nearly vomiting on the spot she spit the piece out, something neither of us have ever done with sushi before. Being the sport that I am, I subjected myself to the tuna as well, albeit only a bite.
It. Was. Vile. It was so vile that I don’t even know how to describe it to you, and when I too, spit out my piece my mouth was left filled with a horrible smell and taste. It was not only disappointing but down right shocking after eating such great salmon to have that tuna which left us with a bitter, metallic, fishy taste. I don’t imagine this is the usual quality of their fish, at least I hope not, and perhaps we were just unlucky with what we picked up, but it was beyond off putting and yes, it was even worse than Shaw’s. After brushing our teeth and slinging back some much needed soda, we moved on to the last contender, Hannafords.
Hannaford’s Bento Sushi has chefs in stores making fresh sushi for purchase. As we are frequent Hannaford sushi eaters, we pretty much knew what to expect here and were not let down. Their rice was well cooked with a nice seasoning that was not overwhelming. Honestly the only real complaint we had was the tuna and salmon rolls which while nice and tight, were definitely overwhelmed by rice. The California roll was the best we had of the day as the rice seasoning complemented but did not overwhelm the mild filling. The quality of salmon, while not quite as stunning as that of Whole Foods, was relatively bright and clear and the tuna looked nice and red. Their down fall, which isn’t really one at all, is they are limited by the recipes owned by Bento. This means they can only prepare things for you that are on their menu, but the menu it still is sizeable.
Here’s the rubric for our points breakdown.
1 = Unpalatable, don’t even think about it!
2 = Palatable, but would not recommend
3 = Average - good, but nothing special
4 = Quite Good, would recommend
5 = Closest to restaurant quality, highly recommend
Alright. Here’s the TLDR. You may be thinking that Whole Foods is the clear winner, but you would be wrong (and it’s not the terrible tuna that kept them from reaching glory). Funnily enough, it Bento’s sushi that is both the winner and the loser in this battle. Bento Express at Shaw’s was just wrong in every way, and the only memory we will take away is that we will never eat it again. Bento Sushi at Hannafords however, had fresh fish paired with well seasoned perfectly cooked rice and honestly grocery store sushi lives and dies by it’s rice. Mediocre fish over well cooked and seasoned rice will equate to some nice sushi. However, even the nicest of fish can’t save bad rice. In terms of quality vs. price, we think you just can’t beat Hannaford. They have a consistently reliable product that is priced right. While Whole Foods’ Genji make very good sushi, we don’t think it’s worth it to spend that much for a grocery store product when it’s verging on restaurant pricing and the quality is almost negligible to that of Hannafords. You may feel differently than we do, as everyone’s palate varies. For us if we’re going to spend $25 on sushi, we’d rather just go to Benkay and spend the extra $3 to get a “Sushi Regular” (which includes 7 pieces of nigiri, a tuna roll and California roll). When we’re craving a sushi fix, we head to Hannafords and we’d recommend you do too.
Lagniappe of the Day: Always be sure to check the expiration date. Ideally you are purchasing your grocery store sushi from a location that is moving a lot of product and has a good reputation. That means they are constantly making new items as others are purchased. Anything that sits on the shelf for more than 24 hrs has really gone past. Don't be afraid to ask for them to make you something fresh. A good store should always be willing to make something upon request. Raw fish sushi should be bright in appearance, and not look cloudy or dull. When in doubt, play it save and come back another day.