It's "Sushi Time" For Vegetarians!

  For several weeks/months earlier this year, I wondered what was going on in the space formally occupied by Pho King, the popular Vietnamese noodle place on Fremont St. in Seaside.
  It took a long time to find out, but finally a sign went up, the doors opened, and now we are loving "Sushi Time", a fresh new spot for sushi, sashimi, tempura, udon, teriyaki... and so much more.

  Obviously, I can't say much about the actual sushi and such, since I don't eat fish….but Sushi Time has some fine options for vegetarians.
  What I can say about the sushi is this….. it sure is pretty on the big plates we see zooming by while we enjoy our meal. I can also say that the place is packed every time we visit, which is always a good sign, and most everyone else is enjoying the sushi and such. 

  

The sushi bar, and the fast moving fellows behind all that sushi.

  From what I've read and heard, the owners are up from Los Angeles, and one of the chefs used to be at Benihana. I think I recognize one of the super sweet servers from Monterey's Ocean Sushi. Whatever the case, we have had wonderful service and great food on each visit. 

  I have very quickly started craving the cucumber salad, served with a little seaweed salad on the side. Crunchy, semi sweet/tart and super fresh, it's a perfect starter for me:

I love the "squeaky" seaweed salad, too! You can order just seaweed salad.
Perfectly dressed….

  Johnny loves inari, and here they dress up the rice inside the thin tofu "skin" with tiny specks of black sesame and little bits of red pepper. It's great. Each order has two nice sized pieces, and we pair & share it with two pieces of tamago, the egg and rice sushi that we enjoy. Both have the slightly sweet flavor I expect, without being too sweet. I love dunking these in wasabi spiced soy sauce, naturally!

Tamago, left…Inari right!

  The menu has a huge selection of sashimi and sushi, and I am intrigued by the baked as well as fried options, like the Las Vegas Roll, Crazy Roll and even the frightening sounding Alien Roll. None are vegetarian, unfortunately. We have been going in regularly, though, so I may ask if we can "tweak" the menu a little. I'll wait until we go at a time when it isn't too busy. 

  Anyway, what we have been ordering we've loved…...

Classic Avocado Roll.
Perhaps a little pedestrian for most, but so yummy for us! Fresh and creamy….

Vegetable Roll includes seaweed, cucumber and thinly sliced pepper.
The sprouts are a nice touch.

  One of my very favorite rolls is the Tempura Vegetable Roll. I especially like this because it's different…I've never seen this on any menu before. There are super thinly sliced tempura veggies actually inside the roll, with a couple of thin slices on top, too. It's salty, sweet, crunchy and just that side of decadent:

Honestly, I have to quit writing these yummy blog posts at lunch time.
My tummy is growling…again.

  Speaking of tempura, we have tried the Tempura Vegetables, of course. They are very fine…served piping hot with the usual thin dipping sauce. Crunchy and light. Not too much batter.

  I'm just so happy these are served hot. I get very bummed when the tempura is served barely warm and slightly soggy, which has been the case at another local place whose name I will not mention….

  Not at Sushi Time! Here the tempura is perfecto! 

  Thanks, Sushi Time!!

Crispy and crunchy, light and delicate…..and just enough.

 Just so you don't get the wrong idea…these photos were taken over a few visits…We would be hard pressed to eat everything shown here in one sitting.
  Unless we were really stoned.



  Ok, anyway…

  On one visit, there was a "special" sign which mentioned potato croquettes. Hey, why not?
  Of course, now we order them too often…. They are like the best tots you ever had. Mashed and soft, lightly seasoned potatoes on the inside, panko crusted and crispy on the outside. Served (thank god) piping hot, with plum sauce.

Are you kidding me?

  I like that we can go in and have a super healthy, light and also filling dinner, or we can get down and have some deep fried yumminess, too. It's all so good, and very "clean" tasting. Plus, it's really cute inside…...

I took this late one evening, just as it cleared out.
The "booths" have a nice, open feeling, but offer privacy.

Random stencil decor is nice!

More random decoration...

I love the paper lanterns...

  So, we went for it and tried dessert one night. I have never tasted... or to be honest, wanted to taste Green Tea Ice Cream. What was I afraid of? This is so good! We've had it a couple of times now, and will again, no doubt. Like everything else we've tried at Sushi Time…it's just right. Not too sweet…really creamy and rich, with a distinct green tea flavor. So very odd, but so very tasty.

A little scoop'll do ya.

  I can't say enough good things about this new favorite in Seaside. Attentive, fun and patient staff, great food, a really decent value…..
  Hey, don't walk- RUN to SUSHI TIME!



Sushi Time serves wine, beer and saki, as well as non-alcohol beverages.
It is located at 1135 Fremont Ave. in the Pacific Heights Plaza.