I arrived in Santa Barbara on a business trip and couldn’t
wait to check out the food scene. I got a few suggestions from local coworkers
and created an itinerary of must-sees and must eats. Check back for updates!
Shintory Sushi Factory
After reading rave reviews online, I decided to stop into
Shintori Sushi Factory on State Street. It isn’t in the downtown portion of
State Street but it’s easily accessible if you’re headed that way.
Atmosphere: Shintori is easy to miss. The small read awning
and red sign blend in with the surrounding signage. Once found, the entrance
and interior are both unassuming and underwhelming. It’s a small restaurant
with about 7 tables and a bar. Nondescript images are easy to ignore. One TV
flashes silent pictures at guests while the sushi chefs rock out to reggaeton.
The menu has a lot of common favorites as well as a few
local specialties. As my litmus test, I got a rainbow roll and their version of a
Beauty and the Beast (BBQ eel and tuna over a California roll). The rolls are
smaller than what I’m accustomed to at my favorite hangouts in Atlanta but they
were still filling. The fish was good. Not stellar but it was just fine.
The sauce on the eel was HORRID to my taste buds. I’ve
gotten BBQ eel multiple times and at least two dozen restaurants and I’ve never
had sauce like this. It’s as if the standard sauce was sprinkled with cigarette
ashes! Perhaps it was sprinkled with
ashes. I hadn’t offended anyone that I was aware of…Bitter sauce on eel is just a bad idea. I scraped the BBQ sauce off
of the roll and doused it in soy sauce to try and fend off the flavor.
There were a few cute odds and ends. Each meal comes with a edamame appetizer, and many rolls are served with veggies on the side like peas, carrots, and grape tomatoes. Gotta get in your veggies! The two waitresses that assisted me were very kind.
Overall Restaurant
Rating: 5/10 for decent, filling food that simply didn’t wow me.
Image Credit: Asian Food Grocer
No comments:
Post a Comment