Wasabi Juan’s

Ignition Burrito from Wasabi Juan’s

Continuing my tour of restaurants in Avondale (check out my posts about Melt and Post Office Pies), I decided to check out Wasabi Juan’s last Friday.  I heard it described as “Mexican Sushi,” so I was a bit apprehensive.  But, surprisingly, if you like sushi and you like a bit of spice, the fusion actually works quite well.  They have a unique menu that has sushi options with everything from raw fish to seared steak.  Even someone who doesn’t necessarily like sushi is likely to find something they might like on the menu.

When driving into Avondale, it’s easy to miss Wasabi Juan’s because it’s not in your immediate line of vision from the street.  It’s tucked behind a parking lot next to the sketchy vapor bar in the same block as the brewery.  We got to the restaurant between 6:30-7:00.  I’m happy we got there early because it’s a very small space – only five tables with chairs and one longer tall table where you can stand and eat.  Luckily, there were some tables free when we arrived.  The atmosphere was very casual – they bring your food out to you but you bus your own table and they had paper plates. My only complaint about the atmosphere is the music – it was too loud and annoying.

For a starter we ordered the Cajun edamame.  It was your standard edamame but instead of just being salted, it was sprinkled with a Cajun seasoning (probably Tony Chachere’s).  It was pretty good.  I’d never had edamame seasoned that way, and I highly recommend it!

My entrée was the Ignition burrito (pictured above).  This is basically a spicy tuna roll with rice, jalapeno, spicy mayo, cream cheese, and sriracha sauce.  The thing that sets Wasabi Juan’s sushi apart is that instead of the fish being rolled in seaweed and rice and sliced into small pieces to be eaten with chop sticks, they’re wrapped burrito-style in thin soy paper and sliced in half.  It’s roughly the same size as a standard sushi roll and you still dip it in soy, but it’s much less likely to fall apart this way (especially for those of you who haven’t mastered chopsticks!).  The burrito is $10, a little more expensive than a roll of sushi at most restaurants, but it does come with a small portion of chips and salsa on the side.

Overall, I was very satisfied with my food and I highly recommend the Ignition burrito.  The fish was fresh and it had a bold spicy kick that I loved.  I actually liked it more than my go-to spicy tuna roll from Sekisui, which I never thought I’d say.  However, the salsa on the side was just okay.  It was fresh but not very spicy.  I wish they’d had some different salsa options to choose from.

The plate had a smaller amount of food than a lot of people would normally get at dinner, but it was enough to satisfy me.  Justin got the Austin burrito and the 30-A taco.  I tried each of his, and they were each just ok.  The Austin burrito has salmon, avocado, and sun-dried tomatoes.  The salmon was excellent but the sun-dried tomatoes were a little tough and he ended up pulling them out.  He really liked the taco, which had shrimp, avocado, and mango slaw.  I’m not big on mangos, so this wasn’t my favorite.

Wasabi Juan’s is a great place to go for take-out, especially if you’re looking for something a little different to carry over to Avondale Brewery for a light meal while you drink.  Given their space limitations, I would be hesitant to make plans to go and sit for dinner.  We were lucky to get there early, but the place was full by the time we left.  It’s also not a good place to go if you’re starving and want a large meal.  I’ll definitely go again, and probably get the Ignition burrito (yes, I loved it that much!), but I’ll order it as take-out.

For more information about Wasabi Juan, check out their website here!

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