Ohana Sushi, Tapas Y Bar - Jacó
After a week of eating rice, beans and tropical fruits, I craved the food that brings me comfort no matter my location: sushi.
Perhaps I should be ashamed that I ended my Costa Rican excursion with a meal I could easily acquire back home, but Jacó is a tourist town with a beach. The fish was fresh, and I gave in.
The Mexican michelada is a beer-based cocktail with lime juice, tomato juice and spices served in a salt rimmed-glass. Costa Ricans eschew the accoutrements and stick to the basics of lime and salt. We ordered a couple of those, a refreshing choice after a two-hour hike.
Next came the appetizers, vegetable spring rolls and karaage, fried chicken strips with sweet soy reduction. The spring rolls, while crunchy and warm, tasted as if they’d been baked from a frozen package and were served with saccharine, bottled sweet chili sauce and a bit of seaweed salad. The chicken, however, was lightly breaded and perfectly cooked. The sweet soy karaage served as a delicious and appropriate substitute for a certain red tomato-based condiment beloved by many (myself included).
Though our server said the sushi would take awhile, the wooden board ferrying three rolls arrived just as we finished our appetizers. We had ordered the Ebi Love roll, No Regrets roll and a tiny, $4 salmon roll whose pieces would have nestled nicely into the hand of an American Girl doll.
All of the sushi rolls were decent. The fish was (shrimp in the Ebi Love, salmon in the other two), and the plating was beautiful. My only complaint is that the “touch” of garlic in the No Regrets roll was more like a strong handshake.
Service was very kind and attentive. Appetizers all cost about $8 or less, and sushi rolls ranged in price from about $3 (hosomaki, or thin rolls) to about $10 (uramaki). Limited but nice selection of alcohol.