Seaweed burritos

Locals love both Mexican food and Asian cuisine, so why not combine them? That is the idea behind Pokirrito, a restaurant that gained a reputation for its sushi burritos. If you’re not a foodie purist and enjoy culinary cross-pollination, Pokirrito hits the spot.

Pokirrito has two locations, one on Convoy and this one in Little Italy that also houses RakiRaki, a great noodle shop. I recently went to the Little Italy locale slightly hungry and craving both fresh seafood and fresh approach to it.

You can get poke bowls ($9 for a small one, $13 for a larger portion), but I stuck with the sushi burritos. They all cost around $13, and it’s a good deal. They come wrapped in seaweed, not tortillas, but they are burritos as far as I’m concerned. My brother and I split three of them and were satisfied. Not bad for under $40 for two people.

We ordered the Pokirrito Classic, which is tuna, crab meat, tamago, and broccoli slaw. We also tried the Mauna Lani, which was basically the same but with salmon, and the Kauai Sands, which had both tuna and salmon.

They were all tasty, especially with basil sauce and Sriracha, and the fish was fresh, but here’s where it gets tricky: It seemed as if the fish was part of an ensemble as opposed to the star of the dish. That’s a valid approach as far as I’m concerned. Pokirrito is more like an upscale sub shop than a sushi bar. I plan to eat one of these sushi burritos on the beach this summer.

Besides selling sushi burritos, Pokirrito is unique in another regard: I believe it’s the only place in San Diego that serves frozen Kirin beer, a product that has achieved some notoriety in Japan. That’s how it’s sold, but only the foam is frozen and served over chilled Kirin beer.

Certainly, it’s worth trying for $6.75, but the frozen part didn’t really blend with the beer underneath. It just sat on top. I think it might be better with a better beer than Kirin. Of course, if it was a better beer, it wouldn’t need the novelty of frozen foam. I might have a different opinion about the frozen beer if I try it on a day when it’s 90 degrees, not a night when it’s 58 outside.