Crazy Sushi Fever

One of my children had a celebratory event and wanted us all to go out to dinner. She was honored with choosing a spot and she chooses well. As a group, we descended upon the restaurant, CrazySushi Fever in Atascadero a Fusion Japanese Tapas and Kitchen.  They were amazingly accommodating and had a wide variety of dishes to satisfy the 2-year-old to the 70-year-old and everyone in between.

We ordered steamed rice and Edamame for the little’s to sedate their appetite and boredom. Edamame is a Japanese soybean that you eat like sunflower seeds, so it is a skill and a treat. I spied a Garlic Edamame on the menu and ordered that for the big folks to share. The beans were steamed and then dashed with slices of garlic and oil, it was a hit. The chef also sent over some Salmon Skin that was dredged in panko and then deep fried, covered with a spicy sirracha sauce and sweet eel, it was resting on a bed of greens and disappeared very quickly.

The reason this restaurant was primarily chosen is because they do sushi rolls without rice. The No Rice Rolls were all works of art and although I was set against them at first, they ended up being my favorite. We started with the Love Love that consisted of spicy diced tuna and avocado slices wrapped with tuna sashimi, spicy small scallop pieces and drizzled with a chili sesame sauce. It was as delicious as it was pretty. Next we tried the Pink Lady with crab and avocado wrapped in big salmon sashimi and a sweet ponzu sauce. My favorite was the Cucumber Special that has cubed pieces of salmon, tuna, albacore and gobo wrapped in a cucumber skin and drizzled with a ponzu sauce. One of the things I like best about these rolls, is you didn’t fill up on rice; there was room in your tummy for more raw fish. They boys liked the What The Heck with a deep fried soft shell crab wrapped in spicy tuna with a tasty creamy lemon sauce. The kids said it looked like a spider and we agreed that if spiders tasted this yummy, no one would be afraid of them.

The non-sushi eaters tried the noodle menu and it was big, hot and full of surprises. The CSF Nabeyaki Udon came in a huge cast iron pot and was chocked full of scallops, mussels, shrimp, Japanese vegetables, hard boiled egg and glorious noodles all in a broth of rich savories. We also tried a Chicken Teriyaki bowl with the right amount of salty teriyaki flavor over grilled chicken breast on a bed of jasmine rice and veggies.

We finished with a Popcorn Lobster roll with langoustine pieces deep fried and sitting over a California roll with a sweet eel sauce and a Spicy Tuna Nacho with spicy diced tuna and salsa served on a crispy wonton. The best roll was the strangest name, Who’s Your Ex-Wife with a deep fried spicy tuna and a crab stick, cream cheese, asparagus and jalapeno all drizzled with a white and sirracha sauce.

We ended with strawberry Mochi for the kids, these frozen and deep fried pockets of sweetness were a hit and the birthday girl got a deep fried cheesecake with fresh berries and berry syrup. We opened presents, sang an off key song and were all delighted with the meal and the wonderful servers and chefs. It was a prefect celebratory meal.

Crazy Sushi Fever is located at 8050 El Camino Real in Atascadero and can be reached at (805) 464-5027. They are open Monday thru Thursday from 11:00am to 9:30pm, Fridays from 11:00am to 10:00pm, Saturday from 12:00pm to 10:00pm and Sunday from 12:00pm to 9:00pm.