Crosstown Sushi

Crosstown Sushi
524 Eglinton Ave W

Sometimes reviews come from the strangest places and circumstances. Such as yesterday when I finally tried Crosstown Sushi. Back when I first started this, there was a few times where I just randomly headed out along Eglinton. It’s close to where I live, and there’s a few places to choose from. While walking east along Eglinton I noticed that there was a convenience store with larger than usual signage advertising that they had sushi. At first I assumed that it would be, at best, a kiosk of pre-made maki. It turned out to be an actual mini-restaurant in the back. But not a terribly nice one.

Flash forward a few months and I decided that I wanted to go out and try a new place, but somewhere within walking distance. I figured, I’ll hit Crosstown. At worst it’ll be fast food quality and I didn’t have to go all that far. Well, things have changed in the last little while. They put some real effort into fixing the place up. It’s still primarily a take out place, but now there is a single table and counter seating at the sushi bar and along one wall. The menus had been re designed as well and now no longer look like cheap photocopies. I was pleasantly surprised.

I decided to keep it simple this time around, because looks can be deceiving. But again, I was pleasantly surprised. I went with the staple Spicy Tuna ($5.49) and something I haven’t had in a while, a Rainbow Roll ($9.95). They also have daily specials as noted on a blackboard inside. The first thing that caught me off guard was when a Spicy Tuna Temaki (hand roll) was presented. I stammered a bit that I hadn’t ordered it, and the chef explained it was on the house while I was waiting for my order. Maybe the camera gave me away or something, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ve actually never had a hand roll before. But it was darn good. It feels a little strange to be eating sushi like an ice cream cone, but it did give me the energy to walk my order back home.

After my order was handed over, you take it to the cashier in front in the convenience store half. $17 later and I was once again enjoying the day on my walk home. The real treat of it was the rainbow roll. I’m sometimes left in awe at how the chefs can get so much into a roll without it falling apart. A rainbow roll is essentially a california roll with sliced fish on top. In this case it was Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp, and Whitefish. The one thing that really jumped out at me was that the tobiko was really sweet rather than salty. But let me tell you, I had a hard time getting it all in my mouth the pieces were so big. I don’t think I’ve had shrimp on my rainbow rolls before either. It was a nice change.

The spicy tuna was just right. The perfect size (hey I’m at home, sushi is finger food in  my books) and just the perfect level of “spice”. Hot enough that 10 minutes after it’s done you can still tell you had something spicy, but not so thermonuclear that your eyes water. It’s interesting to note that just about every place does such a simple roll differently. This time around the spice was added with spicy mayo on top of a simple tuna roll. Tempura flakes were tossed on after. I think I’ve seen about a dozen variations on it now, and each technique leads to subtle changes in flavour. This is one thing I’m happy to investigate further!

If you’re in the neighborhood and either need some quick sushi to go, or some lunch while shopping, I’ll point my thumbs in both an upward direction and towards Crosstown. I went in expecting fast food kiosk level maki, and instead got good quality stuff quickly at a reasonable price. I’m holding on to the menu for the next time I have people over and we need delivery food!