There are many fun restaurants in San Francisco, but none of them are quite like Blowfish Sushi. Nothing about this restaurant, located on Bryant and 19th in the Mission District, is casual or understated--everything, from the menu to the ambiance, to the website, is done to the extreme; It definitely stakes its claim as one of the hip restaurants in San Francisco. The TV's, located all around the bar and dining floor, play a constant loop of anime which seem to fill the gap between Saturday morning cartoons and snuff films. The techno soundtrack makes you feel like you are in a oddly designed club, where food, is perhaps, incidental; this, however, could not be further from the truth.

Blowfish's decor is outdone by its menu, a tremendously creative mix of old and new Japanese and Japanese-American cuisines. You can start with any number of a large selection of sake and Japanese beer, but a good choice would be with a Blowfish Cocktail, such as the Go Speed Racer Go or Plum Sake Cosmopolitan. All cocktails are unique to this menu and are infused with three or four seemingly disparate ingredients.

After an intriguingly complicated cocktail, go for one of the Sakizuke Japanese Fusion Appetizers. If you enjoy Oysters, or are brave enough to try 'em, the Fire Oysters are amazing. Just as the name implies, they're hot as hell, but still a good one to try.

After the starters its time for sushi; while the nigiri and sashimi are quite good, go for something you can't get anywhere else. Go for the Special Rolls. The pattern holds with these Special Rolls--unique combinations of ingredients one rarely considers as part of sushi. Perfect examples of this are: the SoSumi Roll, with spicy tuna, crab mix, tempura shrimp and a spicy aioli sauce, Maui Roll with tuna, mango, macadamia nuts, and the Toshi Koshi Roll with crab, spicy tuna, seared albacore, avocado and topped with tempura crunchies...bomb. All three of these are amazing.

If you go to Blowfish--and you should--you have to be in the mood for the entire experience, not just the food. Although carryout is available, it seems a waste not to be able to appreciate the unique ambiance of the place. So if you're with friends and in the mood for some Miso and Sashimi, go to Blowfish.

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