You might associate Kodiak with the Kodiak bear or King crab but growing up, I associated Kodiak with Kodiak boots. Not made in Kodiak or American made as far as that goes . I wanted a pair when I was fourteen years old and envied everyone who had a pair. Now, when I think of Kodiak, I think of sushi...Ok, and Kodiak Bears !
The Old Powerhouse Restaurant is an unassuming and modest food establishment where you wouldn't think to find a gem like this. No fancy signage or facades, the Powerhouse once housed diesel generators that powered the whole city of Kodiak. The interior is simple but has a great view of the Near Island channel where all the boats come into either St. Paul or St. Hermans harbor.
We were seated in the back room, away from the main dining room but then asked if we could be seated at the counter. Great! I can watch them make the sushi and also get some photos. Like last year, we let our friends choose their favorite sushi plates and again we weren't disappointed with what they chose this year. We started the meal off with a scallop and halibut chowder. A thick, creamy and smooth texture with a hint of smoked bacon with tender and juicy chunks of scallop and halibut. After the chowder, the plates of sushi kept coming !
First Up, the Powerhouse Chirashi. Chirashi basically means scattered sushi in Japanese. As food is also art to the eyes, this bowl of Chirashi is beautifully presented with sushi rice drizzled with teriyaki sauce, shredded nori and topped with pieces of Shrimp, King Crab, Salmon, smoked eel, tofu, two types of Tuna, two types of white fish – I think Halibut and not quite sure what the other was, I didn't have any. Topped off with a dollop mixture of avocado, crab and fish roe.
Second plate...The Kodiak Roll a soy wrap filled with Tempura flakes, tempura fried salmon, crab stick, cucumber, smelt roe, lettuce, mayo, avocado and Tobiko. Served with a delicious and slightly spicy mayonnaise. A fantastic combination of flavors which makes it one of my favorites.
The Coastie Roll, a popular one for obvious reasons. This roll is visualy appealing and bursting with flavors of tempura flakes, fried king crab tail, mayonnaise, asparagus, avocado, lettuce and rolled in wasabi and tobiko and smelt roe. Also accompanied with a spicy mayonnsaise.
The Midnight Roll, maybe named for is black roe is a combination of fried salmon, pollock, spicy tuna, almonds, avocado, asparagus, lettuce, wasabi tobiko and rolled in black flying fish roll. Also, served with a nice, spicy mayonnaise.
The next two plates were four different types of maki sushi rolls. The Dynamite roll consisted of steamed shrimp, crab and scallop mixed with fish roe in a sweet creamy sauce and toasted. The Soft Shell Crab roll, very simple and yet so tasty included fried soft shell crab and avocado.
The Spicy Tuna roll had minced red tuna and a spicy red sauce..this one made the tongue tingle ! The last roll was the Dynamite Tuna roll, spicy tuna, tempura flakes and avocado wrapped in a soy wrap. The creamy avocado with spiced tuna made this a mouthful of satisfaction!
With bellies full, expectations exceeded and fish roe still popping between my teeth I am left with memories of the most outstanding sushi I have ever encountered in my life. I remembered, this was one of the other reasons I wanted to come back to Kodiak Island. If you have no reason to come to Kodiak Island - let this be your only reason to.
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