Forget what you remember about your grandmother’s tuna fish. Mixed with mayonnaise and slathered on white bread, it hardly does justice to this delicious, meaty fish, which, by the way, is packed with protein and healthy omega-3s. While there may still be a time and a place for tuna from a can, local restaurants are doing some pretty amazing things with fresh tuna. While it’s pretty ubiquitous on sushi menus, don’t think that if you’ve had one you’ve had them all. With striking flavor profiles (for example, the sweet heat of tuna with a mango habanero sauce or the spice of a chili-spiked mayo) there are lots of exciting options. Added to that, we’ve thrown in seared and marinated preparations that create a taste to remember.
Crazy Tuna
The crazy tuna roll, a salty delight, is all the rage at Mt. Fuji. The specialty roll is made with fresh tuna and spicy mayo mixed inside the crunchy roll, and yellowfin and tuna that are seared and then wrapped on the outside of the roll, with avocado and flying fish eggs ($12.95). Among the other rolls featuring tuna (there are 10 in all), the treasure island is a colorful spectacle, with yellowtail tuna and blue crab on the crunchy inside, topped with tobiko in different shades on top ($14.95). Other tuna-centric rolls include the rainbow naruto ($10.95) and a spicy girl roll with spicy tuna, spicy salmon, spicy mayo and wasabi sauce ($11.95). 763.315.5885
Mango Trio
Grocery store sushi is nothing to sneeze at, and you can’t beat it for convenience. At Byerly’s, over 40 unique items are put out by the sushi department every day. One recent addition, the mango trio, is a striking new take on a seafood roll. The inside is stuffed with a mango ginger cheese, crab, and cucumber, while tuna and salmon are layered on the outside, with a mango habanero sauce, resulting in a sweet heat ($11.99). With a name like Sriracha party, it’s hard not to be won over by the another spicy tuna roll available here, with crab, spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside, drizzled with a trio of sauces made from Sriracha, the beloved Thai hot sauce: Sriracha pea sauce, straight Sriracha and mayo spiked with Sriracha ($9.99). These flavor combinations have become customer favorites, but there are many other varieties of sushi, sashimi and rolls for tuna lovers.763.416.1611
Ruby Poke Tuna
Not everyone has a taste for raw fish. If you’re not certain, get a dish that’s easy for sharing, like the ruby poke tuna appetizer ($10.99) at Granite City, and start with a tiny taste. Diced pieces of raw tuna are marinated in a soy, brown sugar, ginger and red pepper flake marinade, topped with a sesame cucumber relish and served with a side of wonton chips with wasabi cream. The chips are used to scoop up the tuna so the dish can be readily passed and shared. A cooked variation on tuna at this brewpub is the island tuna entree, a piece of yellowfin tuna marinated in pineapple teriyaki, charbroiled and served with wild rice and broccoli, with a pineapple citrus salsa on top ($15.49). 763.416.0010
Tuna Tataki
Zushiya offers plenty of sushi, but the tuna tataki appetizer is wildly popular with patrons—six pieces of tuna marinated in ponzu sauce, a citrus soy marinade ($10). The Zushiya roll also satisfies a craving for tuna, with little filler and lots of fresh tuna, plus tempura shrimp. It’s topped with a mayo sauce and eel sauce, and served on a bed of greens ($20). A handful of other specialty rolls contain tuna, like the maki of Maple Grove, with spicy tuna and asparagus, wrapped with white tuna and fish eggs ($16). Zushiya is under the same roof as Sawatdee so it offers the added benefit of being able to order anything off the Thai or sushi menu in any part of the restaurant. The restaurant offers live music four nights weekly. 763.494.5708;
Boston Roll
The demand for sushi has grown leaps and bounds and continues to increase every year at Benihana, says manager Jim Hendrickson. Don’t be surprised, then, if you stop in on your lunch hour and find the sushi bar full of patrons ordering the Boston roll made with cucumber, crab, avocado and tuna ($11). The rainbow roll is a top end choice, made with tuna, shrimp, yellowtail and salmon, and the spicy tuna roll is a starter roll filled with tuna and cucumber and drizzled with a spicy sauce ($7). If you’d like to try one of the other specialty rolls with tuna instead, substitutions can be made. 763.315.0090
Seared Ahi Tuna
The seared ahi tuna appetizer at P.F. Chang’s is another excellent way to initiate yourself into the world of fresh tuna. The sushi grade tuna is seared, so it’s cooked on the outside but rare on the inside, sliced and served cold. The spicy mustard vinaigrette drizzled on top combines tangy and spicy flavors. The dish is garnished with greens. Many customers like to share an order so that everyone can have a taste. 763.493.9377
Tuna Hand Roll
You can get pretty much whatever you want at Kyoto Sushi, where the all-you-can-eat format has over 130 menu items to choose from ($24.99 dinner, $15.99 lunch). The spicy tuna is very popular and the tuna hand roll offers a little twist, with spicy tuna and a tempura filling served up in an ice cream cone shape rather than the traditional roll. The rainbow roll is also often requested, with white and red tuna, salmon and avocado. The sushi tends to come out in smaller portions here since it’s all you can eat. Note, there are actually three locations of Kyoto Sushi, so use the number listed here, and not the one on the restaurant website, which dials the Eagan location. 763.488.1588
