Mochiko

I remember when I discovered Sushirrito.  I lived right near their first location, and attended a pre-opening.  I was hooked, instantly.  It was 2011, a bit before all the hybrid and fusion trends really hit, and I found the concept both exciting/novel *and* delicious.  Sushi.  Burritos.  Zomg.  I was thrilled to watch their success, as they opened more locations, tweaked the menu slightly (but kept my precious sumo crunch!), and flourished in the fast casual space.  I've been a loyal regular for years.

So when I heard the founders/owners of Sushirrito had a new concept in the works, Mochiko, I was definitely interested.  This time?  Mochi pizza.  The concept makes complete sense to me.  As you may know, I like to waffle nearly anything (that is, turn leftover things into waffles, not by adding batter, but by literally just putting into a waffle iron), and I've done that many times with leftover mochi to create a crispy waffle base (also, yes, I've even waffled leftover Sushirrito).  The pizza concept seemed much the same: crispy but chewy mochi base with some kind of sauce and toppings?  Why not!

"Asian-style pizza with a mochi crust made with our secret blend of rice flours that bake up chewy, crispy, and irresistible! Eat it while it's hot for the best experience."

Unlike most pizza places that often carry a lackluster gluten-free option, because the crust is made with rice flours, it is naturally gluten-free (although note that not all toppings are gluten-free).  The entire concept is built around it, so gluten-free diners are not getting a subpar experience.

The menu is fairly small right now, with only 4 options, none of which are vegetarian (but I think you can get plain cheese?).  No sides, no desserts, no special drinks (literally only boxed water).  I'd love to see them expand (once successful) to possibly include some sweet mochi pizzas, or even fuse the Sushiritto and Mochiko concepts, that is, offering the sumo crunch toppings on top of a mochi crust.  I'd love that.

I visited the pre-opening for their third location, in San Francisco.  The first opened in Burlingame last year, the second fairly recently in Palo Alto.  Currently sharing space with Sushiritto, but perhaps they'd separate if the concept takes off.  You order via a QR code or the website online, and it doesn't include mixing and matching from Sushiritto, which is a shame given that at least for now they are co-located - the Sushirrito lava nachos would make a great starter while you wait for your pizza to bake, and the Asian drinks seem like they'd pair just as well here.

Anyway, I think this concept has strong appeal, and I hope it takes off.

Pepperoni.

"Pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, tomato jam, fresh garlic chives."

The most familiar and approachable pizza is obviously the pepperoni.  While it does use tomato jam instead of classic tomato sauce, it is otherwise a "normal" pizza with flavors and components that Americans are used to.

I didn't try it, but I actually think it probably wouldn't be a great choice ... the mochi base really is quite different from standard pizza dough, I don't think those flavors would match all that well.  It did come nicely loaded with large pepperoni.

Chicken Curry.

"Fried chicken karaage, mozzarella cheese, corn, jalapeño, Japanese curry, fresh cilantro."

Next up was what I think is their most popular, the chicken curry.  If I liked chicken, I'd certainly go for this, as the components sounded really well thought out and like a great match for the mochi crust.  Basically, think of a Japanese style chicken karaage bowl normally served with rice and curry, and, uh, pizza-fy it.  The rice flavor to the crust and Japanese curry just make sense together, and I loved the idea of the jalapeño for some kick too.

Soy-Braised Beef.

"Soy-braised beef, mozzarella cheese, corn, roasted garlic kimchi sauce, cilantro."

Next is the one I wished in retrospect that I had picked, the soy braised beef.  Next time, I'd certainly try this one.  Corn, mozzarella, beef, and kimchi definitely are well known Korean inspired pairings (mmm, corn cheese!), and another one where the mochi rice flavor totally works, e.g. mirroring tteokbokki.  I don't love kimchi, and would prefer a gochujang based sauce, but, conceptually, this is another that just makes sense.

Spicy Pork.

"Spicy minced pork, mozzarella cheese, sesame spinach, romano cream sauce."

So, what did I pick?  I went for spicy pork.

Like all the pizzas, it has the mochi base, which I found fascinating.  It was very crispy, a slice was easy to pick up, no fork and knife required.  But it was also chewy as mochi should be, and a bit almost gooey inside (but not in an underbaked way).  The texture was great.  It did have a pretty strong mochi/rice flavor, it certainly wasn't pretending to be regular pizza crust.  If you've only had mochi in sweet items, this likely would be a revelation.  Yes, it works as a neutral or savory base too!  As a concept, this mochi base is a definite winner.  ****+ crust.

Spicy Pork.

The spicy pork comes with a rich romano cream sauce along with the mozzarella, which makes for a very cheesy and dairy heavy foundation, as both were quite generously applied.  The sauce was quite true to what it was, very creamy, very cheesy, but for me, it was just a bit too detracting from the lovely mochi crust.

The other toppings were good - I didn't necessarily taste the sesame in the spinach, but the minced pork was flavorful, and there was good spicing (definitely not too spicy).  These elements were both fairly lost against the heavier cream and cheese though.

Overall, I loved the concept, and liked the elements, but this isn't one I'd pick again.  ***.