Onigilly

I feel bad rating this 1, because the people are so nice and earnest, but it really is an «Eek! Methinks not».
They also seem to have never eaten Onigiri. If you go to any grocery store that sells them (at least one in Japantown, or either Berkeley Bowl, or any of a ton in LA), you will get Onigiri that are a million times better.
Here’s how to make Onigiri at home:
— make rice, ideally Japanese short-​grain
— Grab a ball of it and wrap it around something small and yummy, like some pickled plum or fish or whatever
— Shape it into a triangle
— wrap it in seaweed
It costs almost nothing and is easy.
Here’s how to make and serve «Onigilly»:
— Cook long-​grain brown rice with too little water so it is really dry and not at all sticky
— Get too much of something gross and put it in the middle (I asked for the server’s favorite 3, so I tried a cross-​section)
— Poorly wrap it in really stale seaweed, for optimal lack of structural integrity
— serve 3 of these with a few overcooked edamame from frozen and some salad for $ 9 in a neighborhood where you will probably see someone peeing on the street while you eat
I had Onigilly twice — once from a food truck a year or two ago near the Ferry Building, where I think it was 2 stars. This review is for my experience from the SF Food Lab on Market Street near Civic Center Bart, which was 1 star. I now steer clear of it and encourage others to do the same. Everyone: pllease let me know if they ever start to make them well.

Got the lunch special on Sunday afternoon at the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market.
3 onigiri, a small handful of edamame, and pickled ginger for $ 8. Buy 10 lunches and get 1 free (loyalty card).
I got spicy shrimp, spicy bacon, and seaweed (I was hoping this was the green sweet-​ish seaweed — wakame salad, but it was this dark brown seaweed, still somewhat sweet). My favorite was the spicy shrimp… the spicy bacon was pretty good too but slightly too salty for my tastes. I was sad they didn’t have unagi when I went.
They use soft brown rice, stuffed to the brim with your choice of filling sticking out. It was pretty good. I still prefer B-Dama’s onigiri (which is also cheaper at $ 1.75-$ 2.25 each) but this doesn’t require unwrapping any plastic. :)

lunch special: 3 onigiris and some edamame for $ 8. Each onigiri separately is $ 3.
My friend and I got the special with the spicy shrimp, the eggplant, and the chicken teriyaki.
The rice is a spot on the dry side, and the rice: filler ratio is a bit too high to be ideal. However, I really appreciate the great deal and the creativity with the fillers. They were super yummy! I’d recommend the spicy shrimp or eggplant more than the chicken, because these fillers are more savoury and «moist», balancing out the dryness of the rice.
The people working here are super friendly! definitely a great lunch spot for anyone who works in the area.

There was a massive line for this cart during the SF Street Food Fest, but we decided to commit anyway. Someone else grabbed his wife out of the line and said its good, but not THAT GOOD. Unfortunately, he was right. We ordered a few of the rice balls and I got the teriyaki chicken one. It wasn’t chunks of chicken, but more of a paste. The rice was brown rice, and without flavor. Perhaps this is how these things are supposed to taste, but I was not impressed at $ 3 a ball.
I will note that the employee was SUPER FRIENDLY! So that’s a plus. But that leaves it at 3 stars at best.

These are some convenient, satisfying little bundles! I’ll admit, I didn’t expect anything special when it came to this Japanese street food but was pleasantly surprised. I asked the cashier what his favorite was, he suggested the Ginger Beef which was as good an ingredient as any to start with. Especially, since I’m confident I will be trying them all! I’m really looking forward to when they open their own spot in August at 343 Kearny.