Restaurant Week 2023: Tuesday “Seafood”

Restaurant Week 2023 with Visit Greater St. Cloud is in full swing. Monday Started out with “Health Conscious” food picks, and Tuesday’s category is taking us under the sea for a feast. Restaurant Week 2023 is ay 15th-21st, and it is the second year that Visit Greater St. Cloud has hosted this event. Local restaurants selected one menu item to submit for this year’s categories:

• Monday: Health Conscious
• Tuesday: Seafood
• Wednesday: Pasta
• Thursday: Sweet Treats
• Friday: Beverages
• Saturday: Unique Finds
• Sunday: Sandwiches

I got a group of friends together and we did a mini crawl of the area trying to hit as many featured restaurants on the list as we could in a few hours. Unfortunately we weren’t able to fit any of the featured places on the seafood list, but I do have an honorable mention place I would like to highlight; Hajime Asian Bistro.

Hajime Asian Bistro: 4170 W Division St #130, St Cloud, MN 56301

I was honestly shocked that Hajime wasn’t featured on the seafood portion of the list. When people think of St. Cloud, their mind most likely isn’t going to think of an incredible plate of sushi but it defintely should. My husband and I were turned onto the greatness of Hajime two years ago when our fellow foodie friend Andy told us to try it out. It has been a go-to of ours ever since.

I’m partial to the North Shore Roll, and an appetizer of Tako Yaki.

The North Shore Roll is made with tuna, avocado, and fresh salmon with five different kinds of caviar, seaweed salad, crunchy topping, spicy mayo & eel sauce. It has A LOT going on in every bite making it exciting to the very end.

Tako Yaki are octopus dumpling balls served with wasabi honey sauce. They are very “oceany” in flavor and quite intense, so if you are more into mild flavors I would steer clear, but if you like an app that packs a punch these are a great shareable for the table.

Another favorite we have discovered recently is the Wasabi Red Snapper which is tempura red snapper, with wasabi
honey sauce. The sauce on these will clear out your sinuses instantly, and the fried snapper has a beautiful crispy texture.

Hajime might not have made it onto the Seafood list for Restaurant Week 2023, but I think it is more than worthy of an honorable mention.

More restaurant week content will be coming out as the week goes on. To see a full list of participating restaurants and get involved with the giveaways going on to celebrate, visit the Visit Greater St. Cloud website. And check out The Small Town Tourist Podcast for a deep dive into Restaurant Week and the St. Cloud food scene.