Now, who doesn’t love salmon? Maybe you’re at a fancy steakhouse eyeing a juicy ribeye, and the waiter cruises by with a fat slab of pinkish grilled salmon? It’s admittedly hard to resist.
On a smaller, more casual stage, Waba Grill has taken that same salmon desire and made it available at their fast casual locations. The chain of some 200 eateries has always had salmon on their menus, in various recipes, but has now gone back to its original wild-caught salmon.
“It’s something that a lot of customers were asking for a long time ago,” said Waba Franchise Business Consultant Ricardo Angeles Wednesday afternoon, as we carefully sat distanced in the restaurant’s closed-off dining area.
“They’re looking for fresh salmon,”he said. “So you have basically the flavor, which is wild and fresh, and you have that combination of the fish with the caramelized sauce that is our own recipe. There’s nothing like having that tender salmon that really tastes right.”
We were soon moved to a specially arranged outdoor dining area, as Angeles emphasized the freshness of the locally-caught salmon.
Explaining that the salmon is procured from local providers, he also noted that having salmon sources close by also helps keep prices down.
“The number one priority that we are always looking for is quality,” Angeles added, saying, “That’s always going to be over anything. I believe that’s why this product is so popular and it’s getting more popular as time goes on.”
And how is the salmon prepared, we asked?
As Angeles explained, “The salmon is first seared on each side on a flat top, just to cook it on the outside to give that nice color. And then we transfer the salmon into the grill. That’s where we do basically the caramelization of the sauce. We leave it there for about 45 seconds on each side. So that way he doesn’t get too overcooked, and that actually gives it the perfect texture, and still gives you that flavor of actual salmon.”
Which was abundantly clear to me once I dove in. The salmon is pink, meaty and flavorful, and topped with the Waba teriyaki sauce. What’s not to love? Add the green salad with citrus-based dressing, and the available avocado slices, and I had to take half the meal home. A few hours later, after popping the leftovers in the microwave, I was happily reliving the experience at home.
Note to self: remove those plastic packets of Waba sauce from the boxed meal before reheating.
Waba Grill is at 753 South Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena, CA. (626) 356-2198. Www.wabagrill.com.