Luxury Vacations

» danflorio - Great article!

I have found the same kind of thing - that often the little hidden places are the best. Sometimes they have just lousy exteriors but they hide a great menu and excellent food inside.

Even though I am not a sushi fan, I enjoyed your article. The rules apply to all kinds of places! Mexican food is often just like that, too.

-- posted by danflorio

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» Jennifer W. Miner - Great article!

Thanks, Dan. I must say, this past weekend's "research" was really fun! Maybe I should convince my hubby that an appropriate article for Mother's day should feature comparing different airlines' first class seatings, or diamonds versus pearls, etc etc. ;)
Jennifer Miner

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» desertblue - Great article!

In response to Great article! posted by JenniferMiner:

Hmmm, I agree. I know I'd read them. We just have to convince the planes and jewelery stores to give you comps.

I would think a comparison of swedish vs. acupressure massage would be a great line of therapy...er, research...folllowed by whether French Wines are better than Sonoma wines...hmmmm...I want your job...

-- posted by desertblue

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» Jennifer W. Miner - Great article!

So, last night for dinner, my spouse let me pick a restaurant, and naturally I picked Japanese. We went to one in Brentwood named Takao, and it was really delicious. As we're enjoying the meal, Dave mentions that he had a work lunch at Yu-n-Mi Sushi earlier that day! He's going to have to start watching his mercury levels.
Jen

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» Jacqueline Church - sushi surprises

Try Abe in Balboa Peninsula/Newport Beach. I've had amazing dinners there. Sushi chefs are absolutely expert. Will serve what you like in the order that enables best showcasing. Terrific sake list.

Once I had uni in Park City Utah. Yes, I know, landlocked, but they were flying in uni from Santa Barbara each day. Unbelieveable.

One of the best memories was of a tiny sushi-ya across the street from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo which my mother's friend brought us to. Everything we ate had been swimming hours before. Service at a good sushi bar also elevates the experience to a level most of us here never get to experience.

Kampai!

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» Jennifer W. Miner - sushi surprises

I'll be sure to try to get there the next time I'm in Orange County. Thanks for the tip!

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» desertblue - sushi surprises

In response to sushi surprises posted by JenniferMiner:

I had a friend once take me to a Sushi place in Santa Monica that had little pretty plates of sushi that went past on a conveyor belt, and it snaked the plates all around the restaurant. Everything looked so neat - like wrapped packages. Or like colorful bubble bar slices from Lush, or something. It was a trip. Have you been there, Jen?

-- posted by desertblue

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» Jennifer W. Miner - sushi surprises

That would have to be Kaitan Sushi, on the 3rd Street Promenade. I always have fun there! The sake isn't so great (you can tell when a place tried to push the hot sake rather than the cold - off flavors are masked by the heat), but Kaitan has pretty creative sushi chefs. Mostly rolls, which is like Sushi For Beginners. And for a place that looks fasst-food-like, the sushi is surprisingly good.
Jen

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» NipponNeh - Best Sushi in the Country

Jennifer, YOU MUST BE KIDDING!

If you are so brazen as to suggest that you know what the best sushi in the country is, at least provide some meaningful data to support your claim. Suggesting that 'toro' is really great at one spot and 'sushi rolls' are great is a clear indication of a lack of knowledge and experience. In addition, when you suggest that portions are larger at one venue and smaller at the other, if you are still referring to sushi, the subject of your article, then I hope you are NOT referring to the size of a piece of sushi.

Allow me to educate you:

Sushi, as it is made in Japan and at high quality restaurants in the US, is meant to be bite-sized. One piece, one bite, without making you look like you have a big wad of chewing tobacco in your mouth. This is the key to SIZE, and the first of the critical criteria for good sushi.

Sushi is also meant to exhibit BALANCE. The amount of fish or other food is to be balanced with the amount of rice. Too much rice or fish and the flavors are out of balance.

Sushi rice must be selected correctly (typically short grain, sometimes blending older and newer rice due to important characteristics of the sice itself. Hitomebore and Tamaki are two types of US grown rice that rival Japonica (Japanese) varieties. Even if the rice is of the proper quality, it must be cooked properly. I would say that in my experience, only about 1 in 10 Japanese restaurants cook their rice properly. Then there is the conversion of cooked rice into sushi rice, again a process that is fraught with challenges and missed by a majority of restaurants. This is where BALANCE comes to fore once more, in the balance of the components of sushi rice both for flavor and texture or moistness. Finally there is temperature. The rice should warm the fish slightly to bring out the oils and the flavor, but it should not be so warm or wet as to make the cori soggy. If you want to experience this first-hand, visit Sushi Yasuda in New York City and ask Yasuda-san about his rice.

Now we come to the non-rice elements of sushi. Each item must be selected carefully for freshness and flavor. I can't tell you how many restaurants I have visited that serve fish with little or no flavor because the chefs are poor or their cost is lower or the customers are not discerning enough. You mention toro as though it is one item. Do you know how many varieties and qualities of toro exist? dozens. hundreds. Have you had toro that literally melted in your mouth and delivered an astounding flavor? Yasuda-san sometimes serves a dozen different toros in a tasting selection.

There are too many items that can be used for sushi, so I won't attempt to list more than just two that show up most often. First, there is nori, as mentioned above, the seaweed used in or on sushi rolls. It should be crispy, not soggy. The best restaurants will toast the nori slightly just before using it in your sushi. Second is the wasabi. Is it fresh or made from powder? Is it grown in the US or in Japan? There are major differences here that truly affect the flavor experience. Have you tasted fresh-grated wasabi from Japan?

So, where is the best sushi in the country? I can't speak for all restaurants in the US, but I have eaten several thousand Japanese meals in restaurants in the US and Japan and my favorites are:

MASA in NYC
Matsuhisa in LA
Yasuda Sushi in NYC

Other great venues include Urasawa, Torafuku and Takao in LA and many of the Nobu restaurants, although there tends to be some variability from one Nobu to another or from one day to another.

None of these are inexpensive, but once you have experienced them, and paid attention to every detail, you will understand the difference between great sushi and everything else.

By the way, wash your sushi down with Sato No Homare Kakunko or another great sake and you will never want to drink anything else with your sushi (except perhaps a 1986 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne.)

-- posted by NipponNeh

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» franzman - Whistler Sushi Village

If you go to Whistler for a ski holiday in Canada, you must try Sushi Village. I've travelled around the world and have yet to eat sushi so good! The fish literally melts in your mouth. Be sure to order the Ahi Poke and a couple jugs of Saki Margarita!

VIP Whistler Concierge Services
http://www.premiumwhistler.com

-- posted by franzman

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