Do you eat at real Sushi restaurants or phony ones?

[Mr.X]

It’s come to my attention that some folks may not like urchin. That’s certainly OK. However, my feeling is that sushi prepared by qualified chefs can make or break the entire experience. I have seen a proliferation of sushi bars where there are less-than-capable and less-than-sanitary folks making this very nuanced and complicated food. Sushi in the wrong hands tastes like cxxp. The apprenticeship for a qualified sushi chef can take upwards of a decade and just learning to wash rice can take 2-3 years.


If I knew how to make a survey/poll I would ask these questions:

1. Did your last sushi bar have a fully trained and qualified head sushi chef?

2. When you entered the establishment does the sushi chef recognize you immediately (doesn’t matter how far away or how busy they are) and said "irashaimase" - welcome?

3. Do you eat at a table, or do you eat at the bar where you can see the food being prepared?

4. Have you tried raw urchin combined with rice in a proper seaweed wrap?

5. I don’t care about what sushi I get because I drown it out with beer.

Thanks. X- Sushi Aficianado

 

[ItsBruce]

I can't answer the questions. Our favorite sushi bar recently closed. There, we were recognized. The one we now go to is quite good, but we are not yet regulars. BTW: I DIY sushi on dive boats. All it takes is a sharp dive knife. Also, stay away from trout sushi.

 

[mstevens]

3. Do you eat at a table, or do you eat at the bar where you can see the food being prepared?

Yes. I mean no. How does one answer a double-barrelled question such as this by checking off a box?

For me a "real" sushi restaurant would be a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Japan where itamae-san selects sushi for me based on what I've liked before, even if I've only had a single order up to then. It's usually very below-the-radar and offers nothing but sushi and sashimi and thus has no tables at all. Typically, there would be no ingredients on display in "Neta Cases." It is likely to offer unusual or distinctive sushi such as odori-ebi, basashi, or fugu.

I've had properly-prepared uni. I hate it. I don't like kanimiso, either. How are you on that?

 

[Mr.X]

Yes. I mean no. How does one answer a double-barrelled question such as this by checking off a box?

For me a "real" sushi restaurant would be a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Japan where itamae-san selects sushi for me based on what I've liked before, even if I've only had a single order up to then. It's usually very below-the-radar and offers nothing but sushi and sashimi and thus has no tables at all. Typically, there would be no ingredients on display in "Neta Cases." It is likely to offer unusual or distinctive sushi such as odori-ebi, basashi, or fugu.

I've had properly-prepared uni. I hate it. I don't like kanimiso, either. How are you on that?

Nothing beats eating cuisine in the country of origin. The survey is designed to get a snapshot at what constitutes sushi eating in the US, or other locales outside of Japan.

Having designed sushi bars in the US I have a general interest in this SM.

Neta-case - somewhat necessary in the US. As per kanimiso - ick. Fugu (Blowfish Considered a delicacy but must be prepared by a fugu certified chef) - pricey and dicey. X

BTW - lighten up - it's not all that serious.

 

[Cacia]

Mt X, you need to read the "Havana Room" . It is about this sushi room (private) in NYC where the clients go into a back room and pay thousands for the chance to do some hallucinagenic puffer fish. It is all about how careful the chef must be to only get the tinest bit of toxin in the flesh...

yes, there are some bad sushi bars out there! And I have almost competely lost my taste for sushi going to those places with people that will eat anything. Yuck.


Great sushi is wonderful and I just bought my BF a very expensive sushi knife because he wants to learn he says... I dread having to eat that, too.

Here, in this asian city, there are many sushi "fast food" type places and the sushi is not so hot. I prefer Thai to tell you the truth.

I hear that in Japan, they screw the fish down on this special cutting board, and then carve the sushi off the fish while it is alive.

Not sure if I agree about "nothing beats the country of orgin". More and more, I am realizing that fusion dishes...think even Texmex, or California chefs putting their spin on Italian, etc... Here, some of the great Hawaiian chefs (Roy Yamag...) have taken asian dishes and created hybrid dishes that are more contemporary and flavorful than even the original dishes. I like the way food evolves in places where the chefs yearn to be creative and innovative.....look at the French influence on Vietnamese food! South Pacific cuisine...Dragon Tei in Koror is a Japanese chef doing local fish in the Japanese style. Much more interesting to me than traditional Japanese food.

 

[mike_s]

1. Did your last sushi bar have a fully trained and qualified head sushi chef?

Should I start asking to see his certification card or "union card" ?

How the heck do you know if he's qualified/trained. Sure they could tell you they are but that's like someone walking into a scuba shop and saying they are certified for diving and not having any real proof.

2. When you entered the establishment does the sushi chef recognize you immediately (doesn’t matter how far away or how busy they are) and said "irashaimase" - welcome?

I've actually been in sushi restaurants in other states when my first time visit the sushi chef "knew me" (or at least acted that way). I think that's just a clever marketing/promotional business practice. not that it's bad, I just find it funny.

 

[Cacia]

speaking of urchin, lots of "urchin divers" in California represent a big portion of the GW attacks I think. Maybe because they use hukas or what ever those things are called and don't have bubbles? Urchin divers on Catalina have Great White tales that will curdle your blood. I have never eaten urchin but I hear Japan is a big market. I always eat the quail egg thing on eel or whatever that is, can't quite handle it though. sake!

well, Mike, some people that frequent sushi bars faithfully read the food critic reviews and are aware of the training various sushi chefs have.... I skip over it, but the papers In LA and San Fran are full of that info. Die hard sushi fans live by that stuff and I do hear them talking about it---which sushi bar has this chef trained at that place, blah, blah, blah.. I still contend that hanging out on the boat docks where they are cleaning fish all day and it smells fishy will be aversion therapy. I had a friend that trained at Sea-Life Park making buckets of"sushi" for the wildlife inmates, and he says that killed it for him.

 

[captndale]

I used to own a dive shop next door to a very good sushi house. Yes, they knew me. Yes, they had a qualified chef. The sushi was made at the bar. You could eat at the bar, sit at a table or take it out. We had many divers who would stop next door for sushi take-out and carry it to the dive shop to eat in class, at club meetings or just hanging out..

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

yuck

 

[IGM]

Hello,

I like sushi just fine; I’m not crazy about it like some of my friends and definitely not a “sushi aficionado” like Mr. X. But several years ago while visiting São Paulo, Brazil, I had the opportunity to try the best sushi ever. I’ve never been in Japan to be able to compare quality, so my opinion is limited. I assume sushi in Japan must be out of this world judging by the quality of one in Brazil. During this trip I was also informed that São Paulo has the largest concentration of Japanese outside of Japan, I never verified this information.

Mr. X you should list your favorite sushi restaurants, beside yours in Monterey, that way we can try them, if we can.

Domo arigato,

IG-Dive