Omakase!

[NWFlyer 2]

I'm on a quick work trip to Honolulu (very quick - touched down at 11:30 a.m. yesterday and head home at about 3:30 this afternoon). Through the wonders of Facebook, happened to notice that an old friend from high school/college (who I haven't seen for about 20 years) and his wife were also in town, so I suggested we grab a drink. That turned into "hey, want to go find a great local sushi place?" I was game.

I knew this was going to be good in the cab ride over when the cabbie said "I don't usually take people from Waikiki to this place - usually they come from downtown." Not on the normal tourist path. Check!

Meet up with my friends, and notice there's a neon sign in the window that says "Trust me." The restaurant (Sushi Sasabune) is known for its omakase, or chef's menu, and since I'd never done it (and was on an expense account) I decided to go for it. My friend did as well, and his wife decided to order a la carte.

OMG. Seriously? This experience has now ruined me for all other sushi. 13 courses, many with multiple varieties of fish, all absolutely amazing. Best part is they're totally militant about the whole experience. "Master Chef will seat you when he is ready." "Please eat with one bite only." "Please no soy sauce." When my friend didn't finish all the roe on one of the pieces, he got a passive aggressive comment of "Next time sir, you can tell us not to include roe" with a disapproving look. Lord help you if you asked for a California Roll!

Of course, such an experience (especially in Honolulu) comes at a price, so I more than maxed out my expense account maximum and ended up having to pony up 2/3 of my meal cost out of my own pocket. Still worth every penny.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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OMG. Seriously?

Seriously. The Sushi chef has a better idea of which fish are tastiest that day than you do and enjoys himself more when given some freedom.

Ryoko's on Taylor Street in San Francisco does a fine job of it with excellent fish and a hip young atmosphere (they have a live DJ and Atsushi is at the opposite end of the age bell curve from the usual excellent chef).

I have not yet discovered a truly exceptional traditional sushi place in the Bay Area which compares well to the best of Denver/Boulder, CO (Sushi Tora, with yummy fish flown in from the tsukiji fish market although the selection was better before Saito San retired) or Seattle, WA (Shiro's in Belltown).

[NWFlyer 2]

Sorry, that was a totally positive, enthusiastic "Seriously?" as in I seriously didn't know food could be that incredibly good. I was totally cool with the concept and loved that I got the best of the night picked for me.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

I suspect most of the sushi I've had was not as good as the sushi you had that day. I'm planning to take a week in Hawaii once I can fly a wingsuit competently, but it may be a couple of years before the PTO, funds and training all line up. I'll have to remember to try to scope out some good sushi while I'm there.

I've found that telling a sushi chef you just drove 1600 miles for "dinner, here" does get you some very tasty sushi, though. I've found a couple of good places very close to home, now, and always ask the chef what's good that day when I go in there. I got some VERY nice red snapper and hamachi sashimi for lunch with this strategy today.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[normiss 622]

I'm kicking you in the internets shins.



Make the most of your trip!


No roe for you!

[oldwomanc6 38]

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I've found that telling a sushi chef you just drove 1600 miles for "dinner, here" does get you some very tasty sushi, though.

I bet that line won't work in Hawaii.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

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I've found that telling a sushi chef you just drove 1600 miles for "dinner, here" does get you some very tasty sushi, though.

I bet that line won't work in Hawaii.

Probably not, but it was true in this case. I googled on "Seattle fantastic sushi" and drove (from Denver) the the first place I found. Had sushi at Kisiku, found it to indeed be fantastic, turned around and came home. The sushi's good in Seattle, but the traffic would drive me nuts in a matter of days. The roads between here and there do wonders for your perspective, though, which was the main reason I wanted to do the trip.

I did get nostalgic coming through Coeur d'Alene. Did some IT work for the dog track there back in the early '90's. The place has really built up since then. I remember there was a floating restaurant on a lake that was also pretty nice, near there. If I'd had a bit more time I'd have stopped and tried to find it again.

All that was before I started skydiving. Now I'd probably go, do a skydive, THEN have sushi. And beer!

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[Abedy 0]

To a German, the word Omakase just looks like Omakäse (granny's cheese) which is absolutely hilarious +

Apart from that: I tried sushi once, but didn't inhale.

The sky is not the limit. The ground is.

The Society of Skydiving Ducks

[tuno 0]

There are at least two ***** Omakase establishments in Phoenix, if you're in town and need to scratch that itch: Nobou in Teeter House, in downtown Phoenix's Heritage Square; and Shin-Bay, in Scottsdale. Both are operated by chefs who introduced me to Omakase when they worked together in Chandler in the late 1990s. Omakase will spoil you on sushi, these guys will spoil you on Omakase.

ted/t1
chieF engineeR
OmniSkore!HD

[BigMark 1]

On a side note, if you have never had baked or grilled Tuna or Salmon collar you are missing out.