One of Mariko and mine’s friends is a sushi chef (as well as makes regular Japanese dishes) at a restaurant here in town, and we sat at his sushi bar last night and enjoyed an amazing omakase. He pretty much chose the best fish, and created lots of sushi that I had never had before. I mean, the types of fish weren’t exotic types that I had never seen before, but they were combined and presented in a way that was special and unique. All of it was awesome! Like a dumbass, I forgot my camera, though… My favorite was a makizushi that had ikura, shiso and a special sauce made from uni. We also had baked tako with a little bit of cheesy spicy sauce on it, with crispy garlic slivers. It was so great. And an asparagus sushi with a miso/mayonnaise sauce. To end the meal, we had ama-ebi which was oishiiiiiiiii. I love eating the deep-fried body of the shrimp too, although it seemed like lots of people were watching us, since it is not something Americans would normally eat. We did think it was weird that people put their miso soup bowls on top of their plates when they ate it, though. And I had to ask Mariko about putting wasabi into the shoyu… something that I never do anymore and is rarely done in Japan. FYI, we put a little wasabi on top of the fish, then make sure to dip the fish-side into the shoyu, not the rice.

It was such a great meal. Omakase is wonderful because you get to eat dishes you would never eat otherwise. Normal sushi from the sushi menu is good, but omakase creations are the best!

Here’s a great article on the how to’s of enjoying sushi: Sushi Eating HOWTO, by Eugene Ciurana