鮨食べる人 アメリカ人

In honor of "national sushi roll day" I present one of my favorite sushi rolls, even though it's not from a sushi restaurant. I don't often write about non-sushi restaurants except in stories, but Shakirimon Onozawa really hits the sweet spot of washoku/kappo for me. The meal is filled with lots of seasonal items that are flavor punches and not too precious. Case in point is a torotaku maki made with the tender tuna head meat (noten) that is served towards the end of the meal, and presented dramatically to guests. It is well-deserved that over the past few years it's become a tough booking. Less

Of course, the tuna featured is from Yamayuki, which seems to dominate all but a few of the top-ranked tabelog sushiya these days. Setoro and belly chutoro are the first nigiri served, followed later in the course by chiaigishi and otoro. The flavor is exceptionally "meaty" and clean, with strong mineral taste. I can't claim to know whether this flavor and texture profile this was a conscious choice, or just the product on this particular day, but I did find it uniquely delicious and exceptional. Less

Sushi at Matsuura is on the larger side, and quite punchy. The shari is really firm and large - perfect texture for my tastes. The shaping is elegant, symmetric, almost boxy. In impact, it reminds me a bit of Shimazu, which I posted about a month ago and which has become wildly popular over the past few years. I'll also admit that my sensibilities were completely captured when a chinmi of katsuo shuto arrived-mid course as almost a reverse palate cleaner. The sushi is so good that the lack of "luxury" ingredients goes completely unnoticed, certainly a contributing factor in the strong value. Less

Sushi Mikata is a favorite tachizushi. This is another "upscaled" standing sushi with a reservation system and set entry times, although the ordering is conducted through a multilingual iPad at each counter position. Maybe by design, different days show availability depending on whether you try to to book via a Japanese or English-language website. The sushi is quite large, with sour and salty shari. Excellent sushi for purists. The value is pretty much unbeatable - what is pictured here was about ¥9,000. Less

A #notsushi post, but it's about tuna (kind of).
One of best places to casually eat seasonal seafood is an izakaya. Even mid-level ones will have seasonal sashimi on the menu, and there may even be some surprises. These pictures are from Kane Masu near Kachidoki, which opens mid-afternoon and closes before 8pm. I guess their business is mostly focused on catching commuters before they grab the train home. Which kind of makes sense, since this area is pretty dead at night.
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These pictures are from a visit a few years ago, where both tuna head meat (noten) and rib scraps (nakaochi) were on the menu. Both uncommon cuts for sushi, but super tender and delicious. Served rustically, almost in a pile, with a chunk of wasabi. These were two of about 6 or 7 dishes that night, which included nikomi (beef stew with tendon). Many izakaya will have a pot of nikomi cooking away all day, and it's usually the "specialty" which means you should order a least a serving to try. It's like tasting the character of the shop.
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Years ago, Kane Masu became famous for serving raw wagyu "maki" stuffed with uni and that became a sort of insta-hype item, but it seems it is no longer on the menu anymore. Not that you'd be able to tell, as the menu is illegible even to some Japanese-speakers. I could probably make 5 or 6 more posts on this place, but this account isn't @izakayaaddict so I'll just say that this is definitely a spot worth visiting. Less