鮨食べる人 アメリカ人

Torigai from Aichi. Torigai in Japan is always a revelation for me, since the ones that are exported internationally are par cooked and have completely different texture and flavor. In the spring, there are several famous regions for torigai, most notable probably being the super large specimens that come from the coastal part of Kyoto prefecture. Like oysters, torigai can be buttery or salty, but my favorite versions have a refreshing crunch and bright, almost vegetal flavor. To my memory, this one is the best I've ever had. Less

The tsumami at Nishikawa almost match the number of sushi served. They range from more typical washoku items (chawanmushi with goji berries, shirumiso with sansai)...to this. In name, it's shiro-amadai tempura with a smear of whipped uni and powdered nori. The coating is super light and magical - rice flour? It feels like something out of modernist cooking, so light that you get one crunch and then it instantly melts and you taste the fish. This was great. Less

Local kuruma ebi are the centerpiece of the meal here. In my experience most often kurumaebi come from the eastern coastline of Kyushu, and this is definitely the first I've ever had any from Aichi. They were huge and exceptionally tender.
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The shrimp are first plunged into boiling water for a few seconds, and half are served immediately as sushi, barely cooked, like shabu-shabu. The remaining shrimp then steam over the same pot for several minutes and are again made into sushi. Finally, the shrimp heads are grilled and served as a snack. Pictures of the finished product are in the next post. Less

Sushi Toyo is a small family-run sushiya in Takefu, close to Echizen. Frequent diners in Japan might recognize Echizen as one of the famous regional-branded names for snow crab, which is abundant in winter.
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Toyo is run by a father-son team, and the environment is entirely locals and regulars. It is usually fully booked, and that's probably because there are only 5 seats and a tatami room. The sushi style isn't edomae and has a significant amount of creative touches, and the environment is lively and friendly, almost like being invited to a dinner party. My visit here last year (note the dragon on display 🐉) was one of my favorite sushi meals in Japan not only for the food, but also because of the wonderful hospitality. I'm not sure when I'll be back again to Takefu, but if I am passing through, I will definitely make sure I visit again. Less

The front end of the meal is mostly geared towards sashimi, and I counted 9 different items with 3 different dipping sauces. The most memorable was kawahagi in a mix of its own liver, ponzu, negi, and cooked nori - a variation on other versions I've tried that might also include shoyu or egg yolk. The results (pictured) kind of looked like the inside of a chive gyoza, and the taste actually wasn't that different! Towards the end, diners were simply handed a caviar spoon with more of that rich liver (I think this was actually liver from the sanma in the top left picture). Drinking snacks indeed! Less

Final count at Takamitsu is 11 tsumami, 12 sushi, 7 uni, 6 pickles. That's a lot of variety for one meal, definitely enough items to rival any of the Sushi Sho disciples. But Yasuda-san's style stands on its own. Aside from all the uni and display of luxury brands, the impact is delicate and upscale without feeling innovative or non-traditional. Despite the small sushi size (a necessity with this many items), the heavy aka-shari also packs quite a punch. Less