Sushi School - Where should I begin?

Generally not in the U.S.

Japan would be a different story…

3 Likes

Why? I ask respectfully.

Not that JGold was the expert on sushi etiquette. But he probably had a good handle on it. :wink: He had a no bluefin tuna policy at sushi-ya.

1 Like

People like you, one at a time, will hopefully change this. There’s no excuse for it, is there?

Are you talking to me Cath? I eat it, but may rethink it at some point. I just see no reason for @thechez5 or anyone else to compromise their values or forgo a good sushi meal for the sake of not offending someone. Plus, I don’t think the request is offensive.

Bluefin tuna in Japanese sushi culture is as an integral part of their tradition as coal is to Appalachia.

A reasonable, sustainable request to withhold honmaguro in some traditional sushi-yas in japan may be misinterpreted as an affront or direct disrespect of their tradition.

1 Like

And foie gras to france

2 Likes

Okay, I have question. I think I know the answer, so this is more wishful thinking than anything, because I luv toro and don’t want to give it up. Is it all, except for ahi, bluefin tuna?

What’s wrong with eating bluefin tuna?

Nothing . They will be gone soon from the high price it demands . Highly sought after and overfished.

Toro refers to the fatty belly of tuna - It’s an gastronomic designation for the anatomic part of the tuna - ANY tuna species. For example, bigeye tuna (the tuna species of choice for Sugarfish) has delicious toro.

Ah, ipse, welcome back!

Oops, no. I got you ‘confused’ with @thechez5 . We have one planet and need to protect it. And indulging our foibles IMO doesn’t cut it.

1 Like

I’ve eaten at most of the quality sushi restaurants in Los Angeles and regularly request no blue fin tuna. The only place that had an issue with it was Hiko sushi in West LA. They were willing to accommodate my request but asked that I don’t sit at the sushi bar for omakase and instead sit at a table. I asked if that meant my sushi would arrive unsauced and all at once and they said yes. So I left.

Everywhere else has respected the request no problem. It probably helps that I’ll eat anything else.

One nice thing I’ve found about rarely eating bluefin is it saves room in my wallet and stomach for other varieties of fish. While I do love bluefin I often find it one note (especially in its super fatty forms).

4 Likes

Okay, yay. Good to know. I thought the toros - toro, chutoro, otoro were the different cuts of the fatty belly of the bluefin tuna. Be patient with me, I’ll get it. :relaxed:

So now I’m guessing the bluefin tuna is considered the best?

Yes correct, in the USA this is generally not a problem at all.

However in Japan (or Tokyo for example) it depends on where you go and how you go about handling it.

If you make a reservation in advance and have your hotel concierge inform the restaurant in Japan that you are either allergic to certain items or tell them no bluefin tuna, maybe you will get some substitution. It is best to check with them via the booking and then decide if you still want to go after you find out how the restaurant will handle the request. No guarantee of what you will get instead, or if you get charged the same price or less or just get a few pieces less. If you walk into your reservation and then say no bluefin on the dot, then you run the risk of having not just an incomplete experience but also causing the restaurant some inconvenience. But you also run the risk of not getting the reservation depending on whether the restaurant chooses to book someone else who they won’t see as being finicky or difficult (and this you won’t be able to prove if the request is made and the turnaround time is a day or two for the restaurant to respond, they are busy for the popular harder to book places). Or ask around and research before you take the plunge which restaurants will accommodate the no bluefin request and only stick with those places.

It is also unwise for someone who doesn’t want tuna to make a reservation at a place (e.g. in Tokyo) where the chef is most well known for sourcing high quality tuna (and perhaps even serves multiple cuts from different parts as add on’s) and even the local regulars would be willing to jump at the chance to get a seat and eat everything in place of a visitor who eats everything but bluefin. You’re basically increasing the odds of a mediocre experience. There are tons of other restaurants to choose from, so patron those that will support your choice of no bluefin.

This part is not about bluefin, but while the chef directly in front of me at a Ginza sushi restaurant in Tokyo two months ago was carving slices of sashimi, I commented in Japanese that it was whale (and also to confirm whether it really was or not). He gave me this confirmation look with a hint of curiousity then asked if it was ok (in Japanese), and I gave him permission. The chef doesn’t speak much or any English, so again this is a case of do your homework before you go. I was surprised that whale was served, but had no issue with it.

3 Likes

Not necessarily, just the most traditional. The relative rarity of bluefin makes it the priciest of all tuna species currently.

1 Like

I like their practice of sustainability.

So, ya’ll think big eye or any of the others are just as tasty as bluefin?

I predict bluefin to go extinct in the wild within the next 20 years, regardless of how aggressively we as a society practice our current sustainability beliefs here in this tiny corner of the world called L.A. The ever-increasing global appetite for sushi has already doomed the bluefin. (Sorry to be the partypooper)

They’re actually doing it cuz it’s lower overhead (under the guise of sustainability, so it’s a PR win-win).

As for taste of bigeye versus bluefin, let’s just say that I think Sugarfish knows their audience well.

6 Likes

Thank you to everyone who answered my question. And no, I wouldn’t dream of doing that in Japan.

This is precisely what I’ve been doing. :slightly_frowning_face:

2 Likes