Sushi School - Where should I begin?

I think they should do that everywhere (seriously). :slight_smile: Especially when I , I mean, a customer, looks lost.

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if i’m at a “good” sushi joint, i just…do nothing, except
pop the piece handed to me in my mouth.
the ginger i occasionally wolf between bites.

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This sweet place was an unexpected start. I read every post and made notes of which are to be my 201, 301, Special Occasion or just whimsy places. Haha… I can just hear @linus groaning. Anyway, when choosing I picked places where I can frequent and form a relationship with the itamae. But this day I happened to be in the Valley so…


Green Iced Tea


Not traditional? But I drink iced tea almost everyday, so perfect for me.

Miso Soup


I’ve been eating miso soup since I was a kid (hippie parents). This was super flavorful.

Omakase - Red Snapper (tai?) w/lemon, yuzu pepper & sea salt; Halibut (hirame or engawa?) w/lemon, yuzu pepper & sea salt; Bluefin Tuna (toro); Albacore Belly (otoro) w/fresh wasabi; Yellowtail Belly (hamachi) w/fresh wasabi; Amberjack (kampachi); Golden Eye Snapper (golden eye tai) w/radish

My favorites were the fatties (ordered 2nd’s):

These were all chef Mitch-san’s selections (yes Mitch :relaxed:). All pictures are before any extra soy sauce added.

I read that Iroha is known for putting out some delicious rolls. It was a struggle not ordering the morsels passing under my nose; but I’m trying to stay focused.

I know I’ve rolled my eyes about you guys critiquing knife cuts and such. But this is Sushi School; have at it. And also feel free to correct my nomenclature.

Lessons learned:

  1. I like red snapper much better when it’s not cooked.

  2. Nigiri should be eaten in one bite. Although I managed, the pieces were slightly too big. This made it difficult to completely enjoy and critique the fresh fish. I also wish I had taken pictures of the rice.

  3. Having read @PorkyBelly’s appreciation of Shunji’s serving everything at appropriate temperatures, I payed closer attention to this in my next classes. TBC…

Extra Credit: My first Flat White


Red Window Coffee is also part of the Iroha complex. Apparently it used to house a fortune teller. Maybe it’s beginner’s luck or this is the best flat white in town. But I :heart: it. Delicious blueberry muffin too!

This was a fantastic foot-wetting spot!

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Iroha has been my family’s neighborhood spot for about ten years. The nigiri does tend to be a little too large for a comfortable mouthful, unfortunately. I’d recommend trying out the Pink Panther roll next time you stop by - it’s one of few “modern” rolls I enjoy. Also check out their five kinds of mushrooms with sauteed asparagus - it’s been through a few reformulations, but still a good take on the dish.

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im not sure why im groaning.

Hi @TheCookie,

Nice report back. :slight_smile: It’s great to hear what you liked and what you learned about. :slight_smile:

It seems you enjoyed Red Snapper, but especially the Belly portions (which many of us love as well ;)). When you hear some of the veterans talk about how Shunji or Mori has Hamachi Toro (Yellowtail Belly), now you know why they get excited. :slight_smile:

What did you think of the Greater Amberjack (Kanpachi)?

I noticed you didn’t get served any of the oilier fishes (like Mackerel / Saba), so maybe that might be something to try next time to see how you feel about that.

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I feel the same way about almost every fish

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personally, i’m a little surprised the omakase came out together; while the impact may not be discerned by most palates, oxidation (among other things) does occur. to those who would suggest that one try to eat it quickly to minimize the exposure, the experience is diminished IMO.

i’m kinda surprised you got two ‘consecutive’ orders with yuzu kosho; (i love yuzu kosho as a condiment BTW) and yuzu kosho AND sea salt? yuzu kosho already has sea salt in it; the more traditional treatment is yuzu and sea salt.

given how you ordered 2nds on the the fatty stuff, i suppose i can’t really fault the itamae for going for overwhelming you with more of the fattier cuts instead of going for a more traditional balanced approach in constructing an entire meal though he does get points for starting with the milder stuff - even if he did do two orders in a row with yuzu kosho.

the overall point is that part of what makes traditional sushi what it is is that respect for balance in tastes and textures which i’d judge as being somewhat lacking in your selections even though they all seemed to be of excellent quality and preparation - though i still ponder the choice of yuzu kosho & sea salt together.

and as pedestrian as it may seem, i would have liked to have seen a sample of the tamago; it seems like a trivial thing, but it requires a level of patience & prep such that i often use the tamago as part of my litmus test. many chefs tend to rush the process of preparing it.

the attention paid to the quality and preparation of the rice is fundamental to great sushi. i regret that many people fail to appreciate that fact.

There’s supposedly no right or wrong way when it comes to nigiri orientation or positioning before mouth placement / which side hits your tongue first.

Western media/references tend to focus on the benefits of eating nigiri fish side down (with the exceptions you mentioned where logic and ease of handling dictates). Even that sarcastic video of “Japanese tradition” tells people to rotate the nigiri so you eat it fish side down. Although it’s easy for those watching the video to conclude that the rest of the content could be truthful with some trepidation, even though some are gross exaggerations, false, or just wrong for the sake of laughter. It is a funny video.

It is perfectly fine to eat sushi rice side down regardless of how many dressings or toppings are on top (even if just a brush of sauce from the chef, or with a little citrus squeezed over). If you enter the kanji characters for sushi on youtube 鮨 or 鮓, there are many search results from Japanese TV shows/documentaries, and thus instances of Japanese TV hosts (whether they are knowledgeable eaters or not) eating nigiri sushi rice side down. There is also the argument that if you want to experience the sushi rice quality first and foremost, is to eat it rice side down. Not rotating and just putting it in your mouth quickly (rice side down), will reduce any mishaps or accidents.

The best shot documentary would be of Peter Frankl (Hungarian performer with a math degree living in Japan) eating at Sushi Nakamura, and I don’t believe he rotated.

And here’s another example where the eater (who is supposedly quite a well known personality on TV and media) who doesn’t rotate and eats quickly (any rotation possibly causing a mishap) rice side down at Sushi Mizutani. The host has done a series of TV shows where he visits many famous sushi restaurants in Tokyo area, some do not have Michelin stars.

Then there’s the theory I’ve seen somewhere, that the kanji characters for sushi 鮨 and 鮓, which comprise of two characters each (the left side being “sakana” or fish), also suggesting that a piece of nigiri can be rotated on the side so both fish and rice hit your tongue at the same time. I actually have not tried this nor do I think it would be practical.

The rice side down approach, I would for myself reserve for places where I think the sushi rice is seasoned and cooked correctly and is something I want to appreciate first. Otherwise if the ingredients/seafood are vastly superior to the rice (or if the rice is a weak component) then fish side down where possible.

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Thanks for your thorough comments. I was taught fish side down by a relative from Japan and I always ate it that way. The exception is cooked neta like broiled anago which could burn the tongue.

Koji Sawada confirmed it, too, in this article:

Yes, the author takes a few liberties (implying that sushi should always “melt in your mouth”), but Koji Sawada says directly, “the fish should touch your tongue first,” and he even demonstrates in a picture, and says the entry in the mouth is similar to how you put fish side down in the soy sauce (admittedly, for different reasons).

The rice should be pretty constant, and for me the variation comes in the texture of the neta. In my experience, that’s been how I get the most interesting experience of the “hazawari.”

So glad you enjoyed your meal at Iroha. It’s my in-laws’ fave in their neighborhood. There were a couple of years where the quality dipped, but it’s been good again for awhile. I love Red Window Coffee, but I’ve yet to try their flat white. I’ll try it the next time I’m in the area.

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Thanks @Chowseeker1999!

I tried to absorb and note as much as I could (without being a pest), but might be somewhat confused about which was which. You or others might know better. But if the Amberjack is the 2nd from the right, then I have to say, along with the halibut it was not my favorite. The halibut had a bit of a filmy texture. But I will try them again. Nothing was bad enough to not try again :slight_smile:. I loved the Hamachi Toro (Yellowtail Belly)!!

Actually, none of the places have served me Mackerel. They have mostly served what you see. Must be somewhere in the beginners omakase handbook. I am determined to ask for Mackerel/Saba on my next foray.

Thanks for the encouragement :relaxed:.

Seasonality is a big deal in most Japanese gastronomic pursuits. There is a reason for the itamae not giving you any mackerel these days: Saba is not in season right now - Its time is autumn.

There are also other mackerels out there: Spanish mackerel (sawara) in late spring/early summer, horse mackerel (aji) in summer, and mackerel pike (sanma) in late summer/early autumn.

Enjoy your next sushi foray!

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May I suggest starting with more ‘G’ rated hikarimono options - Aji and Sayori. Poorly seasoned saba is like bad uni…

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… which is a lesson in itself, I say.

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Hi @secretasianman -

There may well have just been sea salt in the yuzu kosho. Remember there is a language barrier and that is how it came out and how I wrote it down (yes I took notes :grin:). I don’t remember the pieces being too salty. Also I’ve noticed that yuzu kosho (and grey salt) is trendy right now at even non-Japanese seafood spots; it’s not the first time I’ve had it served on two consecutive cold dishes. But this is a good tip and I will pay closer attention next time. I am hoping for a little more variety, but these are probably great seasonal selections.

I’ve seen the debates on FTC about how quickly pieces should or shouldn’t come and how quickly or not they should be eaten. Note, it was a lunch special ($45 incl xtra pieces + tip) during a busy time at a “201” spot. I’m sure he would have accommodated my individual request. I expect the highest quality for what I’m paying, but try not to demand more attention than what I’m paying for. But your observation is noted and next time if a place (or myself) is not busy I will request individuals. After all, I have been paying the “pest tax”.

Also note: Good sushi lunch specials are usually busy.

I’m definitely going to start ordering the tamago. It might take a while to start determining the good from bad though. I’ve had it at my aunts and in homes, but never knew it was a big component to the sushi meal until FTC.

Thanks for weighing-in :relaxed:.

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This woman and her son ordered selections similar to mine, but also ordered rolls :yum: and a mushroom dish. One roll looked like your Pink Panther :stuck_out_tongue:.

The first time I ate saba I loved it so much, oily and tart and wonderful. The next two times I ordered it, I learned that lesson. It’s sort of an “intermediate-advanced” fish to try, and it can be wildly inconsistent.

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I wonder how many places are making their own tamago vs buying pre done?

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FWIW, i was taught neta side down, though i’ve taken bites instead of eating a piece whole when it just seemed unmanageable to do so.

as someone else noted, it’s not in season, but even when it is, really oily fishes are difficult to procure fresh enough to serve without marinating it; i believe there’s a saying something along the lines of mackerel already being spoiled before it’s dead.

you might like saba served in osaka-style battera.[quote=“TheCookie, post:157, topic:5042”]
I’m definitely going to start ordering the tamago
[/quote]

often, you can get an idea of the training of the chef just by looking at it - observing both the color (should be a bright yellow) & its uniformity (maintaining the appropriate temperature throughout the process) and then you need to have the balance of moisture to fluffiness in texture.

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