If Schlosser offers me some, I’ll try that.
Hi @TheCookie,
Seeing how you’ve been enjoying Sake, I think you’d love the Takacho Regal Hawk! Really mind-blowing. 
I think there are some tasty items on Shibumi’s menu that you might like, if you end up going, let me know and I can suggest some items to order. Enjoy!
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Hi @beefnoguy,
Nice! 3 of your friend’s offerings are already on Shibumi’s Sake menu? Cool. 
I’ll make a note to try those 2 Nama offerings next time (if they are still in stock - are they seasonal?).
Thanks for the tip on the Maboroshi Junmai Daiginjo.
And I only just realized from your previous post, but does that mean Izakaya Rintaro is carrying the awesome Takacho on their menu now? 
Which would be fantastic! (Making Rintaro even more appealing as a fun stop next time I’m in the area.)
I believe those namas are available year round but depends on restaurant’s ability to source, desire to keep on menu or rotate, and distributor’s inventory. Unclear on Takacho, of which that bottle is currently not offered at any SF Bay Area restaurant I am aware of (and if so is very very limited, at least no restaurants I’m aware of has advertised having it on social media) and Rintaro doesn’t have it.
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Hi @beefnoguy,
Oh OK. I thought in your previous post you were saying you had it at Rintaro, but I see now you (or your friend) probably brought it in. 
Thanks.
I had a pretty disappointing meal here. It didn’t feel like an off night either–everything looked as it does online. I just found that many of the flavors were truly one note–strong curing and sweet, but little else.
Not everything was bad. I liked the teriyaki chicken dish. The pork in koji was good, but the flavor got tiresome, just kind of a sweet cured flavor that felt repetitive by the third or fourth piece.
The most shocking thing was that our two tofu dishes were truly awful. The first, a peanut tofu, was like a thick gelatin. The second, a cold pumpkin dish with whipped tofu, was just extremely bland.
Given the high quality of Japanese food in LA, it’s hard to see taking the time to go back here, especially since I’m not that into sake (and that seems like one of the big appeals).
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I agree.
Was there last week and it did not WOW me (other than the impressive whisky selections, none of which I had).
Sergio was not in attendance, and we ordered a la carte. Everything was good but nothing was great
And most of our dishes don’t look nearly as refined as @Chowseeker1999 had (and it is not just because I am an indifferent photographer).
Daikon with Miso and Sesame was much too cloying and sweet.
Trout Salmon was pretty good but the skin chips were not crispy
Pork was also too sweet and too fatty.
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Thanks @CiaoBob, @Haeldaur. Very unfortunate to hear.
Shibumi is definitely one of those restaurants where we’ve found that the assistants don’t come close to Chef-Owner David Schlosser’s level of execution. Like going to Mori Sushi or a few other places, we call ahead to make sure Sergio is in the kitchen that night. If he’s not there, we’re not going.
You would hope all kitchens could run as well with or without the main chef, but that’s just not the case sadly in too many restaurants we’ve run across.
I would say it’s worth it to bring up these problems to the manager, let them know your feedback and see if they can take that and improve / better train their staff / make it up to you.
I agree - regarding the complaint to management.
But in a place like Shibumi, especially if you are at the counter, where the chef of the night is standing a few feet from you with a very sharp knife…I would not (and did not) feel comfortable relaying my thoughts.
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i wonder if sergio would have made a difference in this case. all the dishes @CiaoBob had are cooked in the back by a line cook, not by sergio. and the expediting is done by somebody else, so those dishes may not have even been touched by sergio if he was there.
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Hi @PorkyBelly,
Good point. I do know the numerous times we’ve been to Shibumi, I’ve seen Chef Schlosser go in the kitchen a few times during the evening. I’ve seen him look at dishes that come out and send them back into the kitchen. A couple of times, I’ve also seen him hand slice the Holstein Beef or Wagyu (or also the Pork), and saw him cut a tiny sliver of it to taste it.
Not every time, but I’ve seen all of the above happen over the various visits. So maybe it might’ve helped, or maybe not (if he was too busy and didn’t try any of the dishes). Very unfortunate either way.
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For what it’s worth Schlosser was right in front of us and I didn’t see him touch anything either other than the yellowtail sashimi. I just found the food tremendously unbalanced and almost cloying in its flavor.
A pretty good video that just got released today. Good coverage on what he does for chinmi. Too bad no coverage on anything sake related.
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Open your own restaurant, work your ass off for 3 years, earn a Michelin star and according to Eater, you are still just “a Former Masa Apprentice”. Bad form, Eater.
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Or maybe (and this is pure speculation, but it sometimes happens in Japan) that the sempai disapproved of the kohai making sushi for whatever reason.
Again, this is speculation, but these things can happen during the training of potential shokunin, for whatever personal or skills-based reasons.
So, just to get this right, you are speculating that Masa told Schlosser, “I ban you from serving sushi! Not only in my restaurant, but in any other restaurant that you work in. Even if you open your own restaurant! Banned! You have not reached the level of SHOKUNIN!”
Gotta get that clickbaity headline somehow.
Lots of other ways to make a clickbaity headline without disrespecting the person that helped you to create the actual content.
“Michelin-starred Chef David Schlosser grills up moray eel!”
That moray eel did look delicious…
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