I went with the 10 piece nigiri omakase, which ran up $45. Overall, it was good–not great–with the best bites coming from the mackerel (duh), otoro, and ikura. For the money, the QPR is there I guess, but I’d really only do it again if I’m in the area and really want sushi.
Thanks for the report. I was really wanting to try Sushi Tama but it’s bit inconvenient for me, and based on your report, I’m not sure I will bother. I too love saba!
I was kinda’ sorta’ close to the vicinity and always have the thought of What food have I read about on FTC that can be incorporated into this jaunt? Sushi was on my mind. I’ve read in regular times Shin has a strict reservation-only policy, but with the alternate world of Covid I figured things were more lax. I phoned from the parking lot and was informed “no rolls“ (I get that forewarning a lot ) and only 3 sets to choose from. I said all is fine and they said come on in! It is just the friendly, owner-chef, Taketoshi Azumi, and a sweet helpmate.
This award winning sake is semi-dry, soft, clean, but lush w/a slightly sweet-rice, marshmallow flavor and a fruity creaminess which always reminds me of banana in sake, I got a dash of pepper too. Delicious!
No carmakase or close-ups. I needed to get it back over the hill and on the table within an hour as instructed. Of course, dine-in nigiri is optimum and I look forward to sitting at Take-san’s counter, but Shin’s neta & shari are so enjoyable nonetheless. I didn’t get a chance to savor as usual but iirc the highlights for me - tunas, ikura, marinated salmon, scallop, kanpachi (loved) & sea eel (a little soft but flavorful), the uni got melty but was sweet, creamy & delicious, ebi nigiri was nice, compact & fresh.
Nothing regular about this! Everything is baby-bite-sized, lol, but melt in your mouth delicious, and the shari is spot-on and flavored really well (maybe on the sweet side for some but I’m no expert). Travelled perfectly.
The shari is very good, with a subtle vinegar profile and ideal temperature. I would describe it as ‘delicate,’ compared to other examples that are heartier. It also doesn’t clump together as easily as some chirashi tends to do, which may also be due to the layer of rice being thinner than I’m used to.
Echigo is now doing delivery. I wasn’t a huge fan of the place as an omakase spot (being a fan of neither the hot rice style, nor of the fairly cookie-cutter 8-piece “omakase” you’re forced to go through before asking for more), but as an entrant to the delivery game their early efforts are solid.
I stuck with the basic chirashi, which arrived in a wide, rectangular container, contra the pictures on their website (not that it mattered overmuch). Fish was unpretentious but good; rice was also decent (to my preference, it may actually be better post-delivery, once it’s had the chance to cool down a bit from “hot” to “correctly-warm”). At $25 (Postmates, pick-up) it feels comparable (or maybe even slightly better) than Tsujita’s kaseindon ($31) in terms of QPR. If nothing else there’s at least more rice, so you don’t go hungry from the paltry amounts of fish all these chirashi come with At $28.80 (Grubhub) it’s less clear, but having options is good