*Nahoko Morimoto is a Tokyo-based photographer. Her work has been featured in Brutus and Vogue Japan.

*Nahoko Morimoto is a Tokyo-based photographer. Her work has been featured in Brutus and Vogue Japan.

Danran, a little sushi spot in the Sakurajosui station in Tokyo, is no stranger to Umamimart. Yoko introduced us to the place in 2008, and Tmonkey reported on it again later that year. Yoko took me to Danran for the first time several years ago, and I very much looked forward to visiting again on my last trip in October.

The place had not changed a bit — the master, his wife, and her brother, all greeted us with warm smiles as we happily retreated from the autumn rain. The small space was brightly-lit, and the wood interior gave off a cozy glow.

Naoko, Yoko and I sat at the counter of Danran, laughing, chatting and catching up, over wonderful food and drinks made to order by our hosts. We never looked at the time, and when it was time for us to say farewell, there was no one left in the restaurant. It was midnight. We had been there for something like six hours.

The photo above was one of the first dishes presented to us by the Master. It is stewed fish eggs, probably tai (snapper) or hirame (fluke). The lightness of flavor, with the bounciness of each fish egg, is just delightful.

This was one of my most memorable meals of 2011. Please take a look at the rest of our meal.

I was in Miami for Thanksgiving, listening to salsa music while eating turkey, which was great. Last Thanksgiving, I had a steak in Fort Lauderdale, but this year we had a very traditional Thanksgiving meal, with nontraditional music accompaniment. Since Thanksgiving Day’s meal looks the same no matter how fancy, or tasty it may be, I will skip it.

I’ve been wanting to go to NAOE restaurant for a while after I read about it on a blog a year ago or so. It’s in Miami, but located far up on Collins Avenue, in an area called Sunny Isle. Even though I go to Miami about twice a year, and last time I was there in May, they were closed the entire time we were there. So when we decided to go to Miami for Thanksgiving Day, the first thing I did was to make a reservation there.

According to my information, chef Kevin Cory is Miami born, his mother’s side of the family is from Ishikawa, Japan, and he went to train at his uncle’s restaurant in Toyama prefecture for six months. Upon his return, he researched, studied more, and started the restaurant with his wife. How cute of a story is this? I heard the food is very unorthodox compared to regular Japanese restaurants, yet all the flavors are just top notch. I was very curious, and was very excited to try it.

We went there the day before Thanksgiving, and since they only had 6:30 and 9:30 slots, we left the hotel around 5:45 way in time for 6:30 reservation. What we didn’t know was the traffic the day before Thanksgiving. The road was terribly packed with everyone going somewhere to eat turkey. I frantically called the restaurant, yet unfortunately no human picked up and their voice mail instructs you directions to the restaurant since they know they are located middle of nowhere. Finally we arrived close to 7pm, fearing we lost our reservation. Luckily everyone at the restaurant was very nice, and understanding.

Phew. We sat at the bar counter.

There’s no menu, and basically you eat what chef serves you. This is pretty daring for Miami, since there aren’t that many Japanese restaurants. Despite the fact the city hosts a reputable food festival every year, I think Miami is pretty weak when it comes to Japanese food. Sure, many restaurants are Japan-infused, like my dining experience at Azul in May, but generally there aren’t that many TRUE Japanese restaurant, as far as I’ve heard.

So we were in for the chef’s omakase for the evening.

From all the reviews, I knew they serve kaiseki-style bento box as an appetizer, which includes rice. Appetizer, with rice? Really? Then the dinner is followed by a bunch of nigiri sushi. Very different from how we usually have course meals at Japanese restaurants in NYC, but almost refreshing.

Then came the bento box. Nice wooden box filled with goodies. Chef Kevin explained everything in detail.

Top left: the chef put raw hamachi (yellowtail) in the bowl with yamaimo (mountain yam) and steamed it to perfection. Then, he added starch-thickened dashi on top, with ginko nuts from Japan, mitsuba stems (Japanese parsley), and a dab of fresh wasabi. The dashi was so delicate, very kaiseki-like flavor.

Top right: shirako (they called it “cod milk”, which was the least offensive way to describe it; but here at Umamimart we call it, “fish jizz” which may be a bit too offensive for their customers) simmered in sake and soy sauce, sprinkled with sansho (I think?). Left of the shirako is baigai, which is a small, conch-like clam (which seems to be a specialty of Toyama, where Chef Cory’s uncle works as a chef). It was well-flavored with sake. Next to the clam is smelt and yam tempura, and chestnut with karasumi (bottarga).

Bottom left is shiitake rice. The amount of rice was just right, not too much, and it was a good portion as an appetizer.

Bottom right: cobia sashimi. This was probably the only local fish they have, and it was very nice. Its flavor is a lighter version of yellowtail, but the texture is very chewy or what should I say, almost beef like. Very fresh, and what I like is how he cut shiso leaves into small pieces. Whenever you go to sushi restaurant, sushi or sashimi are served with a bit of daikon radish or shiso, but they are basically more for decoration. I think shiso really adds a great flavor, and sometimes, cuts the fishiness, yet no one eats them. So he had a bed of cut-up shiso underneath the cobia, which I thought was very smart–an untraditional way of serving it, which encouraged people to eat it. Of course all his wasabi is freshly grated.

We are now in for chef’s progression for nigiri sushi. He had the most non-traditional technique for making nigiri sushi. He first made a tiny rice ball, placed it on the counter, added a bit of wasabi, then placed the fish on top. You know how regular sushi chef place rice on palm, adds wasabi and fish, then squeeze them just right? Nigiri comes from the word nigiru, which means “to hold tight, or grab”, but he wasn’t grabbing his sushi whatsoever. Yet, he squeezed it at the end, just enough so that it doesn’t fall apart. Brand new way of sushi making.

First was salmon belly. As I was chewing buttery salmon nigiri, I realized I forgot to take a picture. Here is an empty plate where salmon nigiri was.

Barely cooked lobster claw. He cooked the lobster in a very interesting and different ways–claws in one way, tails in another. Simply, since their thicknesses vary, they take different times to cook.

The claw was very soft, very sweet.

Iidako (octopus) from Portugal. Not chewy whatsoever, very sweet and very good texture. He poured orange-scented pouzu on top.

I skipped this, but Nate had kumamoto oyster from the west coast.

He added a bit of shiso, plus fresh wasabi. I really like how he incorporates shiso in dishes. Nate said it was very nice.

Fresh scallop. VERY sweet.

Oh, by the way, this is the kinda place where the chef dabs each sushi with home-blended soy sauce, or orange-scented ponzu. It turns out that the chef comes from a shoyu-brewing family, in Kanazawa. No place for Kikkoman here.

Madai (sea bream). He kept the skin on, which is a traditional way of serving this sushi.

The skin added another level of texture. He really knows his fish.

Squid from Boston. He randomly slices it along the top, which was nice, and so sweet.

Aji (horse mackerel). Some of the freshest aji I’ve ever had. With grated ginger on top.

Cobia belly, with white seaweed on top. I am really digging this fish for its meat-like texture.

Uni!! Instead of wrapping it in nori, he placed a couple of pieces on top of the rice. Simple and true.

This uni was from Hokkaido. After tasting these babies, Santa Barbara uni is totally second class.

Here is his specialty. When he trained in Toyama at his uncle’s restaurant, the place featured unagi (freshwater eel), where he learned to cut up the live eel, debone them, and steam them to perfection (like in Kayoko’s post the other  week).

These fresh (not in the pack, from China) eels are extremely different from what you may think of as unagi. So soft, so clean, with no weird chemical flavor we usually taste in the pre-packed kinds. Brilliant. This was steamed, with sea salt sprinkled on top–no sauce.

Last but not at least, eel kabayaki. As we were eating and chatting about food, he kept going back to oven, dabbing kabayaki sauce on the eel, and after like 15 minutes of nicely grilling, he gave the last awesome piece of eel sushi.

Oh, on the left side, you see pickles, which is narazuke, one of my favorite pickles. Japanese melon (cucumber-like gourd) is pickled in sakekasu (sake lees). This is special since it’s been sitting in it for 2 years. Wow, so flavorful, almost boozy.

This was very good. I still don’t know if Miami diners are daring enough to keep up with chef Kevin’s style, but to us, it was so good. He said 80% of his customers are from NYC, no wonder. They have 16 seats, and when we got there, it was half full. I was like, “I thought it was so hard to make reservation here”, and he said, he only takes eight guests per seating. What a luxury. How the hell does he make money??!!

And I found out some great news from the chef. Due to the fact the landlord is bulldozing the current location, they are MOVING TO MIAMI PROPER! No longer do Miamians need to drive for 30 minutes! They will operate at the current location until the end of December, and they will reopen in Brickell, across from Mandarin Oriental Hotel (where we usually stay), sometime in February or March. I can’t wait for the next visit at the new location.

What I also found out was, Naoe is Kevin’s mom’s maiden name. He figured Kevin as Japanese restaurant name wouldn’t make any sense.

If you aren’t afraid of trying Japanese seafood little-known in the States, this is the place in Miami.

Washio is one of my favorite nomiyas (watering hole) in western Tokyo. I spent an afternoon with fisherman, enka singer, bar owner extraordinairre Taro Washio and captured it all on video.

For more enka pleasure, please watch this amazing music video by superstar Jero.

By Sasha Wizansky

On October 21st, chef Kanji Nakatani took a small group of the OPENharvest crew on a trip to the Hokutei Fish Market to visit fish purveyor, Katsuhiro Sato. Apparently, Sato was kicked out of the main local fish market many years back and started his own small, maverick fish market, Hokutei Suisan. For thirteen years, Kanji has been buying fish from Hokutei twice a week for his restaurants, Soba Ro and Soba Ra. He says there is more variety than the other local markets, and the fish is fresher.

Kanji treated us to hot “Boss” coffee in cans from a convenience store and we ventured off. In the car he explained that fresh fish he buys for the restaurants can be used in sashimi for three days, and then is used for vinegar-cured shimesaba, or wrapped in kelp and salt-cured for kobujime. He also explained the process for karashishime, or fish cured with mustard flowers.

The market was in an unassuming building, in an unassuming neighborhood. Sato smoked a cigarette and amiably showed us around. Jerome photographed nearly every fish. Kanji had already purchased the fish for the OPEN dinner at Soba Ra planned for later that day, but when he saw the komochi ayu he bought a case of this seasonal specialty to add to the set menu.

We asked Sato if his customers were concerned about radiation. He said they were a little nervous, but they have continued to buy fish as usual.

Kanji inspecting the fish

Sylvan and Kanji

The tuna case

Whale meat, on sale for “research purposes”

Ebi

Kanji Nakatani and Katsuhiro Sato

The dinner at Soba Ra was exceptionally delicious. The sashimi platter was abundant with variety and color.

Sashimi platter at Soba Ra

In fall, ayu are pregnant with roe. They were served grilled and their bellies were fascinatingly bitter.

Grilled komochi ayu

While eating the meal, I reflected on Kanji’s long relationship with his fish purveyor, and was sure I could taste his loyalty in the fish.

*Sasha Wizansky is the Editor-in-Chief and Art Director of Meatpaper magazine, a print journal of art and ideas about meat and meat culture.

**All photos by Sasha Wizansky

***This post was originally posted on www.openharvestjapan.com on October 24, 2011.

Look at this tuna head! It was fucking HUGE–I could easily fit my own head into its mouth. Its eyeball was so clear, it looked as though it were still alive, looking deep into my soul, prodding me to try its precious ruby red flesh.

Sorry I have not been blogging so much. Every day is a new adventure to far away lands within Japan! This week I’ve been to a whisky distillery, as well as a produce facility where they test for radiation. This was quite an intense experience, and I’ll tell you about it once I’ve processed it all.

When you read this, I’ll be in Nagano prefecture, slaughtering a trapped dear.

Yup, every day is a new adventure. I’ll have more for you next week, I promise. Until then, go out for sushi this weekend and treat yourself to some toro sashimi. Mr. Tunahead thanks you.

Photo by Erin Gleeson.

“To live and eat in LA, it’s the place to be;
You’ve got to be there to know it, what everybody wanna eat”
- Tupac

Alright, alright, Tupac didn’t say “eat”. But instead of talking about hoes and tricks, he should have rapped more importantly about the bounty of food to be found in LA. Cause damn it, it is a damn fine place for eating. Here are a few of the stops I made on my recent trip to the City of Angels.

BEST FISH TACO IN ENSENADA
1650 North Hillhurst Avenue (Los Feliz)

I try to stop by Best Fish Taco whenever I’m in town. At $1 per taco, it should not be missed. They also have shrimp, for $2. I had one of each. The fried batter is light and airy, and keeps the fish moist, and the crisp of the cabbage makes each bite a piece of crunch heaven.

PHO 87
1019 North Broadway (Chinatown)

As soon as I landed, Brother took me here. The spring rolls were some of the best I’d ever tasted–instead of the usually flavorless pork, Pho 87 adds a sweetly marinated grilled pork. So delish.

As Yamahomo has suggested, always order your rare beef on the side. Dunk like shabu.

Brother

RED CAR BAR @ COLE’S
118 East 6th Street (Downtown)

Cole’s is historically known for their french dip sandwiches, but we stopped by their bar, called the Red Car Bar, for cocktail hour instead.

I was supremely impressed by the care they took in building each classic cocktail–down to their attention to hand-carved ice.

Old Fashioned

A fashionable history

Sazerac

Red Car Named Desire: Rye, Cynar, Luxardo, Maurin

A magical nook of amaros, mezcal and tequila. Oh my!


Martini

Yup, still light out.

“To live and eat in LA, it’s the place to be;
You’ve got to be there to know it, what everybody wanna eat”
- Tupac

Coming Up: Takao restaurant in Beverly Hills, and Robata Jinya in West Hollywood!

Saba (or mackerel) is often priced really cheap in the U.S. and hovers around at the bottom of many sushi menus. It’s known to be stinky and not as silky as other popular sashimi like maguro and salmon. But I’d like to make it known, loud and clear that I love saba and feel lucky that it’s often priced so low. I don’t care if I go to a cheap or swanky place, I will order saba.

Saba falls into the hikarimomo category. Hikarimono includes all blue-backed fish. Aji (horse mackerel), iwashi (sardine), sanma (pike mackerel), tobiuo (flying fish), and kohada (gizzard shad) all fall into the hikarimono category. I DIE with excitement when any of those are on the specials board at a sushi restaurant.

Hikarimono are not for everyone. My Japanese mother-in-law, who is über-sensitive to smell and dislikes garlic, does not care for hikarimono because it tastes namagusai or “fishy-smelling.” In addition to the smell, some people may not be so excited by the silvery skin as. None of this applies to me however, and I am a huge advocate of hikarimono.

In general, there is a distinct scent to hikarimono. It smells a little bit of the salty air of the sea and the flesh has give. I love how the skin is perceptible only by sight (it should never be tough). The metallic exterior is so visually pleasing, proving its freshness to the eater. When in its optimum form, the taste has plenty of bursting umami, a little salty and without the over-the-top oiliness that toro or salmon has. Soy sauce should be used with discretion.

I recently trekked out to Sushi Ran, a fancy-schmancy white people place for sushi. I admit that I was a little bit skeptical because “Vietnamese Shaking Beef” was on the menu. But all was forgiven when I saw that the sushi bar specials included iwashi (sardine from Mie prefecture) and kohada (gizzard shad from Saga prefecture), both from Tsukiji market.

Kohada (gizzard shad) from Saga Prefecture

Don’t get me wrong though, these were NOT cheap like your run-of-the-mill sushi restaurant saba. One piece was $5.25 each. ONE!