Traditionally sake should not be taken with sushi since both are rice based. However since sake makes money, I don't think any sushi restaurant will dissuade you from ordering it.

I didn't see this mentioned in the thread already (possibly though by garcia, the spelling could have been different), but this is the best looking sushi i've ever seen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lavkjcSrNWg

(Starts at about 3.15 but the whole vid is good)

I really love sushi and one of my biggest dreams is going to the fish market in tokyo and eating at those places posted in this thread. Here is a picture of my regular order at my fav place here in Linköping, Sweden .. this order is about $17 .. does it look good to you guys who have tried all over the place?

Also take not of the shape the pieces are in, nice touch!

Well... if I was hungry I guess I would take a few bites of that. I would not order it voluntarily, though. ohead, if you post the menu we could help you make non-crappy orders probably.

Here is another thing about sushi presentation! You guys might know vaguely that you should start from white fish and move on to red fish because the flavours are heavier. And if you order omakase, the chef will give them to you in the correct order.

What if you order a la carte?

Here is a picture from the sushi place I go to the most:



See how the fishes are arranged? They are arranged for right handers. In fact, the chef has arranged them so that if you eat them one at a time, going from right to left, you will be eating them in the correct order.

So in this case, you'd eat the two crappy fishes in the foreground of the picture, then the ikura, prawn, something-or-other, the two white fishes, and finally the tuna.

Check out the sushi at the end of this part and the next part!

Yes I believe Bourdain went to Jiro, one of the 3 star Michelin sushi spots along with Mizutani. Actually I really want to go to a kaiseki (Japanese formal dining) place where you have your own room with your own garden and you eat a multiple course dinner with it typically being an array of starters/amuses, followed by steamed items, then raw items/ sushi, then fried items, then grilled items, then finished with soup/rice/pickles, then finally dessert.

for an example of Kaiseki,

http://exilekiss.blogspot.com/2008/0...ei-honten.html

Ohead, its not that its bad its just it seems like that order is all salmon which you likely have some high quality versions of in Scandinavia but typically you try to shoot for more variety in Sushi.

yah the salmon is so far above all else in quality its hard to not be biased :/

I find sushi to be the most difficult food to ascertain quality from. Growing up in Toronto I've had $12 bento boxes with some fantastic salmon but have been disappointed with similar offerings from $100 foodie hotspots. Contrastingly, my favourite sushi meal (at Gari's in New York) was also by far my most expensive; I understand and appreciate good food, but because of the exoticism surrounding Japanese cuisine I find the pricing and personal recommendations scattered and untrustworthy. People have told me I "just had to try" $6 dragon rolls from Asian malls with the same enthusiasm I've been told to check out omikase deals in fancy hotels. Having a conversation about "freshness" versus "fishiness" using random fuzzy identifiers rarely proves fruitful. Finding affordable, good sushi that doesn't leave you feeling ripped off is hard work.

I don't know what my point is.

Also, am I the only person that thinks Japanese places have terrible salmon roe? I guess I'm just a spoiled russian kid (and it might just be my tastes) but our caviar is >>>> anything I've ever seen at a sushi hut.

of course russian caviar, particularly those from sturgeon, is going to be better than flying fish roe or salmon roe. Those items are at completely different price points.

So how much would a meal like that cost for each person?

all indications online seems to be that the Sukiyabashi Jiro, which Bourdain went to will run about 20,000 yen or about $200 pp. Some reports of 30,000 yen for dinner.

An interesting thing about Jiro is that since its almost wholly nigiri and are you instructed to eat each piece as soon as its made, your whole meal is probably only going to be around 30 minutes with about 20 pieces.

After all, sushi is the original japanese fast food.

Here is a link with pictures to Sawada, which is rated 2 michelin stars, but is considered to be on the same level as Jiro or Mizutani by Japanese natives.

http://sybarites.dyndns.org/web/pics...ada/index.html

another on Sawada

http://haokoufu.wordpress.com/tag/sawada-sushi/

ya... definitely boring.

I like OP's choices. I'm a sushi lover as well. I frequent sushi restaurants twice a week.

I'm obviously comparing salmon to salmon. Any Russian deli in Toronto will sell farmed caviar that's >>>> what i see showing up in japanese places.

My sister is dragging me to Morimotos here in Philly in a few weeks. I know nothing about sushi other than cali rolls and spicy tuna rolls. What should I order (generally speaking, I'll eat/try anything once).

Should we just get the omakase and be done with it?

Here'e the menu

fav dish of all time... anyways love naked fish and nobu, but i live in annapolis, md and this place is really good, been featured on teh food network a couple times.

http://www.josscafe-sushibar.com/

Joss is awesome. Ate lunch there often when I worked at the State House a couple years ago.

Don't listen to most peoples recommendations. That being said, my recommendations for Toronto: stay away from all the chinese run places. Don't bother with any place that has all you can eat. Stay away from the Annex. Zen is my favourite because its very good and its relatively good value ($50 for Sushi Omakase) compared to the high end places like Sushi Hiro. The stuff you get at Zen is on a completely different level than the $12 bento box crap.

The $50 (or maybe $55 now) omakase at Zen is the best valued quality sushi in Town IMO. Sushi marche is also pretty good (take out and delivery only) but its not as good as Zen (but is more affordable).

The omakase was def good.

The nigiri and sashimi were good but honestly I was very disappointed in the rolls, I think it was the rice.

The seafood soup was very very good.

Yeah the Russians might have better brining/handling process, thats certainly true. I've never gotten a lot of Russian salmon roe, perhaps its time to try.

The sashimi appetizer drizzled in hot oil from Buddakan in Atlantic City....yay or nay? The post about how hard it is to ascertain good sushi/freshness and how most people don't know anything and most likely use price/upscaleness of a restaurant for its freshness also needs more love.

Been to Japan three times this past year and had plenty of sushi, from private run ryokans to upscale restaurants. Freshness is rarely the deciding factor, and I really can't pinpoint what is. Somebody needs to educate me more, or else I'll continue to think most people making recommendations are unconsciously biased by their mood, reviews, price, decor, atmosphere, etc of a restaurant rather than the actual freshness and quality of sushi.

The taste is the deciding factor for me. That is correlated with freshness, but also with the type of fish, the skill of the fish buyer, and the method of cutting. For sushi, it also relates to the quality of the rice and its preparation.

Any of you LA people ever eat at Hamakawa in Little Tokyo? I think it closed or changed names a couple of years ago, but that was the best sushi I've ever had, easy.