Scorpio II was skeptical. "How can you beat a sushi chef who sings Sinatra?" she implored, as I quickly agreed with, "And a catepillar roll that looks just like a catepillar?" But then, I added, everyone just keeps raving about Wasabi! She and I and her older brother have been going to I Love Mr. Sushi forever. Always perfect. Mr. Sushi is perfect. The catepillar roll has actual antenna, you see. Sprouts. Eyes of salmon roe. Lots of yummy acodaco "skin." An elegant curve to its body. Anyway....
Everyone I know has told me that Wasabi, the Washington Street sushi place, is just devine and the very very best and has no local competitor and so I have been trying to get there for, like, two years and for some reason have been stopped short by karmic impulse every time. So when Former Colleague Cook asked me to lunch the other day I suggested we meet at Wasabi.
We had the catepiller and three other rolls -- one with a seared tuna and something quite hot, one with some mango, and something with a flesh-colored skin that in texture was most like nori. Sorry, FCC was telling a pretty interesting story and it didn't even enter my mind to write these down.
They were good. But not divine. Given, I have not had anything there yet that would highlight the possible perfect freshness of the fish, and I do intend to. But as for these rolls, they were very heavy on the rice, to such a point that I felt way too carbed out at the end of the meal. There was plenty of opportunity to lead the rolls in directions other than major rice-edness, and those opportunities were lost. The rice itself was really pedestrian. A little too dry and seperate from itself, bouncing around my mouth and getting in the way of the fish and the fruit and the yummy roe. It didn't even have the kind of delicate sweetness that perfectly prepared sushi rice should have. Even that I've made at home has been more flavorful. So, what's up with that? And the atmosphere is nice enough, but again, not divine.
As to my old favorite, I Love Mr. Sushi, way out on the presently inaccessible gallactic beltway of Olive, between 270 and 170 (9443 Olive Blvd.) the rice is great, the atmosphere sweet but cramped, and everything I've had on the menu the best in town. In the pinches between I'll keep going to Sekisui (3024 S. Grand), which is close to my house, and usually has the ballgame on.
Baseball, by the way, is a lot of fun watched in a sushi bar. The chef at Sekisui is pretty into it. Does anyone know if there's a really into baseball sushi bar in town? As with a scoreboard over the bar and that, like in Bourdain's show when he goes to Tokyo and gets with the Tigers fans at the Tigers sushi bar?
2 comments:
Yeah, a nickname!
In addition to the caterpillar roll, we had the "Jeff's Roll" (white tuna, seared tuna, black tobiko, sesame oil, cucumber, avocado, and soybean paper), "Shogun Roll" (Deep fried lobster salad, tobiko, asparagus, cucumber and avocado. Served with sweet wasabi soy broth), & I think the "Rasta Roll" which had tuna (and maybe crab) with mango and jalapeño.
I haven't been to I Love Mr. Sushi, but I've heard it's good. I'll have to try that soon!
By the way, I've been cooking up a storm the last few days. And I have to admit that I am really proud of myself. You'll have to venture over the river some weekend soon for brunch at my house. I'll make you some eggs benedict, which I mastered with one try, and mimosas. Yum.
Ya, you now have your own nickname. I like the "means something else too"-ness of it.
Eggs Benedict with mimosas happens to be my all-time favorite brunch. And is in the top rankings of potential other times of day meals, as well. Nice going, first try. There is a joint in Carbonale that makes the EB with avocado, which I think goes very superbly with the hollandaise. And, sad to say, I would start every day of my life with a mimosa if they wouldn't fire me at my, u-hum, aviation day job. It's only one of the five million reasons I'd rather be working at Sauce. Maybe one day they'll get wise and hire me! Here's wishing (said with my water glass in my hand, pretending it's a mimosa (or kir royale, my other current favorite).
BTW-- to get me to brunch? All it's take is a phone call! ;-)
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