Japanese Food with Attitude

By now you've heard the story of Charlize Theron getting thrown out at Sushi Nozawa (a.k.a. the Sushi Nazi) in L.A. "She choice too much" was the quote I read. Apparently you can also get evicted for adding too much wasabi or dunking your eel, which already has a sauce on it, into your soy sauce. While this is an extreme example, I have seen similar instances of Japanese men who serve up a nice portion of attitude with their food.

It starts with the bento box; those immutable combinations of food, paired by the owner and not subject to substitutions. If you want the broiled salmon, you must also get the shrimp tempura, but if you get the teriyaki chicken then, and only then, can you have a California roll.

I ate lunch at Shiroi Hana, 3242 N Clark St. in Chicago, where they have a separate 'Happy Hour' menu which is only served from 12-1 and 5-6. It's their regular sushi a la carte at better prices: $2.20 for rolls and $1.20 for sushi pieces. Their seemingly minor stipulation is that you can only order once. Anxiety hit me as I recalled choosing a cell phone plan for the next two years of my life. I really can't find any justification for them doing this; if I really like something or am hungry for something different, why can't I just order more?

An increasingly popular outlet for sushi with freedom to choose in Japan is the conveyor belt. Sushi is freshly made in back by sushi chefs who place the sushi on small plates which ride around on a conveyor belt for customers to pick up at will. This has been liberating for many who like choosing each piece of sushi, what and when they want to eat. However each piece of freedom comes at a price; here there is no sushi chef to offer recommendations. The societal implication is clear: if you want the freedom to pick the wrong thing, daddy won't be there to help you.

Flashback to New York, 1992. Four of us ate at an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. Their stipulations were that 1) sushi comes in trays of 12 pieces, and 2) if you order sushi and do not finish it, you will be charged the full price per piece for each piece of sushi not eaten. It happened to us; we came to the end of the meal, and there was another tray of fish left on the table. Not wanting to pay for food we didn't eat, we made the strategic decision to allocate 3 pieces for each for us to destroy, hide, consume, or otherwise clear from the plate. The tactic was to eat the fish off of the sushi and to press the rice into the bottom of the soy sauce dish and then submerge the evidence in soy sauce. It worked, score one for the little guy.

I've also been given the lecture both here and in Japan about the proper etiquette for eating sushi: start with the simpler pieces, then the more complicated ones, egg at the end. Put a little wasabi onto the fish, hold the piece on the side with the chopsticks, dip only the side of the fish into the soy sauce, being careful not too touch the rice with the soy sauce. In all of this instruction there is nothing about getting a better taste from the sushi, only that you should do this because we tell you to. And what they tell you to do will be more complicated to make sure you know who is in control, and who is your daddy with the sushi knife.

Rich4 wrote:Their seemingly minor stipulation is that you can only order once.

I suppose the idea is to control how much you order, but I would think it would have the opposite effect-- I would be inclined to order way more just in case.

Rich4 wrote: dip only the side of the fish into the soy sauce, being careful not too touch the rice with the soy sauce. In all of this instruction there is nothing about getting a better taste from the sushi, only that you should do this because we tell you to. And what they tell you to do will be more complicated to make sure you know who is in control, and who is your daddy with the sushi knife.

Rich,

If you are referring to nigiri sushi (on rice) the reason to dip only the fish, not the rice, into the soy is so the rice does not fall apart. Soy soaked rice equals soy and rice on your shirt.

By the way, in 20+ years of eating at Japanese restaurants I have never (ever) had an Itamae tell me I could not order something. Typically they suggest what is particularly prime that day and/or interesting, once they sense my interest.

Enjoy,
Gary

I was told that you dip only the fish, so that you do not soak up soy sauce, which would make it too salty. I turn it upside down, rather than on the side. I also use my fingers, which is perfectly acceptable.

Finally, vote with your dollars. If you don't like the lecture, don't return. But, I should caution, you should also not ask. I don't recall ever being lectured in a Japensese restaurant, but then again, I never asked how I should eat sushi...I just do.

The Japensese have some pretty rigorous customs related to consumption of food and beverage...read about a Japenese Tea ceremony. That certainly does not mean you have to follow cultural norms, at least no more so than you have take a schvitz and then roll around in the snow when drinking vodka from Finland rather than Russian Vodka.

...as for ordering only once...my guess for only an hour long happy hour would be to accomodate more patrons rather than fill multiple 3 piece orders for just a few (think: read order, reach for tray, make sushi, garnish, serve to customer).

G Wiv wrote:in 20+ years of eating at Japanese restaurants I have never (ever) had an Itamae tell me I could not order something. Typically they suggest what is particularly prime that day and/or interesting, once they sense my interest.

My experience in Japan is different from here. While I worked for Mitsubishi for four years I spent a lot of time over there, typically two weeks at a time, and was taken for sushi quite a bit. The accepted custom seemed to be to accept whatever the sushi chef offers to you. The restaurants are generally much smaller and specialized, so it is fair to assume that if you walk in there, you will want to eat sushi for dinner and a couple pieces appear on the counter above your seat.

My hosts liked to play two games:
1) How much wasabi can the white guy take?
They would load up one piece with a bombshell load of wasabi and then all watch me eat it. When this happened I tried my best to hide all pain from my face, look them directly in the eye and say "Oishi desu" (tastes good).
2) How many different kinds of fish will the white guy eat?
There is a preconceived notion in Japan that Westerners do not eat raw fish. When going to a sushi bar near my former office in New Jersey, Japanese would remark how there must be many Japanese people living in the area to support such a restaurant (I'd clue them in). So I would play evening entertainment for the office while I was over there as they ordered more and more obscure fish and would get great joy in watching me eat it. As I never saw a bill, I was glad to play the role of performing seal for my colleagues. After eating boiled whitefish sperm they had difficulty explaining to me exactly what part of the whitefish I had eaten. Several minutes of explaination and hand motions followed until I finally understood.

I suppose you could always ask for a piece that you really like, but the custom is to eat what you are given, and more importantly eat whatever your group is also eating. I have been asked if I care to change my order when I ordered something different from the rest of my group (I did).

I never went back alone for sushi in Japan, as I could get all of my favorites back home. When alone I prefered Japanese street food while walking around Akihabara drooling at the electronics that we wouldn't get for years to come.

pdaane wrote:as for ordering only once...my guess for only an hour long happy hour would be to accomodate more patrons rather than fill multiple 3 piece orders for just a few (think: read order, reach for tray, make sushi, garnish, serve to customer).

I could buy that arguement, but then the rule should be to have a minimum order for 5 pieces or so at a time, rather than for you specifically not to order more food.

An increasingly popular outlet for sushi with freedom to choose in Japan is the conveyor belt. Sushi is freshly made in back by sushi chefs who place the sushi on small plates which ride around on a conveyor belt for customers to pick up at will. This has been liberating for many who like choosing each piece of sushi, what and when they want to eat. However each piece of freedom comes at a price; here there is no sushi chef to offer recommendations. The societal implication is clear: if you want the freedom to pick the wrong thing, daddy won't be there to help you.

I saw this exact system in Hamburg last November. I will check my pictures to see if they hold up and if they do, post later. It was somewhat surreal to see the plates marching along the conveyor belt, the sushi chefs in the interior preparing then searching for slots to fill. People chatting while keeping their eye on food sliding by. If I recall correctly, everything seemed plated in quantities of 3, which is similar to how dim sum is presented.



My only regret was not actually doing the full experience and dining there. Next time!

for what it's worth, sushi doraku and hey sushi both do conveyor-belt sushi here in chicago. i've never been to either, but be warned: sushi doraku is a concept restaurant from the folks at benihana (there are two other locations, both in florida)

-ed

When I was in Japan many years ago, I noticed the locals would pick up the desired amount of wasabi with their chopsticks and stir it into their cup of soy sauce thus creating a dipping sauce with the amount of heat desired. Is this acceptable practice in sushi places here?

I remember asking a waitress in Japan what type of fish we were being served. She cheerfully replied "It is fish from ocean!"

Lobster sashimi is fun when the lobster comes to and tries to leave the table minus the parts you are eating. Talk about fresh food!

Eat! You look so thin. wrote:Lobster sashimi is fun when the lobster comes to and tries to leave the table minus the parts you are eating. Talk about fresh food!

Hmmm, fun?

A

I thought that Sushi Doraku was dead? Am I wrong?

RheS wrote:I thought that Sushi Doraku was dead? Am I wrong?

Dick,

The Doraku that was on State Street is gone. I went there twice, and should have know better the second time.

Enjoy,
Gary

GWiv wrote:

RheS wrote:

I thought that Sushi Doraku was dead? Am I wrong?

The Doraku that was on State Street is gone. I went there twice, and should have know better the second time.

Yeah, that matches my experience almost exactly. I'd rather stop at Tokyo Box Lunch or similar...

Or the floating boats at Kampai, which seemed to be in discount mode the last time (admittedly a year or so ago) Leah & I stopped.

ah oops, yeah, doraku is gone. hey sushi is still around.

ra (another sushi bar) has moved into doraku's space.

Hmmm, fun?

More like surreal after numerous beers and saki.

Langosta boracha?

Eat! You look so thin. wrote:

Hmmm, fun?

More like surreal after numerous beers and saki.

I hope the lobster got a shot or two before the meal started.



A