The Top 9 Things to Order at a Japanese Restaurant

I've been eating Japanese food since I was a wee 4 year old lad in Sao Paulo. My mom and I would go out for sushi and i'd go to town on some Maguro Sashimi... I graduated to krab rolls and teriyaki chicken when i moved to LA (Americans do some crazy shit to sushi). Since the 4-7 year old days, my palette for raw fish has expanded as my wallet has too and then quickly decreased in size when i received the bill. All that aside, who doesnt love sushi? Who cares how much it costs...its delcious, always sits well in your stomach and there's always something new to try (Click the follow button on your right to follow my blog on your blog reel). Enough babble, here's the list :

Miso Soup - Uh...damn right! You can't start a Japanese meal without some hot miso soup to get you prepped. If you ever get a chance to have it with clams, do it. Or if you order Ebi (sweet shrimp) have them put the heads in a bowl of miso soup. Fantastic. My pal Mike Mooneyham puts wasabi in his, which cleanses your nasal passages promptly.

Cold Sake - Yeah, I know you like your hot sake cause you dropped it in sake bombs when you were in college (and some of us still do), but drinking hot sake by itself is solely for the inexperienced. Cold sake is a world in and of itself. It's like a whole new rice wine subculture. There are many variations all based on how dry or fruity the sake is. Its far more refreshing than hot sake, especially considering that hot sake isn't refreshing at all. Shit...if you want to drink something hot, get green tea instead.

House Roll with 2-4 kinds of fish - Even I cave and get a nice big roll at a Japanese joint. I know they're not "traditional" and yes, it is a cheesy American creation, but as long as it has a lot of fish in it, I'm down. What I dont really care for are the rolls with shrimp tempura, asparagus, crab, etc in them. That just doesn't excite me. What does excite me is a roll with yellowtail, salmon, tuna and cucumber in it. Or you can even take one of the three and cover the roll in it. That's just delicious and it fills you up so you're not dropping all your money on sashimi and nigiri. Ok...so maybe without that dollop of sauce on top, but you try and find a picture of a custom ordered roll...

Japanese Scallop (Hotate) Nigiri - Japanese scallops are so delicate, tasty, buttery, with just the right firmness. A pretty underrated order in my book. Make sure its not that Canadian crap scallop though, only Japanese sea scallops. They butterfly a scallop and lay it across the small ball of rice and that's it. Boom!

Uni Shooter - The way I like to end a lot of my trips to the sushi bar. A good uni shooter will have the following: Uni (sea urchin), a quail egg, ponzu sauce, green onion, masago and a splash of sake. If your lucky, you'll get an oyster in there too and it'll come served in the oyster shell. Hamano in Noe Valley does it that way. A lot of people don't like the squishy texture of the uni, I mean after all, it does look like a tongue, but get over your bullshit and take this one down. It's a flavor explosion: the citrusy addition of the ponzu sauce, the crunchy earthy flavor of the green onions, the fishiness of the masago, the protein of the quail egg, the melty flavor and smothery quality of the uni make for the most flavorful order in the entire bar.

Kirin Ichiban - While many Japanese beers yearn for my attention, my eye always falls upon the Kirin Ichiban, especially on draft. It's not as malty as Sapporo and has more flavor than Asahi Super Dry. And quite frankly, sushi and beer are complimentary products.

Gindara (Miso Marinated Black Cod) - As soon as you sit down, order the Gindara. It takes longer than anything to prepare (in the back kitchen or sometimes in a small oven behind the sushi bar.) It's an appetizer, but usually arrives midway through the meal. It's very similar to butterfish and you'll swear you've never had such a succulent and flavorful piece of cooked fish before. The beauty of this very traditional Japanese preparation, lies in its simplicity.

Hamachi Nigiri/Sashimi - In Brazil, we don't have the luxury of hamachi (yellowtail), but its truly the best all-around cut in the bar and I only realized it in America. It has a fatty, buttery taste and texture that makes it taste almost like bluefin tuna, but it's half the price and readily available no matter where you are. My advice to sushi novices, go for the hamachi nigiri and a thirst for discovery within the realm of the sushi bar will be triggered. To my more seasoned Japanese foodies, try the kampachi, which is a younger yellowtail. It's a bit firmer and has a more pronounced flavor.

Toro - Got your wallet out? Ok, now pull out all of your money and prepare to hand it to the crappy server at the Japanese restaurant for BY FAR the best cut in the house. Toro is tuna belly. The fattiest cut you can get, hence the most delicious. You'll usually pay $8-$14 for an order of nigiri, but its worth it. This is the filet mignon of raw fish. If you're feeling a little cheaper, you can order a "negi toro" where they chop a small piece of toro up with green onion and lay it over a small rice ball wrapped with seaweed. Toro is truly the splurge order. Feelin' baller? Order the toro! Feelin down? Order the toro! It'll cheer you up knowing that there's somthing in this world that tastes so delicious......

Well...now that I've made you thoroughly hungry, myself included, get to a sushi bar and try what you haven't. If you're as impressionable as I am, this post will read like a commercial for Japanese restaurants.

And here's a secret of the pros for you: When you're bored with the same ol' shit, tell the sushi chef that you want "Omakase!" which literally mean's "Chef's Selection" and dont be afraid to give him some loose guidelines like "I like yellowtail"...Those guys know so many other preparations that are nowhere near the pages of the menu. And when it rocks the spot and your belly, you can thank you pal Spinelli (i just realized that rhymes...i swear i wasn't trying)



Domo arigato ma people!

Listening to:

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Busta Rhymes - When Disaster Strikes...
Cake - Fashion Nugget