With a title like Jiro Dreams of Sushi, one expects lots of shots of sushi in the process of being made and consumed. In this regard, director David Gelb doesn’t disappoint: The film every so often practically swims in close-up shots of freshly made sushi—sauces still dripping from the fish—as well as Wong Kar-wai-like slow-motion montages of chefs cutting and massaging fish, stirring rice, and applying sauce on top. If nothing else, Gelb’s documentary is food porn par excellence, and there’s no way you won’t leave this film not hankering for some sushi of your own—unless, perhaps, you’re a vegetarian. Thankfully, the film has other, um, layers underneath its surface food fetishization. The Jiro of the film’s title is Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old sushi chef and a legend in his field. His Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant seats only 10, but it’s considered the best place for sushi in Japan, with a full meal costing upward of 300,000 yen ($300); the three stars it has been awarded by the Michelin Guide only sweetens its prestige.

“No one ever has a bad experience there,” says Masuhiro Yamamoto, a food critic who’s prominently featured in the film. In Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Gelb details, among other things, the painstaking process that goes into creating these mouthwatering pieces of sushi—from picking the pieces of fish for the day to getting rice from his usual provider, and from formulating his menu for a given day to presiding over his band of chefs as they serve the sushi to his customers, many of whom have had to reserve their precious seats about a year in advance. The man is incredibly precise in his process. Not just any fish will do; in fact, at the fish market he frequents, he often participates in a tuna auction in order to procure the ones he wants. And in the kitchen, he makes sure to always have a taste of whatever sushi is made in order to make sure they all suit his palate. It’s not too difficult to sense Gelb’s personal connection to this subject, beyond just a love of sushi.

For Jiro, the making of great sushi is an art akin to, say, filmmaking, but even filmmaking requires great discipline in addition to the kind of deep-seated passion that inspires artists to create in the first place. The film portrays that discipline not only in the sheer detail with which it observes his processes, but also, to a certain extent, through technique: the repetitive nature of the sushi-making montages (with camera placements and editing schemes often repeated), and even the prominent use of Philip Glass’s by-now-familiar minimalistic style on the soundtrack.where to buy sushi mat in toronto Jiro Dreams of Sushi works most potently, then, as a feature-length metaphor for the joys and agonies of artistic creation. where to buy sushi grade salmon(In a sense, one could see this film as a corollary to Brad Bird’s Ratatouille, another film which immersed the viewer in the culinary arts in order to depict and comment on the creation of art.) best sushi in dubai delivery

The film is rather less effective as a portrait of the human beings underneath the exalted artists; Gelb clearly puts his subject on a pedestal, and threads where a more probing documentarian might have gone much deeper are generally either evaded or dropped. (What, for instance, of Jiro’s oldest son, Takashi, who professes to a love for flying and car racing, and who is expected to carry on the family business? Does he imagine a different path for his life than the one he is on right now—especially considering his younger brother owns another branch of Sukiyabashi Jiro elsewhere in Tokyo?)where to buy live eels in nc The film may not be much more than hagiography, but it’s no less engrossing for that. And you certainly have to hand it to Jiro: He’s been more or less working in the restaurant industry since he was nine, and even at his old age, he still sees the making of sushi as his own personal search for perfection.

“I’ll try to reach the top,” he says at one point in the film, “but no one knows where the top is.” For most artists, I imagine, that sounds about right.Last week, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, considered by many to be one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, if not the world. It’s certainly the most famous sushi spot on the planet thanks to the 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” The three-star Michelin restaurant is located in the basement of an office building near the Ginza station, with a modest wooden counter and only 10 tables in the entire establishment. 89-year-old master chef Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a total of 30,000 Japanese yen (just under $300). But some people question if the experience is actually worth the money. While there’s no question that diners are eating some of the freshest and most perfectly prepared fish available, the meal is often rushed.

The Michelin Tokyo Guide warns “don’t be surprised to be finished within 30 minutes.” That’s the equivalent of spending 1,000 Japanese Yen — or $10 — per minute. Andy Hayler, a food critic at Elite Traveler who has dined at every Michelin three-star restaurant in the world, had a less-than-stellar experience at Sukiyabashi Jiro in 2008. “It was very rushed, and I gather has become even more rushed since,” he told Business Insider. “A well traveled American friend went recently and timed it in and out in 28 minutes, his wallet several hundred dollars lighter.” (For those curious, Obama’s visit lasted for one and half hours, three times longer than the typical meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro.) There are a few reasons for Chef Ono’s fast pace. Connoisseurs believe that the highest quality sushi is served within five seconds of being prepared, and that diners should not let a bite of sushi rest, but consume it immediately. Plus, eating those 20 sushi courses over the span of hours could ruin the customers’ appetites as they become increasingly full, and they would not appreciate the later courses.

Chef Ono’s meal lasts less than a half an hour, so there’s not enough time for diners to start to feel overly full (it takes about 20 minutes for our body to recognize that it’s satiated) and they can better enjoy every perfect bite of sushi. In addition to the fast pace, however, some people claim the service itself can be hit or miss at Sukiyabashi Jiro depending on who you are and who you’re with. Foreigners who don’t speak Japanese, known as gaijin, have a hard time getting a reservation at Sukiybashi Jiro in the first place and an even harder time being served. Since Chef Ono doesn’t speak English and his son speaks very little, their explanations and any diner questions or requests are often completely lost in translation. Bringing along a friend or guide who speaks fluent Japanese is not only highly recommended by every reviewer, but often necessary. Some reviewers even describe a hostile relationship between Chef Ono and foreigners, with some going so far as to claim discrimination.

Hayler described the poor service in the 2008 review: From the moment we sat down, the old gentleman who runs the place, and the chef who served us, regarded us with barely concealed contempt. They spent their time glowering at us throughout. The fish came at a very fast pace, and when at one point my wife stopped for a few moments towards the end and explained (via our translator) that she just needed a moment, they just took her sushi away regardless.  “The customer is always right” is not a concept that has caught on at this place. Many of his readers agreed with his assessment of the service in the comments section, describing their own experiences with Chef Ono. One man even said he and his brother were almost kicked out during a 2011 visit: As my brother and I entered the restaurant, my brother removed his jacket and placed it on a rack. Before I could reach for my scarf, my brother’s jacket was — literally — shoved back into his chest, and he was being pushed in the back towards me and told, “Sorry, no foreigner.”

My wife, as yet unseen, suggested she try herself — being Japanese — and sure enough, she was treated as if a new guest had come in. When she confirmed our reservation and learned our table was ready, she beckoned us in. They were startled to see us re-enter the restaurant with her, although no apology was forthcoming. Despite these negative reviews, not everyone experiences poor service at Sukiyabashi Jiro, and most people still agree that the food itself is superb. Obama called it the “best sushi I’ve ever eaten,” and Hayler agreed, telling Business Insider that he thought his meal was “objectively good,” but that it still did not compare to other Tokyo establishments such as Sushi Saito, Yoshitake, Mizutani, and Sawada. So if you are comfortable with feeling rushed throughout a $300 meal and potentially poor service, then it’s worthwhile to visit Sukiyabashi Jiro and try Chef Ono’s truly amazing sushi. But Japan is filled with fantastic restaurants.