President Obama kicked off the first leg of his tour of Asia on Wednesday with some sushi diplomacy. He dined with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a revered and tiny temple of sushi in Tokyo called Sukiyabashi Jiro. The subterranean restaurant, with just 10 seats at the counter, was made famous by the 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Obama emerged with a thumbs-up review. "That's some good sushi right there," he said. Thank you so much." 'Jiro Dreams Of Sushi': Perfection, Carefully Sliced If you've ever seen the documentary, you know why: The sushi Obama had was carefully crafted by 89-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono. "His sushi is the best in the world," says David Gelb, who directed the film. "For someone who has a taste for true, pure Japanese sushi, I mean it's a place you kind of have to go to." But for the many of us who haven't been lucky enough to grab one those 10 prized seats, Gelb joined All Things Considered's Melissa Block to talk about what it's like to dine at such an iconic place.

For starters, the restaurant is hidden in the basement of an office building and offers only one item on its menu — the omakase course, which can cost between $300 and $400 per person. It consists of 20 pieces of sushi, prepared and served one at a time. "There are no appetizers, no rolls of any kind," Gelb says. "It's purely his style of sushi, which is kind of the classic Tokyo style, which is basically just fish and rice and seasoning, maybe a soy sauce or a nikiri, which is a kind of sweetened soy sauce." sushi bar chemnitz online bestellenAnd if you're fortunate enough to be one of Ono's costumers, don't even think about ordering off the menu — even if you are the president of the United States. jiro dreams of sushi what camera"The Jiro that I know would not change his sushi for anyone," Gelb says, adding that "he just gives you what he feels is the best of the day." hei sushi online delivery

And Ono really means the best. Every day, for instance, he massages the octopus he's planning to serve for an hour. "The octopuses that he gets are trolling the seafloor, eating clams and other delicious shellfish," Gelb says. "And so he's getting the octopus that has the best diet, and then he massages it — or has his apprentices massage it, because he's getting on in the years — to bring out the best flavors." That's because to Ono, making sushi is more than just a job; sushi los angeles av alemaniait's an art form, an obsession, even. restauracja sushi gra onlineIn the film, he tells Gelb that he'd wake up in the middle of the night, and in dreams would have visions of sushi. sushi delivery dubai tecom

"His philosophy of work, where it's about finding a routine and mastering that craft, it applies to any kind of art," he adds. So you can imagine, eating in front of such a meticulous artist can get a bit intimidating. "The first time that I ate there, I was very nervous," Gelb tells Block. "I mean the man is a living legend, and he watches, and he observes the customers very closely, and so it can be a nerve-wracking experience." But, he says, the sushi is so good that the tension melts away. sushi cat 3 spielen"The restaurant is very quiet," Gelb adds. "There's no music or anything. "There's just the sound of the fountain, and you kind of got into this sushi trance, and it's quite an amazing experience." What's it like to eat at the world's best sushi bar?The requested URL /index.html%3Fp=5598.html was not found on this server.Grace Lee, who runs video promotions ops at Columbia Records and works with guys like Beyoncé and Juicy J, is a friend of my wife Tamar.

If it isn’t clear, Grace is really damn cool. So we were having dinner one night at a Korean restaurant when she casually mentioned that she would be flying to Tokyo explicitly to eat at one of the Jiro Ono restaurants, Ono being the chef featured in the award-winning documentary Jiro Dreams Of Sushi. It's a wonderful film and anybody who has seen it thinks about traveling to Japan to participate. But few go ahead and buy a plane ticket, especially with no reservation. Lee wanted my advice landing just that, so I figured the easiest way was to email the film’s director David Gelb. Always friendly and helpful, Gelb wrote back right away: Hi Matt and Grace. To get a reservation start by asking you hotel concierge to make the reservation for you. If your trip is set far enough in advance you can probably get in. Jiro specifically asked me not to ask for favor reservations so there really isn’t anything I can do.  Well, the luck was on Lee’s side and she ended up with a table, though at the Roppongi location, not the original in Ginza.

But, when the reservation line at a restaurant is busy for four days straight, luck still very much played into the equation. I asked her about her Bourdainian food pilgrimage. Why was it so important to visit a Jiro restaurant, enough for a dedicated trip to Japan? I saw Jiro Dreams of Sushi last fall, and decided as I was watching it, that I needed to make a pilgrimage. I knew I was going to be in Seoul in March, so I made a side trip to Tokyo especially to experience the wonder of Jiro myself. How did you score the reservation? I had my friend who lives in Tokyo call and get some intel. Who did you go with? This was a solo mission. I think my excitement was enough for five people. What was the rice like. I mean, watching the movie, damn is it handled with care. It was absolutely exquisite. Perfect texture, with a little touch of sweetness and vinegar. OK, some highlights from the meal…course by course. Well, when you sit down, they ask if you want to start with sushi or sashimi.

Clearly, I went sashimi (it only seemed right).  From there, you just accept what they give you, since omakase is the only way to go. Highlights were the ika/squid (I asked for another piece at the end), and the tuna progression, from lightest to fattiest. There were several pieces of fish that literally melted in my mouth — no chewing necessary! I ended the meal with tamago sashimi. It feels weird to me to eat tamago as sushi, but it’s a matter of personal preference! What was the mood like in the room? Was it difficult to order given that you do not speak Japanese? Jiro Roppongi is one sushi bar that seats 10 and two tables that seat 4. When I walked in, there was one group of two and one other solo diner. At one point, I was the only person there. I felt like I was in a temple or something — it was so quiet and peaceful. It wasn’t difficult to order, because you actually don’t order — it’s omakase and the only option is sushi first or sashimi first. Did you see Jiro?