'Documentary Now!' returns to IFC in September“Steve is not only a master of Sashimi, but also an artist in the way he crafts the food.” “The restaurant only serves omakase, which means "trust the chef" and let him prepare in his way at the price that he sets.” “Sometimes his humor might come off as abrasive to someone with thin skin--just a heads up.” "I saw the grand opening sign and decided to try it out with a friend for lunch. We did the grand opening special of 3 rolls for $30. They have a lot to choose from and I liked that the menu included…" "I've been there 3 times in the last month, even though I do not eat raw seafood. But their chicken dishes are wonderful! I also like the udon. I wish that they had more substantial veggie dishes; "I'll admit, I'm biased. People who don't enjoy this place are people who come and stop by once and they never see them ever again. This place has been around for a long time. If you're a "kiku regular" (they…"

"Went in for my usual lunch at Tava and was totally blown away by the new menu! There are a ton more options now, and I really feel like they have stepped it up in terms of quality of ingredients. At Maruya, you do not order spicy tuna rolls. You order a night with a sushi chef. Last week, the $85 omakase dinner at Masaki Sasaki's 9-month-old Mission restaurant began with shots of chilled corn soup and waves of small appetizers, followed by three gleaming squares of sashimi. sushi grade fish boulderOnly then would the chef begin laying out a series of nigiri. sushi online quilpueHis choice, of course.sumo sushi menu pdf "Omakase means, 'I leave it up to you,' " says Hiroko Shimbo, author of "The Sushi Experience." sushi maker tupperware kopen

In Japan, she adds, restaurants specializing in tempura or stews may offer a tasting menu featuring the chef's best dishes, but omakase sushi can only be found at the most formal, most expensive sushi restaurants. In the Bay Area, "omakase" is a term that the knowledgeable have offered up to sushi chefs for decades. yo sushi delivery croydonOrder omakase, and you're asking the chef to set before you the day's best sushi until you hit your price cap or give up.yo sushi menu fairfield And more restaurants are offering it. yo sushi takeaway menu dubaiIn San Francisco, the past year alone has seen the arrival of Maruya, Pabu and Kusakabe (the subject of this week's review), which all allow - or, in Kusakabe's case, require - diners to order fixed-price omakase menus.

Sasaki, who has been making sushi in San Francisco since 1984, says that after 30 years he lost patience with Double Dragon Niners rolls and other American-style maki. "I finally found no place I wanted to work," he says. So he emulated Japan's exclusive sushi bars, partnering with Hidebumi Sueyoshi to open a tiny spot - the former Bar Bambino - where all eyes are on the two chefs and where 90 percent of diners order omakase. San Francisco's new appreciation for omakase did not materialize out of the void - we are in the age of the tasting menu, after all. Diners are increasingly paying big sums for long, choreographed dining experiences. Still, the Bay Area has lagged behind Los Angeles and New York when it comes to omakase. In Southern California, fixed-price omakase meals date back to the late 1980s, says Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold, at restaurants run by Kazunori Nozawa, Nobu Matsuhisa and Masa Takayama. Now, Gold said in an e-mail, "diners in Los Angeles are loath for some reason to splash for expensive menus in Western restaurants, but are willing to pay a lot for omakase sushi."

New York magazine critic Adam Platt thinks the rise in omakase-focused restaurants in Manhattan is connected to the country's rising fortunes. "In New York, sushi is the power food, replacing the steak house," Platt says. "Finance guys love sushi. They have their own sushi guys. They go to Tokyo." Then there's the Jiro effect. Just as Alexander Payne's "Sideways" turned a generation of fledgling oenophiles on to Pinot Noir, David Gelb's 2012 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" seductively portrayed the minimalist brilliance of omakase sushi. Sasaki credits "Jiro" with educating diners about omakase. So does Ichi Sushi's Tim Archuleta, who says that five years ago, omakase represented 25 percent of his meals. Now it's 75 percent. At his newly relocated and expanded Bernal Heights restaurant, Archuleta plans to dedicate a four-seat bar to omakase service. Ichi has just been too packed for the chef to complete it. Sasaki is not alone in yearning to shake off American customers' limited tastes.

At Kusakabe, Mitsunori Kusakabe says he decided on the tasting-menu format to break customers' insecurities around what to order. "Japan has so many varieties of fish and types of techniques, so I just wanted to make it easier for customers to enjoy (them)," he says. The courses of his $95 dinner, Kusakabe explains, are inspired by Japan's formal kaiseki dining, which balances colors, flavors and cooking methods. "If I serve warm sushi, the next dish is cold," he says. "If the first dish is rich, the next dish is sour, then salty. It's like a melody." Similarly, says Sasaki, the eight nigiri he places before the diner, one after the other in gentle succession, follow a prescribed order: Tuna is followed by aomono (a class of blue-backside fish), then salmon and one or two shiny-skin fish such as mackerel and sardines. "If you want American rolls," he says, "there are three sushi restaurants near me."Obama Dines on Sushi at Tokyo 'Jiro Dreams' Shop (Photo Credit: Courtesy Magnolia Pictures)

TOKYO - President Obama stepped off Air Force One in Japan apparently with an appetite for sushi. After a quick refresh at the Hotel Okura near the U.S. Embassy, Obama joined Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for dinner at a tiny sushi shop in the city's Ginza neighborhood. They were joined by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and National Security Adviser Susan Rice, the White House said. The restaurant - Sukiyabashi Jiro - has earned a rare three-star Michelin rating. Its owner and master chef, 89-year-old Jiro Ono, was featured in the 2011 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." Many regard him as the world's best sushi chef. Details of the president's dinner were scarce, as it was closed to the press. A special meal of selections by the chef costs close to $300 per person, according to the restaurant's website. Reservations are booked through June at its main location. White House officials say building personal ties between Obama and Abe is a priority on his third trip to Japan as president.