Sushi BluSushi 2012Sushi DvdJiro'S SushiSeat SushiSushi BarsSushi FilmSushi CookbookSushi CinemaForwardJiro Dreams of Sushi- An AMAZING documentary about an 85-year-old sushi master who has become a legacy in Tokyo for creating the world's most perfect sushi and is training his son to take over his legacy when he retires. Inspiring story that would be great for a family documentary night!It took seven months for renowned deejay, drummer, producer, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, Late Night mainstay, and member of the Roots, Questlove, to get a seat at Sukiyabashi Jiro for his birthday. The small three-star Michelin restaurant, and subject of 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, is hidden in the basement of a Tokyo subway station. The 20-course tasting menu commands 30,000 Japanese Yen a seat (over $300 CDN), but with only 10 seats a night, part of what you’re paying for is the intimate connection with 90-year-old sushi master, and national treasure of Japan, Jiro Ono.

Questlove spoke about his experience at Sukiyabashi Jiro and the anticipation leading up to it during a joint SXSW SouthBites panel with Austin-based Chef Paul Qui. He isn’t the only person to go through great lengths to secure a seat at the legendary establishment, a near impossible feat for foreigners. One writes about her three-part attempt to get a reservation, the final of which required a distant Japanese colleague call and make the reservation on her behalf. sushi to go cumbres eliteLike Questlove, she went on describe the life-altering experience that is Jiro’s transcendental sushi.samurai sushi menu mill valley With hundreds of world-class sushi restaurants to choose from, some of which have also earned the coveted three-star Michelin rating, it begs the question – what makes Jiro’s sushi so special?sushi grade fish savannah ga

Undoubtedly, Jiro is an artist. He’s dedicated over 75 years of his life to perfecting his craft. He demands nothing less than perfection from himself and his protégés, one of whom is Daisuke Nakazawa, owner of New York Times four-star restaurant Sushi Nakazawa. During the panel, Chef Qui questioned whether or not there was a significant difference between the quality of the sushi served by Jiro and his protégé. Ultimately, he believes there is. But it isn’t entirely what’s on the plate. According to Qui, the greatest difference lies in the story. The context in which someone experiences a product or service shapes how it’s perceived. While Jiro’s success may have started with superb product, what takes it to legendary status is arguably the context in which it is experienced, and the authenticity of the source. The documentary sheds light on the obstinate man and his meticulous process; the unexpected humble location make it a hidden gem, both figuratively and literally;

and the difficulty of securing a coveted reservation makes getting a seat a milestone accomplishment. Questlove was so excited for his experience that he woke up at 5 am for an 11 am reservation. Add to that an intimate and theatric presentation of the product, and you have an incredible story. “He makes 18 pieces of food and hands it to you. With five guys behind him, he stands in front of you as you eat each piece”, he enthusiastically shared, remembering every little detail of his experience. The experience, and story, undoubtedly becomes part of the product. It’s where the humanity comes in, and creates meaning. “Food is not just art. It’s a narrative”, said Qui, whose next restaurant endeavor will reflect this. Toward the end of the panel, he announced his plans to open Otoko, an intimate 12-seat sushi restaurant of his own tucked in a discreet, windowless, second-story space at a boutique hotel. “The way I judge projects is whether I’m going to go into them is whether it excites me or not.

[It’s] not necessarily about the bigger paycheck… it’s about creating something big,” Qui said. By focusing on his story, we think he might get that bigger paycheck after all.We wouldn't be caught dead eating sushi sold in a New York subway station--or a gas station, bodega or drugstore. In Japan, however, we would happily do so, and the striking new film Jiro Dreams of Sushi, premiering exclusively in New York beginning today, explains why. The subject of the movie is 85-year-old Jiro Ono, arguably the world's greatest living sushi chef, who crafts sushi in a humble 10-seat sushi bar buried deep within Tokyo's Ginza station. Ono worships at the altar of rice and fish, and the film's drama comes courtesy of sweeping views of the Tsukiji fish market, a Mozart-inflected score and the tension of Jiro's relationship with his two sons. One of the central moments of Jiro Dreams of Sushi captures an apprentice as he talks of more than 200 failed attempts (and subsequent tearful success) of making egg (tamago) sushi.

Try your hand at cooking a Japanese omelet (click here for the recipe). This recipe comes from 15 East, which has a double connection to the movie: It's one of director David Gelb's favorite New York sushi restaurants and its executive chef, Masato Shimizu, shares a sushi lineage with Jiro Ono. Jiro Dreams of Sushi debuts today at the Lincoln Plaza (click here for show times) and IFC Center (click here for show times). Your information will never be shared with a third party. I accept the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and confirm I am at least 21 years old.I accept the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and confirm I am at least 21 years old.Every year, thousands of people pay more than $350 to eat sushi at a 10-seater restaurant in a Tokyo subway station, making reservations at least a month in advance to dine at one of the few fast-food stands in the world to earn three stars from the Michelin guide. The proprietor, Jiro Ono, is in his mid-80s, and has spent his life innovating and refining, always asking himself, “What defines deliciousness?”

David Gelb’s documentary Jiro Dreams Of Sushi shows what a meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro is like: each morsel prepared simply and perfectly, then replaced by another as soon as the previous piece is consumed, with no repetition of courses. Once an item is gone, it doesn’t come back. That’s why each one has to be memorable. Jiro Dreams Of Sushi also covers Ono’s background and his family, including his two grown sons: the elder has been waiting patiently for decades to take over the business, and the younger runs a more casual version of his dad’s restaurant across town. Gelb talks to a top Japanese food critic who explains what makes Ono’s sushi so sublime, and shadows Ono’s apprentices, who have to learn how to properly wring a hot towel before he’ll allow them to slice a fish or cook an egg. He also follows Ono’s vendors, who adhere to the philosophy “If 10 tuna are for sale, only one can be the best.” But while everyone takes their jobs seriously, Gelb’s documentary is far from humorless.

At one point, Ono probably speaks for some people in the audience when he jokes that one of his vendors “seems so knowledgeable, I worry that he’s making it up.” Even at a brief 81 minutes, Jiro Dreams Of Sushi runs a little longer than it needs to, given that it’s making the same point over and over: that it takes uncommon dedication to repeat the same steps every day for decades, always looking for ways to make the process better, not easier. But Gelb creates a peaceful, contemplative mood with his long shots of men delicately molding fish onto rice, such that when Ono walks past a blaring shopping-mall video-screen at one point, the intrusion of the modern world seems out of place. In the end, maybe Ono and his staff are deluding themselves when they say their goal is to present each ingredient at its peak moment of tastiness. But this movie argues persuasively that it’s that constant pursuit of improvement—even to the best sushi in the world—that gives us all a reason to wake up and punch in.