I have eaten at Kuruma several times, truly not impressed for the money. If you're going on an expense account - go for it, otherwise skip.

Best bang for the buck that certainly deserves a mention is Sasabune (NYC). Omakase will run you $140-$160 each.

 

Supervixen - no, i haven't.

MJS - thanks for the Sasabune tip. How would you compare it to Sushi Yasuda, given that their price points are very similar.

- chuck

 

Hey Chuck,

Just wanted to thank you for your blog and your perpetual food snobbery. I started reading when I joined the six and consequently it really has influenced a lot of sushi decisions. For some reason, maybe its my inexperienced palate, I enjoyed Yasuda more than Masa. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that Masa had been built up so much for me. Then again, maybe it was the cost... :ugh:

I will be trying Ichimura and Kuruma soon. I don't expect them to be at the same level but hopefully different and good in their own ways.

Cheers!

 

that's my job

one thing i have a hard time explaining is that sushi, at the best places, is like football - on any given day, one of the best places can be the *best.* the winter months are best for sushi b/c a) cold water = sweeter fish and b) cold water = more fat.

it's hard to not think of the price tag when eating Masa - very hard - and that's completely understandable. this last meal was the best. but my previous meal was not the best; just very very good.

kuruma should impress; but, then again, my last meal was nothing like my previous 4-5.

i also think, for whatever reason you want to blame it on, fish quality is falling *noticeably* every year. it's near impossible to find tuna, tuna not toro, at the best places; the quality isn't there to even serve it. over-fishing, global warming, whatever the culprit may be, is taking a very serious toll on sushi enjoyment.

the salmon season here in CA is on the verge of being *completely* cancelled. stocks came in 1/6 of what they were last year.

i wouldn't be surprised to see fish nearly extinct in our lifetime. unbelievable.

- chuck

 

Chuck,

I have been eating Alaskan Salmon fedex'ed to me overnight from Alaska, and am pretty happy with the quality.

The downside is that I never order Salmon any more at sushi places, because they almost always are the farmed crap.

At the CA places that you mentioned, do they serve wild Salmon? And if so, are the CA Salmon better than the Alaskan types? The white king salmon is actually my favorite, the Yukon King comes in second.

 

yes, any self-respecting high-end sushi chef (or restaurant for that matter) would not serve farmed crap. if they did serve it, they would at least preface it with "we are serving farmed crap."

Alaska salmon is def better than CA salmon - no question there - colder water and longer travel (more muscle = more taste.) if one isn't willing to pay the fed-ex overnight (i can be cheap), the CA is (for us Californians) better b/c it's usually off the boat. but it looks like that may not be an option this year.

- chuck

 

Kobe Sake wasn't too shabby. The have fresh fish daily and even live fish. My friend did all the ordering and everything was delicious. I even tried new things.

The have some interested pictures on the wall of scantly clad people, lol. Apparently this place can get out of hand on the weekend.

Here's my bottle of Sake which I was not successful in finishing. I did get a work out pouring it though, lol.

 

I DONT UNDERSTAND YOUR "FUNNY"COMMENT PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT SO I CAN UNDERSTAND

 

nobu is 2nd-class sushi...

- chuck

 

It was good? Never bothered to try it as the building looks like a run down shack. I better try it before I move out of San Bruno next week!!!