"American" Sushi in Japan?

[Fried_Dough_Ho]

@DanBlather

It’s disheartening to talk with someone who says they really like sushi and then find out that all they like are rolls that they smother in soy sauce and wasabi.

Amen.

There is a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles called Urasawa. The chef, Hiro Urasawa only serves 10 to 12 people a night and the cost, with sake, is roughly $500 a person.

I have eaten there and I have also eaten at The French Laundry, with a similar expense but ostensibly far more complicated dishes and more ingredients.

And when I look back over the most spectacular meals in my life that I would like to experience again regardless of the cost, it would be Urasawa. It is hard to explain how $500 sushi is exponentially better than what you can get at a local sushi restaurant, but trust me when I say it IS. You can see pictures and read descriptions here. (I’ve got a French Laundry write-up there as well, for comparison).

[tr0psn4j]

@Fried_Dough_Ho

I have written quite a bit about that form of sushi – and I live in Japantown in San Francisco.

Very generally speaking, those Americanized rolls like Philadelphia rolls are more available here in California at restaurants that are owned and operated by Koreans. In fact, the best offerings are well known to be Korean-owned!

There are a handful of sushi restaurants here in San Francisco which now incorporate that style of roll because they are so popular and I have spoken with Japanese chefs who prefer to NOT create them, but they do to increase their bottom line.

I can’t comment on how or if they exist in Japan proper.

We have this running joke to determine who owns a sushi bar. If it has the name of a city in Japan, it’s Korean owned.

I’m not too big a fan of those types of rolls but avocado is so amazing on sushi.