Review: Sushi Sho

25 April 2024

My long and fun trip is finally coming to an end. The weather has been miserable, rainy non-stop since I arrived in Stockholm. Unfortunately I think some of it seeped into my phone as it acted all weird. It was already acting weird during the day when I stopped at Noema for that nice dairy cow steak lunch.

The afternoon I kept going, visiting a few places I wanted to see before heading back to the hotel to pack up. I was running on fumes at this point, as this has been an exhausting yet wonderful trip. Tonight it closes with dinner at Sushi Sho, the Michelin-starred omakase that’s become extremely popular.

Although it has a very Japanese feel, a good amount of the ingredients are local, which makes it even more interesting. As I was about to head off, I noticed my phone shut off. Oh goodness, this thing may be zapped. I don’t have a bucket of rice to try to save it, but a little tinkering got it back working.

I got to Sushi Sho and we had to wait until the previous seating finished. It’s a boom-boom operation, very little cushion between their seatings. I was there for the final, 9pm one, which hopefully makes it more relaxing. I got a space in the middle of the counter, got a beer and asked for a sake pairing.

I am going to write very little on this review because of the aforementioned water issue with my phone, for some reason my notes on this dinner got destroyed. So with my memory a little foggy now, I’m not going to risk writing something wrong. And sadly, you’ll also see many of the photos seem to not focus very well. My apologies.

We began with some delicious sashimi, then an aromatic chawanmushi.

The photo of the handroll was totally messed up, so here’s the daikon. As a daikon lover this was great.

A few dishes and we get into nigiri. The photo of the scallop was also unusable, sorry.

Then into the tuna series, including a supplement.

As you can see, the photos have gotten worse. But the food was fantastic. We had some interesting local fish like halibut and trout, as well as the traditional tuna. Every dish was fabulous. The sake pairing was okay, a little off-synch with the food, if that was my only criticism of this evening.

The rice was excellent, the seafood fabulous, very friendly crew. It’s not as fast as people make it out to be, it was paced quite well. Maybe the late 9pm seating made it more relaxing?

A nice final tipple and I thanked the crew and took the long stroll back to my hotel. I think this was the only 25 minutes of walking in Stockholm that was not raining, so I enjoyed that. What I will not enjoy is my 4am alarm in just a few hours!

This has been a wonderful trip, and I’m a little sad to be going home, but at least I get a long layover in Copenhagen to visit a few places and have lunch with a friend, so that will be a great way to close this trip.

Sushi Sho
Upplandsgatan 45
Stockholm, Sverige

Review: Kado no Mise

29 March 2024

I got into Minneapolis early this Saturday morning. I knew the Twin Cities took a major snow hit last week after a nearly dry and almost-too-warm winter, but I was surprised it hasn’t melted off with the rain like it has in Chicago. Oh well, that may put a major damper in my plans today…

Yeah it did. I had to improvise a little, ended up hiking through at-times calf-deep snow and ice, so I got in a good workout. Sadly a poor lunch at a very hyped place didn’t help (I’ll write about this in a few days). So I was looking forward to my dinner at Kado no Mise, a much heralded Japanese restaurant located very close to the much-missed Bachelor Farmer.

Kado no Mise apparently do a kaiseki night on Tuesdays, which is too bad as it’s something I definitely would have loved to try. But I have high hopes for this place as I rolled in on my Lyft and headed up the stairs. And I sense a good evening, as I was seated at the counter where Chef Shigeyuki Furukawa was stationed.

Honestly it didn’t start too well. Just before I was about to use the hot towel to wipe my hands, the server took it away…geez, really? And the first sake pour was a little light. However, once I saw the first dish, I was far happier.

Now this was a welcome sight, hotaru-ika (firefly squid). Not had this in awhile, as you can still taste the essence of ink as you bite into this. Tasty dish, good start. A different sake was poured and the very hot chawanmushi was next.

Subtle, took awhile to bring this out, from the shiitake to the dashi. I thought maybe this particular sake ate into this dish a little due to its subtlety. Whatever the case, I enjoyed it more without the sake, drinking it all afterwards.

A plate of other snacks showed up, with the botan-ebi as a delicious bite. The celery was interesting, once again, subtle and nuanced. I fear this may be lost on some diners. At this point a larger sake pour happened as we enter the sushi segment. Chef Furukawa got to work and we have a series of breams to start.

The tai (sea bream) was quite nice, but the kasugodai (baby sea bream) was really fantastic.

Lovely stuff. Then the sakuradai (cherry bream).

Tasty morsel that’s for sure. BTW the rice is excellent, a good balance with the fish and consistency about perfect. And the bream series ends with kinmedai (golden eye snapper).

I’m not the biggest fan of kinmedai, but this was rather good. I enjoyed that series, you don’t often get a bream set like that. Then with another sake, we have the tuna series. Of course it starts with akami.

One of the better lean tuna I’ve had in a long time, really delicious.

The chutoro was excellent, really lovely flavours that just melted in your mouth. Again, the excellent rice made it even better.

The otoro was good, but I think the chutoro was the winner of this series. Good stuff. Another sake pour and we have the more distinct flavoured pieces.

Shimesaba (cured mackerel) didn’t work as well for me, as I thought the ginger was distracting. As a mackerel fan I really don’t like this adulterated. Oh well, a rare miss tonight. Then a nice surprise, sagoshi (young Spanish mackerel).

You don’t see sagoshi too often, and this was quite delicious. And of course, kohada (gizzard shad).

Again not one of my favourites, something that often comes on the early side of an omakase, so I kind of like this order.

That was a good set. But it’s not over yet because I ordered the more extensive menu. So next up was some uni.

In a wee handroll, delicious. You can so taste the sea here, just wonderful.

Then we have some delicious tuna, just a great way to ease into the last item…

Yep, wagyu, something that’s pretty common in omakases these days. I don’t remember nikuzushi ever ending up in these things except in trendy non-edomae places, but it seems to have spread. Delicious.

That was quite good! And it was clearly the end as the tamago was presented.

Quite good, with some quality of care in making it. Chef Furukawa asked if there’s anything I wanted, and I thought let’s do one more saba as a palate cleanser…

Well, I forgot about the ginger. Oh well, I guess it did work as a palate cleanser!

I probably didn’t need one as this miso soup was absolutely delicious! Chef said they use a combination of three different red misos, and the depth and complexity of this soup was astounding. A wonderful way to end the night!

A nice dessert closed the dining experience, as well as a wonderful conversation with Chef Furukawa about various topics, from interesting kaiseki around the US to the state of the restaurant business. A really good chat.

I thanked Chef Furukawa and headed out…well, not quite yet. I dropped into the whisky bar connected to the restaurant and wanted to see how it is. A cocktail and a less-well-known Japanese whisky later, I was happy and ready for my Lyft back to my hotel.

Kado no Mise definitely passes the test and it’s quite excellent. I really now want to try to come back on a Tuesday to do their kaiseki, so that’s on my list for my next trip to the Twin Cities. But gotta figure out how to do this on a Tuesday without missing that much work…

But this is highly recommended! Is my luck on this trip turning around?

Kado no Mise
33 North First Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 10 Best Dining Experiences of 2023

One of the joys of travelling again is being able to experience so much good food. Of course, that also means treading through some mediocre (and some just awful) stuff as well. Of all of 2023, these I believe represent the 10 best dining experiences of my 2023.

Now before you start asking questions, this is obviously very subjective. And this represents the entire dining experience, not just one or a few particular dishes. I will have a “10 Best Dishes” list as the next post, so save your appetite for that as well!

As always, click on the photos for a larger version. And read the original reviews by clicking the title.

I hope you enjoy this little trip back through 2023!

1. Nuta (Warszawa, Polska, 7 October)

It’s been years since I’ve been back to Warsaw, and what I missed greatly is tasting the wonderful creations of my dear friend Chef Andrea Camastra. Since my last visit he shuttered his Michelin-starred Senses and opened Nuta, which has quickly earned a Michelin star as well. I predict it will become a 3-star restaurant sooner than later. The last time I made this prediction was many years ago about a certain Maaemo in Oslo, and you can see what happened there. Just look at some of these dishes, the intensity of flavours, coming to the edge of overwhelming you but never stepping over the ledge, shows what magic his kitchen can create. Absolutely groundbreaking stuff, and these photos or words can’t describe these flavours. You really need to experience for yourself.

2. Off Alley (Seattle, Washington, 1 December)

This turned out to be one of the biggest and best surprises of the year, a wonderful night of excellent service and amazing food in a converted alley. Reminds me a little of the legendary eel restaurant Kabuto in Tokyo, but a little more forgiving for the knees! Every dish was stunning, from the black cod to duck, from the grilled foie to the foie ice cream. However, the tripe and dungeness crab is easily a candidate for dish of the year. So good, it may force me to look at using Seattle as a springboard to any West Coast/Pacific travels in the future!

3. Pulejo (Roma, Italia, 29 March)

This is the dinner where I had a “terzo” – asking for a second helping of the amazing capitone. But overall this Michelin-starred restaurant is one of the best, from service to food. I usually avoid Michelin places in Italy, but Pulejo is truly a gem. Each of the dishes were spectacular, from the cuttlefish to the tortelli. But goodness that eel, it’s beyond memorable. Truly worth its star in an age where Michelin has become degraded, with some of the best and friendliest service in the continent.

4. Nasime (Alexandria, Virginia, 23 November)

One thing I miss most about Japan is being able to have a kaiseki dinner at a counter. Nasime is about as good as it gets without the $1500 tickets to Tokyo. Amazing quality and cooking, and a vibe that remains as authentic as it gets without it being stale or static. Chef Shimomura’s cooking is always fantastic and boundary pushing, without losing the overall characteristic of an excellent kaiseki experience. From the foie miso grilled lamb to the yuba-wrapped Chilean sea bass, each dish was stunningly good as usual. And likely the most affordable kaiseki in North America, not to mention one of the very best. So good to be back…

5. Piatto Romano (Roma, Italia, 29 March)

This lunch inspired me to revive this blog. On my first trip to Europe since 2019, it not just helped to revive this blog, but this Piatto Romano experience was so quintessentially Lazio it made me love food and travel again. The beef heart was amazing, and eating the pasta made me tear up. Something very special about this lunch that really kicked me out of the 3-year deluge I’ve been in. Probably the first time I smiled so carefree since 2019 whilst sipping on that grappa…

6. Cocoro (Chicago, Illinois, 10 May)

Cocoro has become my hideaway, especially after a long day at the office. This is my comfort food, just feasting on Japanese delicacies, from the addictive shishamo to some excellent nigiri (their hotate is always fantastic), and the always spectacular saba sashimi. But with so much on the menu, as well as my favourite shochu (Tantakatan, made from red shiso leaves), it’s no wonder it’s become a perennial favourite of mine. But it was this first visit that made me fall in love with this place, one that I now have a “usual” table.

7. Kiln (London, England, 12 October)

Kiln has been a staple for me in London, and it has never disappointed (unlike most other London eateries). Love the vibe and music, sitting at my “usual” corner seat in front of the turntable, enjoying amazing dishes. This time the culled yaw was exceptional, as well as the always-good sausage. Throw in a scrumptious bavette, rich monkfish swimming in ankimo curry, and delicious cockles, this lunch became a 2.5hr epic. Absolutely best place to eat in a London that has ebbed and flowed for years.

8. Bayan Ko (Chicago, Illinois, 17 August)

Getting to Bayan Ko involved an unpleasant post-work ride on the disgusting Red Line and perpetually delayed and overcrowded Brown Line, but it’s worth it. My first visit on this stormy summer day was the best of them all, as sadly my most recent visit showed a noticeable decline in quality of food. But this particular visit was just breathtaking, from the scrumptious sisig nigiri to the lamb belly, not to mention the palabok and the duck. Let’s hope 2024 brings this quality back when they shift formats to a tasting menu!

9. Leichi (Santa Clara, California, 2 September)

I think left coasters have so many great choices when it comes to authentic Asian cuisine they don’t truly appreciate it. For me, finding a place like Leichi during my domestic travels – with some extremely authentic izakaya items that I’ve not had since Japan – is truly a treasure. From the chicken cartilage to fermented squid innards, it was truly a night when for a tiny second felt like I was back in Tokyo, or even Hakodate… Makes me miss Japan plenty, but this was about as close as it gets to being back.

10. Aji (Chicago, Illinois, 25 October)

Many of my long-time followers will be surprised with this one. Although I generally don’t like overly-creative omakase sushi experiences, being an edomae traditionalist, I have really grown to like what Aji does. They don’t overdo it, respecting the fish – which so many places don’t do properly (including a place in St Louis I choose not to name again). But of all my 2023 visits, this October one turned out to be spectacular, not just for some excellent pieces like the kampachi, aji, and the fabulous toro-uni hand roll, but also for the unexpected appearance of my favourite fish, nodoguro – which I’ve not had since I was in Japan many years ago.

It was very hard to put this list together, as there were many runners up that made the second half of this list very hard to compile. Some will be represented in the next (“10 Best Dishes”) list, when certain dishes just transformed a dining experience.

What were your 10 best dining experiences of 2023?

“Please Don’t Cry” (Review #2: Aji)

25 October 2023

Another long day at work, and I was trying to figure out what to do about dinner. My original plans changed last minute, so I was stuck on my own. But luckily I saw there was an open slot at Aji, which is conveniently on my way home from the office. So got a 6pm slot and made my way there.

Thanks to some traffic, my bus actually arrived just before my reservation time, so it worked out. It was good to see the fabulous duo, although for once I was seated not in my usual seat. No biggie, but every time I’ve been here (from the first visit, where I wrote up a review, to subsequent times when I didn’t but posted on IG), I’ve been in that seat, so it’s a different perspective for this omakase night!

It seems everyone else is stuck in the same traffic I faced, so I had a few extra minutes to enjoy a cocktail before the omakase evening began. A now-traditional starter item here, hotate.

Their scallops are always good, and I’ve come to enjoy their rendition of it. Today was some chives and a tiny bit of yuzu aioli that worked well. Next up, again very frequently here, hirame.

Often in Japan these omakase sessions start with the fluke, but I do like their incorporation of engawa (fin) into the piece. Simple, with sea salt and a very light lime zest. Another piece with their prep that has really grown on me. Next, another fish I see here a lot, kinmedai.

They do like their “pearls” here, this time with yuzu on this golden-eye snapper. Delicious. Then to another regular item, ika.

Beautiful squid as usual, and again I’ve started to come to enjoy this rendition with the grape mustard. Good stuff. Then we have kampachi.

A fabulous piece of amberjack, the best piece of the night so far. We get shimaaji next.

More pearls, this time a sweet touch on the striped jack. Then a piece they always do well, sake.

Salmon, when good, is fabulous, and this was excellent, helped on with some trout roe. Then we move a little into the strong section with unagi.

An excellent rendition of the eel they always do well with shiso butter, delicious! Then we move to the hon maguro.

Lean tuna sometimes leads to the progression of the tuna trinity, but not today. A good lead into aji.

A good piece of horse mackerel, another staple here (their namesake) that they do extremely well with smoked soy, negi, and ginger. This sets up the next piece, which was an amazing surprise.

NODOGURO! Oh my goodness, my favourite fish, one I’ve not touched since I was last in Japan 5 years ago! I was nearly in tears. Chef kept saying, “please don’t cry” looking at my face. Oh my goodness this is pure heaven. I’d trade toro with nodoguro any day, this is just as good as it gets…

I needed a breath here, and a big gulp of sake before we move onto amaebi.

Although the shrimp is good, my mind was still stuck on the nodoguro. And I’ve finished a few different sakes by now, as well as a few servings of fresh-grated wasabi – my “snack” of choice whenever I enjoy sushi. Oh this has been a good night, and knowing we’re nearing the end, we get a different take on the uni-toro combination.

Hand roll today, and it was delicious. A very generous serving of both, rich and awesome. A piece, like the nodoguro, where I just spent a ridiculous time letting it melt down my throat…so good.

And of course we approach our final piece, and it was another of the “melt down my throat” pieces, a beautiful A5 Wagyu.

Now this was another heavenly piece, just barely needing to chew, squeezing the beautiful flavours down my throat slowly, nurturing every tender moment until it was gone.

Another excellent evening, and we close with a dessert and a nice scotch tonight instead.

They have a buy-out for their second seating, so we didn’t mill around. I thanked the dynamic duo and headed out, having enjoyed another excellent night of their innovative omakase. As someone who usually prefers very traditional, edomae stuff, this stuff is slowly growing on me – but not always. Aji, however, knows what works for me.

Highly recommended, as always!

Aji
3809 North Broadway
Chicago, Illinois

Review: Aji

18 April 2023

One of the best things about moving to a real city again – in this case, Chicago – is that I have access to edible sushi again. What a relief! When you grow up eating sushi (nigiri, not maki) in Hawaiʻi, it’s a torture not to be able to eat raw fish.

Those who know me know that I am mostly a traditionalist when it comes to sushi, and I’m not too fond of the direction omakase sushi is taking in the US. Most of the time the adulteration is unnecessary for true connosseurs of raw fish. But I’ve found Aji in Chicago to be a rare place that does it well enough that it doesn’t bother me.

I had a rather stressful day at work so I called to see if Aji had an opening, and I lucked out for the late seating. I tried to wind down beforehand, but that wasn’t very successful as the emails kept coming, so I headed towards Wrigley and dropped into an Irish pub near my dinner location.

A much needed pint that I surprisingly milked for quite a long time (unlike last week when I ordered my second pint when my first pint arrived…), I headed out and dropped into Aji. Was seated at my now-usual corner space. Was nice to see the crew again, and soon a nice sake was poured for me.

I know the 15 courses will be nice, so I relaxed. One of the most unique things about Aji is that they used an old-school “departure board” sign to show the seafood and the ingredients on the nigiri. I think it’s a wonderful idea.

And that sign will scroll over a dozen more times before the evening is over, but it tells me my first item is hotate (scallop).

Not bad, good quality scallop, but I thought the yuzu aioli was quite distracting. Needed more sake to rinse this off. Chef was nice enough to bring me some fresh wasabi as a freshening snack, so that was good.

Next up was hirame (fluke), nice and simple with sea salt and a touch of lime. The engawa (fin) was a nice touch. Back on track very quickly. Then next up a beautiful ika (squid).

Chef did a fantastic job visually here, and the grape mustard actually worked okay here. The person next to me was from Texas and she was a big fan of omakase experiences, so it was nice to chat with her through the evening.

Hamachi (yellowtail) followed, topped by a pickled pear. Not bad, but didn’t need the addition, the fish was excellent. In fact, I’ve noticed I’ve started to separate the adulteration within my mouth, swallowing it before I get into the seafood.

Kampachi (amberjack) came next, also good. The hibiscus salt helped it along and the yuzu pearls too.

Then shimaaji (striped jack), which also worked nicely. The sake flowed well, and I needed it after this long day. Then we have the “other” sake (salmon).

Some cured roe and negi (Japanese green onion) on top of the seared salmon, quite good. Usually not my favourite fish for sushi, but this was good. And now we see what’s coming up next: chutoro.

I all but ignored the walnut mustard and just let the fish melt in my mouth. Excellent piece, highlight of the night so far. Good sake, good conversation, good food. It’s a good night.

A surprising twist with unagi already, also delicious. It’s glazed with a butter, so you actually taste the eel. About as good as the eel at Osteria Fernanda in Roma from a few weeks ago – although definitely not as good as that mind-blowingly amazing capitone at Pulejo in Roma just a few days before that. I can eat eel all day…

Enjoyed a little more sake as the food kept coming, and my favourite is next: saba (mackerel).

Not bad, I’m a traditionalist so I like really strong mackerel. This was relatively neutral, but delicious. Next up, amaebi (sweet shrimp).

After all the raw shrimp I had in Napoli (like at Pescheria Mattiucci or also Il Miracolo dei Pesci), I think it’s gonna be hard for me to like them as much as I did there. But this was a good bite. I always like raw shrimp when it’s good quality, and this was good. When they don’t overdo the adulteration, the morsels are fantastic here.

And finally, otoro. It really does not need the caviar, which I consumed on its own. It’s too much of a good thing in one bite, where the two amazing flavours don’t work together for me in one single bite. They are awesome on their own, so I enjoyed it that way. Rich and delicious. Mmmm…

After a little more sake I know this dinner was in the final stretch. Next up was a surprise: escolar.

Simply seared, this very rich (and dangerous) fish was delicious. I always like escolar, but also know not to eat too much of it. For those of you who know, you know. Another wonderful dish. And of course, the last item is a nikuzushi with an A5 wagyu.

Excellent. This time the caviar worked much better, and it was a joy to enjoy this wonderful quality beef. But that also means the savouries are done…

A dessert came and went, and I was full and happy. I enjoyed the good seafood and attentive service, as well as the tasty sake and nice conversation. I had one last whisky before I headed out, finishing the conversation with the crew before I headed out myself.

I really needed this evening after the crazy day at work. Although I still prefer my sushi unadulterated, this was as good as it gets for a modern omakase. Highly recommended!

Aji
3809 North Broadway
Chicago, Illinois

* If anyone has a suggestion for a traditional sushi omakase in Chicago – that’s not all the way out in Arlington Heights – please let me know!!!