Sushi!
I'd been having a sushi jones for a few weeks now; Larry's Market by my work closed and they had a pretty decent sushi maker; spicy tuna rolls at least, that was all I got there. The QFC sushi stand...well, I'm sure 'tis tasty but the rolls are definitely smaller. There's also a couple of real sushi joints nearby too; Ken Zaburo Mrs. P and I tried last year and it was delicious but again a bit steep for lunch. So we went through our new Entertainment coupon book looking for a place and settled on Yamashiro's Sushi Bistro. A quick search showed it was getting 4.5 / 5 stars on citysearch.com reviews so that a good sign. Off we went!
The scene:
Unless you are actively looking you'll drive by it a couple of times before you know it's there. Squeezed into the corner of a small stripmall, between a teriyaki place and a bubble tea house of the August moon (sorry couldn't resist) Yamashiro's shows a modern glass and steel exterior that opens to a wood accented interior; bar to the right, tables, sushi bar to the left. Asked by the (drink)bartender where would we like to sit "Sushi bar" was the unanimous answer. Bo the rollmaker gave us an quiet but direct "Irashaimase" (Was he the apprentice? He claims two and half years experience; making rolls and nigiri even before learning to make the rice!) A pint of Kirin, a small bowl of edamame and a row of fresh fish under glass in front of me I was set! (Menus? I don't need no stinking menus. Wife? Wife what who? :-} ) A quick conversation leads to the discovery that Yamashiro has won Best Sushi in Seattle - AOL guide two years in a row. Best in Seattle? That is a bold claim in this town.
The food:
Even tho' I was focused on nigiri the menu was tempting with an assortment of maki sushi (rolls) and kitchen items (Las Vegas roll with crab! Honey walnut prawns! Mrs. P's weakness...if she was ever on "24" they'd have to call that episode "half an hour" "Ok where's the hideout!?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "I got honey walnut prawns." "Ok it's down off I-405 at the 108th st. exit, take a left...") Basically I all needed from the menu was do I want the 8 piece with roll or 10 piece w/ roll chef's choice? 8 piece it is.
I'm gonna skip all the conversation with Bo and get straight to the food:
Tempura appetizer: delicate crispness! Fresh veg's and prefect shrimps coated in crispy air. Delicious.
Mrs P had: 1 tuna and 2 pieces of shrimp and a bowl of miso soup "The bloom was beautiful and there were jewels of tofu at the bottom."
8 piece chef's choice with roll: I made two requests for the choices: unagi (mmm...eel) which I'd never tried and mackeral! Bo looked at me like "This guys nuts..." but I explained I was pretty new to the nigiri aspect of sushi and I wasn't afraid of "fishiness" It's fish after all...you don't go "huh...that potato was a bit too potatoey." So in order of consumption:
Dynamite Roll: yellowfin, tobiko (flying fish roe), jalepeno and avacodo deep fried in that amazing tempura batter. Worth getting by itself and the spicy sauce was just that! Others at the bar commented on it's zing also.
Shrimp - delicious and tender but also it's shrimp, not a lot going on with it either.
Squid - Tender! Raw? I don't know. At the time I thought it was but now I'm not sure. It wasn't as opaque as fresh, seemed to be whiter, more cooked. Either way it's worth seconds to find out.
Unagi - Wow! Not at all what I imagined. Rich, tender, warming (must be whatever they cooked it in, soy and something) it just melted on my tongue. Bo said it was a favorite with sushi eaters that wanted to avoid fishiness.
Tuna - Why I eat sushi. The clean flavor, the perfect texture and being cold didn't hurt; I'd just had a piece of roll with a bit too much spicy sauce on it. Tuna stocks be damned! I want maguro!
Geoduck - So a few years ago these guys up here got busted for poaching geoducks, they'd really hit the beds hard and deservedly got some stiff sentences but I remember thinking "Is there that big of a demand?" After having some last night...yes there is! Similar in flavor to razor clams with more "surf/smell of the ocean" thing happening, a little chewing was needed, alas as with all mollusks. An eye opener.
Whitefish - Clean a bit of fish flavor. Overall though it was "whitefish."
Yellowtail - MMM good good good. I'd had it before at Ken Zaburo's and was glad it was one of the chef's choices.
Mackeral - Ok the second reason I'd wanted sushi (unagi was the first). Long story short: we went to a potluck, a guy made stew with mackeral, I barely managed to eat what I'd served myself. I have read you must handle mackeral properly or it's overpowering...that was overpowering. Yamashiro's handling? Impeccable! Delicious! Firm flesh, fishy yes but...proper. Not too much, enough to wake you up to "You're eating fish right? Fish tastes like fish yeah? If you want to avoid fish taste eat something else." Take a chance people, have a piece of mackeral...at Yamashiro's tho. Can't speak for anywhere else.
So the finale: All night Bo had been pushing "We got fresh toro. It's really something...market price." And what was market price for piece of tuna belly, the fattest richest part? $9. Hmm...that's a not insignificant price for what 1 - 2 oz. of fish? Maybe it was the Kirin or something in the mackeral but "Hey bartender give me a shot of toro!"
So there it was...pale pink, glistening, it just looked like if you left it sit it would melt under the lights. I pulled of a pinch from the end for the missus and we popped them in. WOW...wow....wow...you know the phrase "melts in your mouth?" This literally melted in the mouth. But the flavor!!! If you could sink a bottle to the depths in the middle of the ocean, close it up and bring it up that was toro. There was the essence of the ocean brought to you courtesy of the tuna. That is why tuna goes for crazy amounts at the fish auctions. And that is also why I'm gonna need a second job if I start going to sushi bars with any regularity. $9? Hell! Yeah!
Best sushi in Seattle two years in a row? Yeah I can get behind that. Click the post title for Yamashiro's webpage.
The scene:
Unless you are actively looking you'll drive by it a couple of times before you know it's there. Squeezed into the corner of a small stripmall, between a teriyaki place and a bubble tea house of the August moon (sorry couldn't resist) Yamashiro's shows a modern glass and steel exterior that opens to a wood accented interior; bar to the right, tables, sushi bar to the left. Asked by the (drink)bartender where would we like to sit "Sushi bar" was the unanimous answer. Bo the rollmaker gave us an quiet but direct "Irashaimase" (Was he the apprentice? He claims two and half years experience; making rolls and nigiri even before learning to make the rice!) A pint of Kirin, a small bowl of edamame and a row of fresh fish under glass in front of me I was set! (Menus? I don't need no stinking menus. Wife? Wife what who? :-} ) A quick conversation leads to the discovery that Yamashiro has won Best Sushi in Seattle - AOL guide two years in a row. Best in Seattle? That is a bold claim in this town.
The food:
Even tho' I was focused on nigiri the menu was tempting with an assortment of maki sushi (rolls) and kitchen items (Las Vegas roll with crab! Honey walnut prawns! Mrs. P's weakness...if she was ever on "24" they'd have to call that episode "half an hour" "Ok where's the hideout!?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "I got honey walnut prawns." "Ok it's down off I-405 at the 108th st. exit, take a left...") Basically I all needed from the menu was do I want the 8 piece with roll or 10 piece w/ roll chef's choice? 8 piece it is.
I'm gonna skip all the conversation with Bo and get straight to the food:
Tempura appetizer: delicate crispness! Fresh veg's and prefect shrimps coated in crispy air. Delicious.
Mrs P had: 1 tuna and 2 pieces of shrimp and a bowl of miso soup "The bloom was beautiful and there were jewels of tofu at the bottom."
8 piece chef's choice with roll: I made two requests for the choices: unagi (mmm...eel) which I'd never tried and mackeral! Bo looked at me like "This guys nuts..." but I explained I was pretty new to the nigiri aspect of sushi and I wasn't afraid of "fishiness" It's fish after all...you don't go "huh...that potato was a bit too potatoey." So in order of consumption:
Dynamite Roll: yellowfin, tobiko (flying fish roe), jalepeno and avacodo deep fried in that amazing tempura batter. Worth getting by itself and the spicy sauce was just that! Others at the bar commented on it's zing also.
Shrimp - delicious and tender but also it's shrimp, not a lot going on with it either.
Squid - Tender! Raw? I don't know. At the time I thought it was but now I'm not sure. It wasn't as opaque as fresh, seemed to be whiter, more cooked. Either way it's worth seconds to find out.
Unagi - Wow! Not at all what I imagined. Rich, tender, warming (must be whatever they cooked it in, soy and something) it just melted on my tongue. Bo said it was a favorite with sushi eaters that wanted to avoid fishiness.
Tuna - Why I eat sushi. The clean flavor, the perfect texture and being cold didn't hurt; I'd just had a piece of roll with a bit too much spicy sauce on it. Tuna stocks be damned! I want maguro!
Geoduck - So a few years ago these guys up here got busted for poaching geoducks, they'd really hit the beds hard and deservedly got some stiff sentences but I remember thinking "Is there that big of a demand?" After having some last night...yes there is! Similar in flavor to razor clams with more "surf/smell of the ocean" thing happening, a little chewing was needed, alas as with all mollusks. An eye opener.
Whitefish - Clean a bit of fish flavor. Overall though it was "whitefish."
Yellowtail - MMM good good good. I'd had it before at Ken Zaburo's and was glad it was one of the chef's choices.
Mackeral - Ok the second reason I'd wanted sushi (unagi was the first). Long story short: we went to a potluck, a guy made stew with mackeral, I barely managed to eat what I'd served myself. I have read you must handle mackeral properly or it's overpowering...that was overpowering. Yamashiro's handling? Impeccable! Delicious! Firm flesh, fishy yes but...proper. Not too much, enough to wake you up to "You're eating fish right? Fish tastes like fish yeah? If you want to avoid fish taste eat something else." Take a chance people, have a piece of mackeral...at Yamashiro's tho. Can't speak for anywhere else.
So the finale: All night Bo had been pushing "We got fresh toro. It's really something...market price." And what was market price for piece of tuna belly, the fattest richest part? $9. Hmm...that's a not insignificant price for what 1 - 2 oz. of fish? Maybe it was the Kirin or something in the mackeral but "Hey bartender give me a shot of toro!"
So there it was...pale pink, glistening, it just looked like if you left it sit it would melt under the lights. I pulled of a pinch from the end for the missus and we popped them in. WOW...wow....wow...you know the phrase "melts in your mouth?" This literally melted in the mouth. But the flavor!!! If you could sink a bottle to the depths in the middle of the ocean, close it up and bring it up that was toro. There was the essence of the ocean brought to you courtesy of the tuna. That is why tuna goes for crazy amounts at the fish auctions. And that is also why I'm gonna need a second job if I start going to sushi bars with any regularity. $9? Hell! Yeah!
Best sushi in Seattle two years in a row? Yeah I can get behind that. Click the post title for Yamashiro's webpage.
