kainzero (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} kainzero) wrote,@ 2009-05-01 15:23:00 |
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Urasawa: The best Kaiseki in the US
As an avid Chowhound reader, I noticed that whenever sushi came up, the restaurant "Urasawa" would always pop up, with the caveat "if you can afford it." With at least $300 for the prix fixe (depending on the seasonal ingredients), it didn't come cheap. But I live my life as a value-oriented person, not as a bottom-line person, and with the general opinion that it is definitely worth it, I stashed a small amount of savings each month just so I could go.
On April 4th, I finally went, bringing along Daisuke and Gilbert with me.
*pictures courtesy of Gilbert*
Urasawa is located in Beverly Hills, right on the famous Rodeo Drive. Valet parking was $5. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by the classy surroundings driving, but the actual restaurant building seemed really... weird. It felt like I stepped into my office building, but behind one of the doors was a Michelin 2-star restaurant.
The venue itself was very simple--an L-shaped wooden sushi counter that probably sat about 11 total. For what it's worth, the counter seemed very nicely constructed, but I'm not a lumberjack nor a carpenter so my opinion isn't very qualified. Asked for drinks, they had complimentary green tea, $8 Evian/sparkling water, and a liquor menu that I didn't even bother to look at. I'm not paying that much for Evian, so complimentary green tea it was for me. Behind the counter you could see a basket filled with fresh wasabi root and some sort of Japanese citrus (not sure if it was Yuzu or something else). There was also this sexy piece of beef sitting on the counter, aging. I don't ever call beef sexy, but that beef was so sexy that it need to be said.
Chef Hiro came out in his cool Japanese chef clothing, ready to do battle and mix it up with his ingredients. Well, maybe not, but those authentic threads were pretty cool. He asked us our names and if he was allergic to anything. From then on, he'd address us by our names. Pretty cool service, and the one thing I really liked about Chef Hiro was just how down-to-earth he was. It's kind of comforting watching a master chef cut the sashimi so precisely and effortlessly, and then tell us how much he loves Chinese dimsum or that people grow up weird when they don't eat their mother's food. (He said that to Daisuke, who claimed that he did eat his mom's food. But I have to disagree about him being weird...)
We were served our first course, a Bluefin Toro roll with daikon and shiso and monkfish pate, and topped off with caviar. I've never had bluefin toro or caviar, so I already had this huge smile on my face--and it delivered a great start to this meal. Bluefin toro is indescribeably phenomenal. At best, I can compare it to when you eat good piece of maguro (tuna) nigiri, but with the good tasting part jacked up 100-fold and the texture being as smooth and slippery and just... pure.
The next course was Goma Tofu: Made from sesame seeds, and silken tofu stuffed with Uni, topped off with freshly grated wasabi and served in dashi. You know that scene in Ratatouille when the rat talks about the combination of flavors? That's exactly what I got here. All incredibly simple, but yet combined it produced this crazy delicious new flavor.
The sashimi was served to us on a hand-carved block of ice. I had taken a piece of the Toro from Spain and was ready to eat it when I heard "WAIT!" I looked up to see our waitress Yoshie and Chef Hiro tell me to smear wasabi on the piece of toro that I was eating. For some reason, that really impressed me. He's so damn good that he absolutely insists that you eat it the way he wants you to eat it to get the best flavor. It wasn't FO-style "GTFO-if-you-want-to-modify-the-burger" but more like a genuine care for his ingredients.
Of all the non-sushi courses, my favorite had to be the Hoba Yaki, which featured shrimp, Wagyu beef from Saga, and scallops, mixed in a Miso paste and served over hot coals on a Hoba leaf. The Miso paste had this really interesting sweetness to it that I really liked, and the proteins had that fatty (umami) taste that I normally like, and they matched perfectly, which I totally didn't expect.
After some other courses, including my first taste of truffles in a truffle risotto that made me think "That's it? A slight subtle earthy taste costs this much?!" it was time for sushi. It started with Chef Hiro taking out a fat piece of that Bluefin Toro. He explained, "This Toro is the best in Japan. If you were to get it there, it would cost $30 just for a bite." He also said, "After I make it, it tastes the best after 10 seconds. So you have to eat it really fast." Great sushi doesn't wait for us, I guess. But it was true. It was ridiculously good. Combined with the excellent rice, it felt like the most unfair food in the world. Nothing should taste that good. And then right after he gave us slightly seared Toro, which was a different texture but also unfair.
Watching Chef Hiro work at this time was mesmerizing. With surgical precision and exacting movements, he would slice each piece of fish, form each ball of rice, take a bit of the freshly grated wasabi, place exactly the amount of sauce needed, and shave a little bit of citrus zest on each piece before serving it to us. The crazy thing about it was that each piece of fish had that same smooth luscious texture. Nothing was chewy at all; NONE of it. Some of them had some crunch but there was no chew at all.
The standout cuts that I remember were the Aji (delicious stuff and probably the most flavorful of the sushi), the Uni (great texture, very creamy, NO fishiness at all), the Amaebi (the HUGEST amaebi I've ever seen), Shiitake Mushroom (really showcased the quality of his rice), and the Ika (a creamy texture unlike most Ika which is usually chewy).
The trademark Tamago, the end of the sushi course, was cooked more like a castella. And it was delicious. I wanted to ask for another one, but that wouldn't really make any sense. At least now, I understand why Tamago is so revered to sushi enthusiasts.
We finished dessert with a papaya jelly and mountain peach, a delicious sesame pudding with azuki served with bitter matcha, and after-dinner hojicha (roasted green tea). What was kinda funny is that when I saw the hojicha I thought "Man, hojicha?! That's some cheap stuff, and I'm paying baller prices, wtf!" But then it's not about how much you pay, right? Yeah. So I shut my yap and drank the tea. And then I drank more of it.
And it was over. I was kinda sad because I wanted to keep eating. I believe the bill came to $450 per person. Gilbert was worried so he brought cash in an envelope and Chef Hiro laughed when he saw that. "I like your style."
Well said, Chef Hiro. I like your style too.
As an avid Chowhound reader, I noticed that whenever sushi came up, the restaurant "Urasawa" would always pop up, with the caveat "if you can afford it." With at least $300 for the prix fixe (depending on the seasonal ingredients), it didn't come cheap. But I live my life as a value-oriented person, not as a bottom-line person, and with the general opinion that it is definitely worth it, I stashed a small amount of savings each month just so I could go.
On April 4th, I finally went, bringing along Daisuke and Gilbert with me.
Urasawa is located in Beverly Hills, right on the famous Rodeo Drive. Valet parking was $5. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by the classy surroundings driving, but the actual restaurant building seemed really... weird. It felt like I stepped into my office building, but behind one of the doors was a Michelin 2-star restaurant.
The venue itself was very simple--an L-shaped wooden sushi counter that probably sat about 11 total. For what it's worth, the counter seemed very nicely constructed, but I'm not a lumberjack nor a carpenter so my opinion isn't very qualified. Asked for drinks, they had complimentary green tea, $8 Evian/sparkling water, and a liquor menu that I didn't even bother to look at. I'm not paying that much for Evian, so complimentary green tea it was for me. Behind the counter you could see a basket filled with fresh wasabi root and some sort of Japanese citrus (not sure if it was Yuzu or something else). There was also this sexy piece of beef sitting on the counter, aging. I don't ever call beef sexy, but that beef was so sexy that it need to be said.
Chef Hiro came out in his cool Japanese chef clothing, ready to do battle and mix it up with his ingredients. Well, maybe not, but those authentic threads were pretty cool. He asked us our names and if he was allergic to anything. From then on, he'd address us by our names. Pretty cool service, and the one thing I really liked about Chef Hiro was just how down-to-earth he was. It's kind of comforting watching a master chef cut the sashimi so precisely and effortlessly, and then tell us how much he loves Chinese dimsum or that people grow up weird when they don't eat their mother's food. (He said that to Daisuke, who claimed that he did eat his mom's food. But I have to disagree about him being weird...)
We were served our first course, a Bluefin Toro roll with daikon and shiso and monkfish pate, and topped off with caviar. I've never had bluefin toro or caviar, so I already had this huge smile on my face--and it delivered a great start to this meal. Bluefin toro is indescribeably phenomenal. At best, I can compare it to when you eat good piece of maguro (tuna) nigiri, but with the good tasting part jacked up 100-fold and the texture being as smooth and slippery and just... pure.
The next course was Goma Tofu: Made from sesame seeds, and silken tofu stuffed with Uni, topped off with freshly grated wasabi and served in dashi. You know that scene in Ratatouille when the rat talks about the combination of flavors? That's exactly what I got here. All incredibly simple, but yet combined it produced this crazy delicious new flavor.
The sashimi was served to us on a hand-carved block of ice. I had taken a piece of the Toro from Spain and was ready to eat it when I heard "WAIT!" I looked up to see our waitress Yoshie and Chef Hiro tell me to smear wasabi on the piece of toro that I was eating. For some reason, that really impressed me. He's so damn good that he absolutely insists that you eat it the way he wants you to eat it to get the best flavor. It wasn't FO-style "GTFO-if-you-want-to-modify-the-burger" but more like a genuine care for his ingredients.
Of all the non-sushi courses, my favorite had to be the Hoba Yaki, which featured shrimp, Wagyu beef from Saga, and scallops, mixed in a Miso paste and served over hot coals on a Hoba leaf. The Miso paste had this really interesting sweetness to it that I really liked, and the proteins had that fatty (umami) taste that I normally like, and they matched perfectly, which I totally didn't expect.
After some other courses, including my first taste of truffles in a truffle risotto that made me think "That's it? A slight subtle earthy taste costs this much?!" it was time for sushi. It started with Chef Hiro taking out a fat piece of that Bluefin Toro. He explained, "This Toro is the best in Japan. If you were to get it there, it would cost $30 just for a bite." He also said, "After I make it, it tastes the best after 10 seconds. So you have to eat it really fast." Great sushi doesn't wait for us, I guess. But it was true. It was ridiculously good. Combined with the excellent rice, it felt like the most unfair food in the world. Nothing should taste that good. And then right after he gave us slightly seared Toro, which was a different texture but also unfair.
Watching Chef Hiro work at this time was mesmerizing. With surgical precision and exacting movements, he would slice each piece of fish, form each ball of rice, take a bit of the freshly grated wasabi, place exactly the amount of sauce needed, and shave a little bit of citrus zest on each piece before serving it to us. The crazy thing about it was that each piece of fish had that same smooth luscious texture. Nothing was chewy at all; NONE of it. Some of them had some crunch but there was no chew at all.
The standout cuts that I remember were the Aji (delicious stuff and probably the most flavorful of the sushi), the Uni (great texture, very creamy, NO fishiness at all), the Amaebi (the HUGEST amaebi I've ever seen), Shiitake Mushroom (really showcased the quality of his rice), and the Ika (a creamy texture unlike most Ika which is usually chewy).
The trademark Tamago, the end of the sushi course, was cooked more like a castella. And it was delicious. I wanted to ask for another one, but that wouldn't really make any sense. At least now, I understand why Tamago is so revered to sushi enthusiasts.
We finished dessert with a papaya jelly and mountain peach, a delicious sesame pudding with azuki served with bitter matcha, and after-dinner hojicha (roasted green tea). What was kinda funny is that when I saw the hojicha I thought "Man, hojicha?! That's some cheap stuff, and I'm paying baller prices, wtf!" But then it's not about how much you pay, right? Yeah. So I shut my yap and drank the tea. And then I drank more of it.
And it was over. I was kinda sad because I wanted to keep eating. I believe the bill came to $450 per person. Gilbert was worried so he brought cash in an envelope and Chef Hiro laughed when he saw that. "I like your style."
Well said, Chef Hiro. I like your style too.
