On 2007-03-20 08:07:06 -0700, Dan Logcher said:

Right you are!

You're mis-quoting. This was barry's reply, not mine.

Yeah, I was responding to various parts of the dialogue as it unrolled.

...but it does seem somewhat odd that
something like saba doesn't move well. then again, i don't care for
saba except when i order batera made osaka style.

I've heard most marginal sushi joints tell me that "experts like me"
like saba but most "Americans" don't like it. Too strong. Hirame? Too
mild. In any case this is the constant mantra of tourist joints.

Saba is such a regular item at most all sushi bars in the Boston area,
so when I don't see it that means something is not right about the place.
If they tell me most people don't order it, to me it means they cater to
the lowest common denominator.

Precisely so. But then, Dallas isn't Boston, for instance. It's true
that it is a rarity that I find a place saba--so much so that if I
don't find it, it is a real attention-grabber. On the other hand at
the packed-to-the-gills places, say, in Huntington Beach I can be sure
it's going to be mediocre.

But to me, that says they don't draw the type of people that will
eat the item I eat. In my opinion, this means the place is less
than satisfactory in quality and selection. My insticts are usually
correct.

That's my take: if their clientele doesn't like saba (read neophyte
gringos that like rolls rolls rolls drenched in wasabi) we are not the
same clientele. I'll never get a surprise, I'll only get fair fish,
little if any toro or uni and so forth.

Yeah, that's how I feel. The only thing worse than no saba is way
over marinated saba. Its such a let down when I take a bit and have
to chew like crazy, suffering the strong vinegar taste.

Saba is the best test I have for many things in sushi bars.

That's how I feel. I eat tamago when it comes with a moriawase,
but I don't order it by itself. It may be a good test of a chef,
but its less interesting than a good piece of saba.

I only wish chefs around here would prepare their own kohada.

I just wish they had it more frequently. Or sayori. Only twice in
these parts with that. But as I say elsewhere, I'm no longer using a
drift net trying to try every last joint in the county.
--
///---