rufus wrote:
> PastaLover wrote:
>
>>>LAS VEGAS
>>>
>>>NOBU
>>
>>About the best I've had in LV.
>>
>>Had my first and so far last Kobe beef there. Also went wild one night
>>and spent nearly $300 just on myself. I let the chef do whatever and he
>>came through with a number of very tasty and tempting experiences. Too
>>much saki prevents me from remembering much more of the evening.
>>
>>Used to live there (10 years--for Vegas, that's a lifetime!) and saw a
>>lot of places come and go. There used to be a really good little place
>>on West Sahara. Been there since the 50's or early 60's, but the
>>founding couple retired and the daughter and her husband ended up
>>selling the place in the divorce.
>
>
> I remember a place at 1000 E Sahara that may have been called Ginza.
> It was just about the only place in town other than a Beni-Hana or
> Beni-Hana knock-off at the Hilton and an all you can eat place that I
> tried once. I had some very good sushi at Ginza. I remember being
> very impressed with their ama-ebi with the fried heads. Those were my
> early days of sushi-ing. Nobu is a world apart.
I forgot about Ginza. I think it was probably the first place I ever had
sushi--maybe 25-30 years ago. Haven't been back since and I don't
remember it being all that remarkable--but then I was a midwestern hick
that had never tried that sort of thing before, so I had a lot of
learning to do.
Ginza was about the only place in town for sushi at the time. Hamada on
E. Flamingo and maybe a place or two in various hotels on the Strip were
the only choices then. Now, there's a Starbucks on every street corner
and right next to each one there seems to be a sushi place.
>
>
>>The absolute best sushi I've ever had was:
>>
>>At my friend's house. As a birthday present to a dear friend, I fixed us
>>a 7-course Japanese dinner. I don't remember the whole menu, but I do
>>remember doing pork cutlets, buckwheat noodles, and a scattered sushi
>>bowl. My friend and his wife declared it as "better than any sushi
>>restaurant." A compliment I'm quite proud of, although I'm sure they
>>were talking about the effort and thought of the gift than the quality
>>of the food.
>>
>>I still fix myself some at home occasionally, but it seems to be harder
>>and harder to get good tuna! The stuff I've found here in Phoenix is
>>stringy and tough and quite pale. Maybe good enough for the grill, but
>>not what I'd want raw. Haven't seen a block of buttery deep red tuna in
>>ages.
>>
>>I usually do my homemade in the Chirashizushi style, or for just myself,
>>I'll omit the rice and just do tuna sashimi. With age, and some
>>digestive problems, I find the rice is more bother than it's worth.
>
>
> Love it! Yeah, the rice can be a pain. First of all, I MUST have an
> Asian rice cooker or I screw up the rice. To do it right you are
> supposed to wash the rice (rince it in water) until the water runs
> clear, which can take 10 tries. Thankfully, you can now buy liquid
> seasoned rice vinegar in the supermarket, which is easier than mixing
I've never seen this. At Asian markets or the regular ol' American
MegloMart?
> all of the ingredients (but not as good.) I can't compete with my
> favorite chefs (I probably don't have the correct short-grain sushi
> rice) but for a nice meal at home it is great.
>
> In some cities such as Boston and NYC you can go to a Japanese
> supermarket and get very good fish and other ingredients for sushi and
> sashime. On good days you can find fresh uni, toro, and most of the
> standards like frozen freshwater and sal****er eel, salmon, yellowtail,
> etc.
There's a couple very good Asian markets here in the Phoenix metroplex,
but every time I go, they never seem to have tuna. I used to find it in
frozen blocks at the same sorts of markets up in Las Vegas.
>
> I recentloy ordered fish from Catalina Offshore Products
> http://www.catalinaop.com/ and I was very impressed. They have various
> grades of toro, uni and several other items, plus they sell frozen
> freshwater eel at a good price. The toro was frozen, but it was
> excellent when thawed according to their directions, and the uni was
> fresh. I was very pleasantly surprised. Call them if you want to know
> about specials and unusual items.
I've seen this on the 'net, but haven't tried it yet. With your
recommendation, I may give it a go.
>
> I've also come to appreciate the easy route - shopping at Whole Foods
> and getting nori, fish (maguro primarily) and even their prepared
> sushi. It's not Nobu or Masa, but for supermarket sushi it is one of
> the best.
>
> Sushi On, my friend!
>
> -r.
Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or a local gourmet chain (AJ's Fine Foods) are
where I have been "making do" with the tuna since moving here. I've
never been a fan of supermarket sushi because it tends to sit around too
long and the rice gets weird.
Thanks for the great tips!