I have to say that this group has done a lot to stimulate my curiosity
and expand my 'sushi' experience. That said, we went out again to our
favorite/only sushi bar/restaurant in our area, the Ichibon in Bangor,
Maine. They had Toro for $6.50 on the specials board along with Giant
Clam. I had the Toro sashimi which was served on shredded daikon with a
large leaf of green shiso as the backdrop to about 6 2"x1"x1/4" slices
fanned out and standing vertical. It melted in my mouth. Not sure if the
shiso was just garnish, but people should be careful what they put on my
plate because I ate it all. The toro had the look of corned beef.

Then, after drawing a blank on the menu, I asked my waitress if they had
anything with nattou. She wasn't sure so went up to the bar and asked
the itamae. I heard them very well from my seat as he asked her if I
ever had it before to which she responded that I hadn't, but that I
wasn't afraid to try it. She came back with a maki which seemed to have
been split open and a small piece of folded shiso inserted into the
split. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get a fix on the flavor of the
nattou and next time will ask for some straight. The shiso, while I have
grown fond of it in my three contacts with it was a predominant flavor.
I think I smelled the nattou as it was set on the table.

Wanting something else, I remembered the Giant Clam, but by that time it
wasn't available anymore, so I settled on some maguro and saba nigiri. I
wanted to compare the saba with the shime saba that I prepared last
month. There's was good, but not as good as mine. Humility doesn't allow
me to discount freshness and mine was less than 24 hours out of the
Atlantic.

$55 bucks later and I would do it all again if I could actually afford
it. Oh, but what a wonderful habit to have.

George
--
The First Nation people call him "Walking Eagle" because he's so full of
shit he can't fly anymore.