Yummy sushi...

After an exceptionally bad day at work last week, Zack and I went to Hideki-san's for dinner. We love having sushi there. Hideki-san's is not the real name of the restaurant. I'm not going to reveal it here - it's a secret. If we decide that we really like you, we may take you there or even tell you its real name. Not that this is a high traffic blog or anything, but the place is *tiny*. Like, eight people at the bar, and two tables of four, literally. The entire readership of this blog would pack the place. You can't even see it from the street. There's no visible sign, merely a small wooden plaque visible only to pedestrians that indicates its presence - and you have to climb an extremely steep level of stairs to a second floor where it located. Hideki does not serve parties larger than four, he does not take reservations and he does not do take out. This may seem like Hideki is curmudgeonly and crotchety. Perhaps he is outside of his restaurant, but not behind his sushi bar. Hideki takes genuine pleasure in serving his customer. He confided to us last week that for him, being a sushi chef was like jazz... you need all this training, but you have to be adaptable and figure out what your audience likes, and what will please. He's taught us quite a bit about sushi... anago, ebi and kohada were the "original" sushi, and that tamago is traditionally ordered at the end of a meal (it's sweet). He told us that in his opinion, tamago can make or break a sushi chef. A chef that can make a good tamago can also cook, he explained, since a sushi chef usually limited to his board, the rice cooker and a toaster. Most tamagos nowadays are premade, but even though he doesn't serve many cooked things on his menu (no noodles or tempura and teriyaki bentos here), he makes his own, which is excellent. He always serves the freshest fish, and usually has some unique things that other bars don't serve. Last week, it was pen shell scallops. Watching him work with his blade is really entrancing - his expertise is that calming. He doesn't usually serve the wacked-out crazy rolls that have become so popular nowadays, but he does have the best spicy tuna roll ever (he chops jalapeno into his) and his california rolls has real crab legs, not the fake stuff and not the salad. He also told us (with a wink) that when he drinks sake, he doesn't eat sushi, only sashimi. "I'm getting my rice in the cup," he grinned mischieviously. We catch up on family, we talk about music (he loves Queen and Ella Fitzgerald), and he dispenses a little sage advice. He enjoys a slow pace so that he's able to devote himself totally to a few select customers. I've been there when it's busy, and he gets really stressed out. Once, a boy sitting next to me ate an entire combo plate of sushi, and followed it up with an entire combo plate of sashimi. These were the kinds of plates usually shared by four people. "I'm going to run out of fish," he said worriedly. Luckily, the boy was satiated and it was towards the end of the night anyway. He also keeps a little treats hidden for a select few that are not listed on the menu. For my birthday, he served me a special salad of halibut cured in kelp with shredded lemon peel, and once, he gave us some tuna caught by a customer that he smoked himself. Though toro is not usually listed on his board, I always make a point of asking for it, because I know he often keeps a personal stash for himself. I also know that he ferments his own plum and cherry wines, but he's not supposed to serve them. They won't be ready for a few months, but when they are, we'll be there.