I have many stories about Jiro Sukibashi, I have been going there for thirty years. The last time I visited him, it was before he was awarded his stars. My wife and I invited a serious foodie, a librarian at the Atomic institute of Japan. She lives to eat, she is disciplined and knowledgeable. He charged JPY-160,000 for three people, and the meal was very nice but an over priced “nigiri” for what it was.

The photo above is not Jiro’s sushi, it is a small 7 seat counter sushi bar in central Tokyo.

In sushi; the size of the cut, and the marriage between the rice’s size and the fish’s size distinguishes the style and taste. This is integral. Of course, the rice quality, and taste, cooking technique and finally the quality of the fish goes without saying.

So what is about Jiro that makes him so renowned; the answer is simple; publicity, a movie and the support of Michelin’s most powerful. They needed a grandfather, a figure to launch the Michelin. He was the closest to one of the most renowned, and important French chefs. Not to mention, Michelin is French, and there is no other cuisine in general that has influenced Japan’s everyday life more than any other cuisine.

When it comes to sushi, there are certainly plenty of options, less popular sushi counters, and maybe even more expensive. But when you are charged more than 40,000/person you are being “ripped off” unless you drink too much, and ask for seconds which is impolite given that sushi is portioned.

So why did those very sushi obscure sushi counters not make the Michelin’s list? The answer is because a Japanese chef permits no foreigners without an introduction and accompaniment by the client. At one time Jiro san was very strict and didn’t permit any foreigner to just walk in. He actually could become irate and throw them out. But these days, it doesn’t matter, at least to a Michelin star owner. The day you become Michelin, is the day you no longer make all the rules. The rules are Michelin rules, if you dare to change them, a letter, or letters to Michelin can cost you a star or worse. Sushi Araki once a 3 star disappeared from the list totally.

Foreigners are still in search of filling and fulling their Michelin dreams, but to eat what, if you have no proper and legitimate reference. For many foreigners Nobu is their reference. No disrespect intended, because he has changed Japanese food the same way Parker changed French wines. But eating sushi is much more than just an exercise of filling your tank, moreover, it is an exercise of understanding, respect, tradition, culture, technique. Most of all, fulfillment and interaction between nature and man, a convergence and balance at the hand and imagination of a chef’s individual talent and that connection and dedication of his customers.

If you are keen to try an alternate to Jiro, I suggest Hasaguchi san, a one star Michelin. His wife is very elegant and he has very good fish and good skill. I used to frequent his sushi counter when he had six seats in a tiny space, and of course no star. I still wonder why he joined Michelin but everyone gets tempted when relying on Japanese salary man to survive. Life is becoming so trendy in Japan that you do whatever you need to do, in order to survive.

I accepted the invitation almost immediately, then spent the following days nervous about whether I would end up being yet another visitor on the boat that vomits for 15 hours straight.  John dealt with a whole lotta anxious questions about how the day would unfold.

That look says, “I don’t understand what you are talking about, but I can already tell from the tone of your voice that I’m not going to like what you do in our kitchen when you get home.”

You might remember the Hard Four crew from last year when they saved me the head and collar from a 45 pound yellowfin.  Some of the stories from the boat, like the tournament last summer where they landed over 300 pounds of Bigeye tuna, are like food Cialis for me.  My excitement to see it all firsthand greatly outweighed the sea sickness fears.

The day started at 3:40 in the morning after a delirious night of sleep due to some questionable raw oysters.  The crew for the day was Frank, John, Colman (photographer of the tuna shot from last year), Captain Mike (or “Zoo”), Frank’s father-in-law Big Rich, and Whitney, Frank’s brother-in-law.  Solid crew.  Once on the boat,  all of us except Zoo passed out for the 3+ hour trip to Hudson Canyon, some (including myself) aided by a solid dose of Dramamine.

Once we arrived at the fishing grounds, we got out of the PFDs and waterproof suits we wore for the wet ride out and got ready to do some fishing.  Generally I just tried to stay out of the way at this point since I had no idea how anything worked.  After Frank, John, Colman, and Zoo moved around for 10-15 minutes we had eight lines spread out along the two outriggers and a couple teaser lines in the water.  Lots of high-fiving and general excitement for the day of fishing ensued.

Johnny and Me.  This was taken later in the day, but that was a lot of words in a row and a lot more to come.  Here’s a little thing: I was borderline unable to pee on the boat due to an inability to keep my balance and general stage fright.  I am still disappointed in myself for this

Within 10 minutes of getting the lines out, the distinct sound of line flying out of a reel filled our ears and Colman dropped the rod into his fighting belt.  We let the line run out for 20-30 seconds to see if any other fish in the school bit, but eventually pulled all other lines in to let Colman reel in the fish.

In apparently typical fashion, Colman told us that the fish on the line “felt small” and was “likely a skipjack”.  Eventually what looked like a keg with yellow tips came up off the port side, Frank gaffed it right behind the gills, and we were officially on the board.  Let’s just say that the feeling for me was like seeing Christie Brinkley in Vacation for the first time when I was 9.

A beauty of a Yellowfin.  Doesn’t do the size any justice but that was a large fish box.  Look at me using proper angling terms!

And then…. not much.  We had an awesome day of catching up with friends new and old, eating a ton of homemade deli sandwiches, listening to music and waiting for the lines to run out.  But, we didn’t see much action in the following 4-5 hours and headed back with just that one beautiful fish that made it all worthwhile.

I don’t think I had any understanding of how large the yellowfin was until we returned to LBI, I picked it up, and struggled mightily with its weight.

I think this picture was taken while I was taking a breath or something.  I was incredibly strained the whole time I held the fish and look way too relaxed in this foto

The yellowfin weighed over 60 pounds and generally looked like the most wonderful thing I had ever seen.  I had no business holding it since I had no part in reeling it in, but I still did everything short of a Tawny Kitaen on the hood of a Jaguar photo shoot with that fish.

Johnny on the left, Frank in the center.  They may never get how much this trip meant to me, and I may never understand why it meant so much to me.  I just love having a part in getting my own food, especially when it’s delicious.  Also, I have a double chin all the way up to my ears.  That can’t be healthy, right?

After a few more rounds of photo shoots with various combinations of people, Zoo got started cutting the loins out of the fish.  It was pretty impressive to watch and a reminder of what a perfect food tuna is with how much of it is edible.

It was extremely impressive how quickly Zoo took this thing apart.  Zoo was also a good reminder that I wish I had better nicknames.  He earned his due to some child modeling when he was younger and the 2000 Ben Stiller film Zoolander, but it’s also a good fishing captain nickname

The size of the slabs of meat coming off had me salivating, but of course I was also pretty excited for the stuff that was leftover.

Ridiculous looking meat coming off that fish

Zoo was nice enough to leave the organs all intact on the tuna since they are mostly contained within the area inside the collar.  I asked around to make sure no one else was hoping to take home the body.  Much to my surprise there wasn’t a ton of interest, so, lucky me.

That’s the stomach hanging out of the head area.  It’s never good when you are excited for a food that dogs sniff at then slowly back away from without sampling

After wrapping the body in a few layers of trash bags with the help of Big Rich, I gave the requisite hugs and handshakes all around, grabbed a share of the loin meat, and headed to the car.  The body rode in the front with Kristi (she was extremely excited about this) while Janet rode in the back with her fishy smelling father.

Once back at our Beach Haven house, I took a quick shower then brought the tuna into the kitchen.

Big Rich helped me avoid disaster the first time I bagged this and forgot that the tuna’s razor sharp teeth would make short work of a trashbag. Fell right out onto the dock and almost into the water when I confidently lifted the bag to leave. Definitely one of the stupider moments in a long line of stupid moments on this blog

After laying down newspaper on the counter topped with plastic cutting boards and breaking out a cleaver and rubber mallet, I called in Marshall and Michael (at our house for the night) to take a look.  While they mobilized I pulled the body out of the bag and the scene they walked in on can only be described as crime scene-esque.

Didn’t take into account how much blood would be in the bag. Can’t beat the joke Marshall made when he showed me the photo and simply said, “Peter cooking”

First step was to remove all of the meat from between the ribs, the backstrap, and the belly strip and chop them all up to make a tuna tartare.  Then, I planned to separate the spine from the head and remove the majority of the organs to either throw away with the bones/tail or store them overnight in the fridge with the head.

There was a remarkable amount of tender delicious meat hiding in the nooks and crannies of the body.

From my experience salt baking fish, I’ve discovered that the meat between the ribs is often some of the best but the biggest pain to collect.  Most of the rib meat was easy to scoop out and the back/belly strips came off in long pieces.  Just awesome

After 10 minutes of mining I had over a pound of perfect looking meat.  I chopped the tuna coarsely and mixed it in a bowl with toasted sesame oil, siracha, ginger, salt, and a diced homemade pickle that was part of a batch we brought down from Boston.  The bowl headed into the fridge to cool down (the tuna was still warm, yikes) and for the the flavors to come together a bit.

While that rested, I got to work on mining the organs from the head.

Thanks to Marsh for the gigantic Mount Gay and tonic that kept me company through this process.  This shot is important to make clear that I am not insane for my love of tuna heads. Look at all the meat on that collar!

After removing the stomach Mooman insisted on emptying its contents and found what looked like a pound of whole squid.  Not edible since it had been sitting in stomach acid, but pretty crazy to see.  Threw away all that and the other unidentifiable organs but gave the heart and liver a thorough cleaning and bagged them for revisiting the following day.

The liver was a lot firmer than any other liver I had handled before, as was the heart.  Both are quite good when marinated and grilled, though I recognize I am going to have to sell them a hell of a lot better than that to get my friends to eat them after seeing this post

After wrapping up the head and getting everything in the fridge I was ready to serve the tartare.  Went with the simple route of serving with tortilla chips though I think it would have been even better with those addictive black rice crackers they have at Whole Foods.

This was a good-sized ceramic bowl and it represented about half of the tartare.  Lot of meat on that body. It didn’t stand a chance though, the six of us took the whole pile down within fifteen minutes.  Not the best fotos in this post but our LBI house has the lighting of a morgue in a horror film

The tartare was awesome with the ginger, hot sauce, sesame oil, and pickle adding good contrasting but not overwhelming flavor to the buttery, rich tuna meat.  It was so good.

With another cocktail on the deck we all headed to bed and I looked forward to dealing with the remainder of the butchery the following day.  Using a combination of the cleaver and a rubber mallet, I was planning to remove the collar from the head (without losing any fingers), then remove the gills from inside the head.  This post is abysmally long at this point, so I will cut to late in the grisly carnage.

Knew this was going to get messy due to the amount of blood in the gills so I lined the counter with pizza boxes this time around.  This looks awful but it barely competes for top ten worst fotos on this blog and there is at least some positive stuff going on here

The mallet and cleaver were so crucial as a pair this time around.  Instead of having to take big inaccurate hacks to get through tough spots, you can place the cleaver and then hammer it through.  Much better for my poor level of hand-eye coordination.

I disposed of the gills before rinsing the head and collars in the sink and separating the collar pieces along the jaw line.  Which yielded this:

So much friggin’ meat on those collars, like the tomahawk ribeye of the tuna.  One of the best grilling pieces of fish I have ever come across

The loins run from the nose to the tail, and unlike the tail that is filled with sinew and tendons, the head meat is delicious and tender.  Can’t wait to roast this whole thing

And thats it.  Future weeks will detail the meals I created with all of this meat.  They will also be much shorter posts.

Thanks again to Frank and John and the whole Hard Four crew for an experience that has had me glowing and stuffed ever since.  Just an incredible weekend.

Definitely more to come on all of this.

Wine Tasted:

Korbel N.V. Brut

Paired With:

Tuna Sashimi on Rice with Seaweed Salad and Miso Soup

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Maguro- Yellow Fin Tuna- Also known by it’s Hawaiian name Ahi, Maguro is distiguished at first by it’s brilliant ruby red color.  The most enjoyed fish in the sushi world, Maguro has a very delicate and cool flavor which makes it ideal for the beginning sushi diner and great for improvising in funky rolls.

You Enjoy Myself-  As Phish songs go, You Enjoy Myself (YEM) is one of the longest and best loved; YEM appeared on their debut album, Junta and has been an easily recognized classic as it begins with Trey and Mike arpeggiating with each other plunging the listener into a liquid masterpiece.  I could write an entire master’s thesis on this song, but I must say, like Maguro, YEM leaves plenty of room for improvisation or is a cool aural treat on its own.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

Hamachi- Yellowtail Jack- Hamachi’s higher fat content is first apparent with the rich, creamy flavor.  Hamachi also has  a distinct firm texture and has a tendency to resist marination as its high oil content keep the silky white flesh from being penetrated by sauces.

Fluffhead- Fluffhead also appeared on Junta.  Much like Hamachi, Fluffhead is clever with a sweet aftertaste.  Fluffhead is a bit more structured as it bookends the screaming solos with Trey’s unmistakable and sardonic lyrics.  Originally clocking in at a mere 3 minutes and 24 seconds; the boys will usually stretch Fluffhead to fifteen crunchy minutes these days.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

Shake- Salmon- Shake can be a bit of a surprise as the flavor can vary from mild to strong and the appearance ranges pure bright orange to a lighter shade marbled with white layers of fat.  Like Hamachi, Shake has a high oil content which allows it’s flavor to stand up to and compliment its accompaniments.  Shake has a cool soothing texture.

Punch You in The Eye- Punch You In The Eye (PYITE) is an important story in the Phish universe sourced from the legendary Gamehenge.  The song features a high groove content with elements of anthemic rock and bossa nova.  PYITE has enjoyed a modern resurgence since the Phish hiatus ended and gets the entire crowd involved.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

Shiromi- White Fish- Shiromi means white fish in Japanese.  When found on a sushi menu Shiromi usually features a seasonal fish like halibut or flounder.  In any case, Shiromi is notable for its soft texture; translucent white color; and light, slightly sweet flavor.  Shiromi is very pleasing when consumed on it’s own.

Slave To The Traffic Light- Slave (As it is shortened by Phish faithful)  is a song of few lyrics, but mighty emotion.  It blends funky reggae and  soft tones before culminating with a majestic finish.  Merely 18 words comprise the song but Slave is among the most powerful in the Phish catalog.  We highly recommend you  CHECK IT OUT HERE

Tako- Octopus – Tako is one of the more intimidating delights in the pantheon of sushi for its grotesque appearence and chewy.  Tako is typically boiled but, is sliced very thin and served raw in sashimi.  Tako features delicate and sweet flavors which, like shiromi make it ideal for eating by itself or with mild sauces.  Do not be scurred, if you’ve made it this far in your sushi career you will do just fine with Tako (Live Uni is even scarier).

Harry Hood- Harry Hood is also intimidating at first. Beginning with a dark and mysterious Reggae-core swing until exploding with crunchy flavor ( I constantly have to explain that crunchy in music is more about flavor than texture).  The songs origins date back to the mid 1980′s andwas inspired by the mascot of a northeastern dairy.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

Special Thanks to Dennis for his fish insight and Max for his Phish insight.  May your fish be raw and your tunes be crunchy.

Before getting out he reached into the back seat for dozen roses. Outside, he wore a façade of coolness, but inside, he was shaking like a leaf on a breezy day.

He knocked on the front door. She answered quickly. Before saying anything, he presented the flowers to her. “Roses,” she exclaimed as she took the bouquet, “you shouldn’t have.”

He took in her full length denim skirt and flattering blouse. “You look lovely, Danielle.”

“Thank you. You clean up nice, yourself.”

He had actually had time to change. He wore loose black silk pants with a matching jacket, with the sleeves rolled up. The tee-shirt underneath was also a silken white knit, crew neck, that was not tight, but not overly large either. The jacket and the pants were a slouchy, casual, but neat style. “Are you ready?”

“Let me get these in a vase first.” She turned.

He stepped inside. Watching her, he could not help but notice the little changes that were made, like the new carpet that was damaged by her burning pictures of Andrew. And by his blood. She brought the vase filled with the red blooms into the living room and set them on the bar. She adjusted them into a final happy arrangement and turned to her date.

“Shall we?” she asked.

“We shall.” He offered the crook of his arm to her. She took it and they strolled out the door.

He drove her to his favorite sushi bar. They fed each other sushi and sashimi and sipped plum sake. He enjoyed watching her. Her eyes danced with relaxed delight. Her laughter tickled his ears.

“What types of cases are you working on now?” she asked.

“I can’t speak to anything specifically, but the biggest one is that I’m still helping to trace the Syber network. I’ve got a good start, but with Balko dead, it’s been harder to follow.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“There has to be another source that is feeding the American market. It could be coming in from Europe, maybe via Mexico. The black market here is blossoming.” He paused to take a final sip of the sake in his glass. She poured some more for him as he continued, “Before Balko was murdered, he cleaned out his office and wiped the files on the DRC system. He took equipment and chemicals for manufacturing Syber, but we have not been able to locate the stolen equipment.”

She shook her head. “Wow. I didn’t know that.”

“I’d still like to find Aryc Colvin as well.”

“I haven’t heard from him.”

“I didn’t think you would have.” He rubbed his temples. He did not like that she had brought up his work. It only reminded him that parts of the whole case were still active enough for their relationship to be suspect. “I just wish I could get assigned to a special task force, but they’d rather keep me around the locals.”

She reached across the table and touched his harm. He lowered his hands and took hers into his. “You’re doing a fine job, it sounds like, Kenny.”

He smiled at her, squeezed her hand, but his ears picked up on something else at the table next to them. He made a subtle indication to her to be quiet for a moment. He focused on the low voices.

“Cybernetics is an amazing field.”

“Yes. How much are you making?”

“I average about a hundred a day.”

“Wonderful.”

Kenny turned his head, as if he were searching for the waiter. But his vision caught the exchange of a vial of Syber and money. Kenny reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his badge. He swung around to the table.

“Pardon me, gentlemen, but you’re under arrest.” He flashed his badge. The seller started to reach inside his waistband. Kenny pulled out his off-duty piece from the holster on the small of his back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Put your hands on your head and everything will be just fine.”

The pair complied.

Kenny paged the dispatcher, who radioed the nearest patrol officers. Kenny read the pair their rights.

Danielle stayed in her seat. She finished her sake. She watched Kenny get their names and addresses. The patrol car arrived. The suspects were handcuffed and lead outside.
Kenny returned to his date. “I’m so sorry, Danielle.”

“It’s okay. Even when you are off the clock, you are on. I understand.”

“You are one in a million, Dani.”

She blushed.

He signaled for the check. “You understand that we have to cut this night short, or at least put it on hold.”

“I do. I’ll come with you.” She stroked his forearm with a single finger. “After all, I saw and heard it, too. You may need my statement.”

“Of course.” The waiter handed him the check. “How much was the bill at the table I had to arrest?”

He told him, and Kenny added the amount in his head, figuring in a more than standard tip. He handed the waiter cash. “This should cover everything. Keep the change.”

“Thank you very much, officer. Your next date is on the house, sir.”

Read more.

This food is strikingly colorful naturally…
Too bad I had not the island light. It was dark at dinner time.

It’s a Tahitian salad.
…coconut cream, more shreds of coconut…

Read more.

This food is strikingly colorful naturally…
Too bad I had not the island light. It was dark at dinner time.

It’s a Tahitian salad.

Take some sashimi grade fish and seafood, cut in cubes. I had a mix, bonito, tai, yellow tail, calamari, octopus.
Sprinkle a little lemon or lime juice on it.
Cover with veggies.

Dices of cucumber, triangles of red paprika pepper, onion, shreds of carrot… Tomato would be nice, I had none.
Salt and pepper.
Cover with a sauce of 1/4 lemon juice, 3/4 coconut milk. My coconut milk is canned, I add a few shreds of dry coconut for more taste. Mix well.
Let one hour in the fridge.

Top with green onion…

…coconut cream, more shreds of coconut…

… fresh ginger.

Enjoy !

So wie es bei glühenden Islamlover und Tâziparast üblich ist, mag dieser übergewichtiger Muhammad gerne Menschen in wenige Kategorien einteilen, schreibt der Gruppe die er unterstützt die besten Eigenschaften zu, und den Gruppen die er nicht wohlgesonnen ist die schlechtesten. Im Kommentarfeld des Artikels habe ich beanstandet dass Zahra Rahnavard die Ideale Khomeinis unterstützt, und dass Karoubi/Mousavi die Forderung nach einer iranischen Republik als die von Extremisten verunglimpft hätten, daher wäre es nicht statthaft, die Menschen die diesen Personen gegenüber kritisch stehen, gleich als terroristische Mojahedin oder Neocons die sich einen Krieg gegen Iran herbeisehnen zu diffamieren. Da musste dann gleich sein Kollege “Ali” ihm zur Seite springen und verlauten dass Tangsir am mindestens 25% der iranischen Bevölkerung, ohne Gerichtsverhandlung gegen die Wand stellen und erschiessen würde. Ausserdem wären ich und meinesgleichen wie “Ansare Hezbollah, Savak, and KKK combined.”

Unser feiner L.A-Muhammad fand das wunderprächtig und schrieb daraufhin:

“Thank you. I could not have said it better.”

Wollen wir uns aber anschauen was der feine Allahist noch so geschrieben hat. Auf Huffington Post ruft er dazu auf Shirin Ebadi zu unterstützen, und in einem weiteren Artikel ist er besonders darüber enttäuscht dass Barack Obama immer wieder klar stellt dass er Christ ist und nie Moslem gewesen ist. Dieser korpulente Antiiraner geht aber weiter und behauptet dass Muhammad S.B.U.H sich für Frieden mit Juden und Christen eingesetzt hätte und besitzt die Dreistigkeit dies auch noch mit einer Koransure zu belegen. Dass der Brunnenvergifter Muhammad S.B.U.H in Medina, Juden, Christen und alle Nichtmoslems zu Feinden erklärte die man töten soll, erwähnt er freundlicherweise nicht. Genauso wenig die Tatsache die unter Moslems unumstritten ist: Die medineschen Verse setzen die mekanischen ausser Kraft. Und als ob es der islamischen Taqiyya nicht genug gewesen wäre erklärt er Voltaire, “nach seiner antiislamischen Anfangszeit” zum glühenden “Verehrer des islamischen Propheten Mohamed S.B.U.H.”. Die Lügereien dieses feisten, schnauzbärtigen Mohammedanisten gehen im Artikel weiter wie ihr euch alle denken könnt. Eins sollte uns aber klar sein: Es sind genauso diese Kreaturen die schon seit 1400 Jahren die Feinde der iranischen Nation gewesen sind, und es auch in einem freien säkularen Iran weiterhin sein werden.

Fish and grapefruit carpaccio (olive oil, grapefruit juice, pink pepper, chervil)

Chicken filets chaud-froid (covered with white sauce from stock, flour, a little cream, kirsch, herbs, plus gelly with chervil)

Carrots (steamed, with tangerine juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander seed)
Cauliflower (steamed refried with a little blue cheese)
Potatoe and mushroom gratin (with light cream)

I didn’t count the calories, fish and chicken are for 4 persons on the photo. And veggies are 1 serving, but people took 2 to 4 servings.