A Very Expensive Sushi Roll
04/22/2008 @ 12:00 pm
This post is not directly about Japan, but it is about sushi, so I think it just makes the cut.
Koi restaurant in New York City has added a very pricey sushi roll to their menu- the High Roller.
A chef brings the sushi roll to you table side, shaves white alba truffles and drizzles 100 year old balsamic vinegar on top of the roll.
The other high end ingredients include: Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Langoustine (a smaller version of a lobster) brushed with saffron/vanilla bean butter and finally, no expensive meal is complete until it is encrusted with cavier.
What will this “High Roller” cost you? $1000!! I say fly to Japan and get real sushi instead for that amount!
uhg. what an ostentatious mound of “hey look at what I can afford!”. you would have to pay me to eat it.
You’re right, fly to Japan and eat the real for that much.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:27 pmI must say, I liked Sushi in the US much better than in Japan. Japanese chefs are able to have free licence to use their creativity in the US. In Japan all the sushi is pretty plain and all looks the same where every you go. My favorite roll in Huntington Beach, California was a Chicago roll, which has no rise at all; it’s fish wrapped around more fish.
I also miss the Miyagi Roll, at Miyagi’s on Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Its a roll without rice as well. It is fish with a cucumber wrapped around it. I can’t remember all the ingredients. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sushi in the US. But I’m going back this July, so I’m going to live it up.
All the talk about, is it authentic Japanese food? is a waist of time. There is no such thing as authentic any food; all food changes over time and all food came from people from other places bringing in new ideas and adapting them. In fact, sushi first came to Japan from Korea many millennial ago.
And since Gyoza and romen are from China, what does that leave for authentic Japanese?
My philosophy is “If it taste good it is good!”
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 pmMy local japanese steak house has an awesome sushi chef. He’ll make anything you want in any configuration. He also has a long list of ‘daily specials’ in which he gets quite creative with the presentation. One visit last month I just said ‘make whatever you like’ and so I got 4 different servings in ways I’ve never seen before. He really liked the opportunity to be creative it seemed, and of course the results were delicious. One of his specials is to serve up the sushi creation on top of a single Pringle’s chip (barbecue flavored). Delicious!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 pmtimharada.com- I am not against creativity but c’mon, the only thing missing on this is sprinkles of gold leaf and a swarvoski crystal chopsticks. The flying to Japan comment is about the price of the roll, not it’s authenticity.
I am in full support of your decision to live by your “tastes good = is good” philosophy and often live by it as well. So why is it that when ever someone expresses their desire to experience food that is more traditional to Japan so many are ready to jump up and point out what a stupid, wrong headed idea it is? I’m not trying to deny you your Miyagi roll, why would you deny my desire to explore the culinary history that made it possible?
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 amI’ve seen some very creative sushi in Japan. Since most chefs also own the restaurant, they can do whatever they like.
Creativity in America tends to leans towards overkill, like in the picture above. “Fish wrapped around more fish” sounds the same. How can you taste either?
The reason I prefer Japanese sushi is the emphasis on freshness and taste. Most Americans are so overfed, they have forgotten how to taste food.
Well, that’s my two cents!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 am