Page 15 - Boca Club News - May '22

Boca Club News, Page 15
Dining Out: Do You Know Your Sushi?

Here’s A Way To Find Out!

By Alan Serinsky of Bocaire It was that way for me until my son-in-law, who believes sashimi piece of Bluefin Tuna perched on black rice; Ebi
Country Club. Hungry Al’s love he’s Japanese with a Jewish name, asked me to join him at an Tempura, fresh prawns dipped in a crispy tempura batter;
for food started very young. Never Omakase restaurant for what he considered to be the perfect Buri Daikon, a simmered dish featuring yellowtail, sweet
satisfied with his Mom’s dishes, he Bento Box. daikon radish in soy-infused broth; Chu Toro, expensive cut
started to cook his way through For those who have never heard of the word Omakase, it of medium fatty Bluefin Tuna on black rice; Wagyu Toro, you
her “Betty Crocker Cookbook.” literally means, “leave it up to you.” That translates to giving got it…this is the hard-to-find premium Bluefin Tuna of high
During the years to follow he a very experienced sushi chef (Itamae) approval to use his full fat content; and Uni, this is a world-class delicacy of sea urchin
spent many hours working in discretion on what to serve. Here in the U.S. it has taken on a roe and of limit availability.
restaurants, both as server and cook, attending cooking classes secondary meaning of an extended sushi dinner, often eaten at the Your Local Omakase Destinations: Of course, I don’t
and traveling the world in an effort to expand his palette. sushi counter, with the chef preparing one piece of high-quality expect all of you to travel to Fort Lauderdale to have such an
As a professional writer, Hungry Al offers his perspective fish at a time using a very artistic and theatrical method. experience. So taking into consideration the current cost of gas,
on current food trends and guides you through your local The Experience: I recommend that, if you ever desire parking fee, and added drive time, you might want to consider
restaurant options. to participate in this method of dining, I would come with a some more local options for a few less Yen.
strong appetite along with an increase to your credit card limit.
TAKATO/OKU Usually, an Omakase is limited to an average of eight to ten Sunset Sushi Sushigo
Conrad Beach Hotel diners. There is an average of 20 courses, and set your watch 477 North Federal Hwy 2433 North Federal Hwy
551 N Fort Lauderdale Beach to about three hours. Boca Raton, FL 33431 Boca Raton, FL 33431
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33304 Our first course started outside the locked doors of Oku, (561) 347-7888 (561) 927-6029
(954) 414-5180 an exclusive sushi bar separated from the main dining room at
www.takatorestaurant.com Takato. Our special escort happily delivered a tequila Mai Tai Check Please: Obviously, this is not your weekly sushi
for us to sip as we waited for our other six sushi participants. outing. But for a special occasion, a special treat, or you
Food For Thought: My first memories of eating sushi There was an informal meet and greet as we took our want to upgrade your sushi palette without a trip to Japan, I
date back three decades ago. If my recollection is correct, there positions at the sushi counter and filled our glasses with sake. recommend this experience–with an asterisk *.
wasn’t even one sushi restaurant in Boca (hard to believe). I Then the curtains went up and the show started. For the next * As you know, everything good comes with a price.
actually drove to Coral Springs where the only sushi restaurant three hours, two master sushi chefs performed their artistry The bill for two of us without the premium Sake, including
existed, and most of the way I complained why I thought with the knives that would make a Shogun jealous. The fish tip and taxes, totaled $680. Fortunately, Hungry Al never
eating raw fish seemed very unappetizing. I was such a novice dishes seemed to fly off the hook nonstop with a methodical complains about cost when it comes to quality of company
I thought a California Roll was a surfing term. After struggling preparation that would win any skilled Itamae an Iron Chef or food. Spending three wonderful hours with my son-in-law,
through the meal, I confess I was never going to eat sushi again. trophy. enjoying what he loves is
Boy, was I wrong! The Omakase Courses: With 22 courses, it would be enough to make me feel
Then, as they say…you have to acquire a taste for sushi. overwhelming to explain each dish we consumed. So, in an like an emperor. How can
So, my next visit a year later was Sushi Ray, the first of many effort of brevity, allow me to give you the highlights. Our first I not award Oku five golden pieces of sushi?
sushi restaurants to open its doors in Boca Raton. Fortunately, course was actually presented in a Bento Box. It contained fresh *****
this trip I fared much better. Having dropped the “fear factor” Bluefin Tuna, Urchin topped with gold leaf, sliced Octopus (Editor’s Note: As Editor of Boca Club News, after reading
this time around, I allowed myself to indulge in the flavors and with edible Shio flowers, and Amberjack topped with fresh the above and noting the clearly wonderful, sharing
textures of this Japanese cuisine. black truffle. relationship this writer has with his
Like most of our choices in cuisine and restaurants, we Here’s what followed: son-in-law, I am assigning my own
become complacent in our experiences. What we determine Chawanmushi, a Japanese savory egg custard bottomed award of four golden after-dinner
to be the “best” sushi in the neighborhood is only governed by with sliced snapper; Madai, one of the most prized fish at the Cuban cigars to our columnist Alan Serinsky.—NAS)
our personal taste buds and our understanding of the norm. sushi bar, often called red sea bream; Maguro, a beautiful

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