Sinbad

I'll subscribe to that advise. One great way to learn about wine is to actually visit the regions. Many wine regions are great tourist destinations in themself and to combine it with some wine touring/tasting/classes is a great way to spend a vacation. My favorite is Tuscany, but France (I visited Champagne and Burgundy), Australia and Napa are some of the wonderful places that I have visited and done wine tours. Took a great tour in Burgundy where the Wine region of Burgundy was explained in conjunction with some very good wine tastings with explanations. I did not become an expert on Burgundy, but I'm definitely more assertive and informed than I previously was when it comes to buying wines from the region(as well as more appreciative of the wines from the region). Even a visit to Niagara falls and the wineries in nearby Niagara-on-the-lake can be educational. Granted, it's not one of the great wine regions of the world, but I learned quite a bit about Ice Wines when I visited.

A good quality lager or lighter style ale, such as (India) Pale Ale, Blonde ale etc is what I like to drink with Indian food. Leffe Blonde, which was suggested earlier in this thread, seems like a good choice, but I have never had it with Indian since I have never seen it available in an Indian restaurant. I usually get very disappointed with the beer choices at most Indian restaurants, they usually serve Kingfisher/Taj Mahal and BudMiller etc. Most restaurants don't seem to care much about the beer selection. In a quality Indian restaurant I would typically like to see a couple of local microbrews(in NY maybe Bluepoint toasted lager), a couple of international quality choices such as Leffe Blonde and a good mixture of ales and lagers. Unfortunately this rarely happens. This is not a critism so much of the Indian beers in themself, any indian restaurant must have a few indian choices, but sometimes I would like to drink something different. Suvir, if you don't mind I would like to ask you a question. I don't know anything about the list at Amma since I have not been there yet (but I will definitely go, Indian food is one of my favourites). When you decided on the list of beers to serve at Amma, which criteria did you go by? Do you believe that a good beer selection will attract customers or that people who actually care about it are so few that it is not really worth the effort? Most of what I have said here applies to Thai/Malaysian/Chinese restaurants as well it, except that Kingfisher is substitued with Singha/Tsingtao etc.

Seems like 50 calories for one pice of sushi is a pretty good benchmark according to this link. One pice of Ootoro(Fatty Tuna) is around 70 calories, one piece of Salmon around 60 calories which are the two fattiest pieces of fish that came up to my mind. http://member.nifty.ne.jp/maryy/eng/calorie.htm

I always considered them to be more like a cover charge, or included in the cover charge, since they tend to come with the first set of drinks while deciding what to order. Can't really decline it.

Sea urchins is a typical case where it generally agreed that California ones are the best and restaurants in California should be especially good at this. However, I read an article about the harvest in Santa Barbara, and it was said that the best quality sea urchins were always targeted for Japan. (Doesn't mean that US restaurants does not get access to the best quality). However, where Japan excels is in the variety, on my last visit I ate sea-urchin from three regions in Japan at the same restaurant, all with their own characteristics (This was in a non-sushi place) and all very good and fresh. Most tuna has been frozen. However, the best tuna(chu-toro) I have ever had was from tuna that never had been frozen. I have never seen it in the US(or anywhere else for that matter), but quite often in Japan.

as he believes fish fresh from the water are not always ideal for sushi. This is primarily in reference to tuna which he stores for quite a significant amount of time. I agree that not all fish should necessarily be served fresh out of the water for sushi, but freshness is definitely a factor for quite a few items. The treatment after catching the fish on the boat until it is served is very critical according to the sushi experts I know and freshness is not the only deciding factor.

Agree, but most of the fish is still sourced via Japan(at least that is what the chefs tell me when I ask, don't know about SY specifically). I'm surprised myself that they do not source more locally. Go to Japan not only for Sushi, it is a great overall food-destination.

For around 20-25 dollars, I can eat Sushi that is as good or sligthly better than Sushi Yasuda IMO. The decor would then usually not be near the decor at Yasuda, and the service would be about the same or less. Sushi-breakfast in Tsukiji would cost about the same ($20-25). Sushi Yasuda is a world-class restaurant, but I would argue that it would not be considered a destination restaurant in Tokyo for Sushi. I agree with you that there is an upper level to how good Sushi can become, but here are some of the differences. In a place like Miyako-Sushi (a small Sushi-restaurant with two chefs and 20 seats where the cost is about 100$ per person for a splurge ), the chef himself buys the fish in the morning at Tsukiji. He has the distinct advantage over a New York establishment that he can select the fish directly where as a NY restaurant would have to rely on a reliable purchaser. Secondly, by the time the fish is served on the table in Tokyo it is sitting on a plane to NY, this will add at least 24 hours to the time by which it can arrive on a table in NY. Miyako Susho(where I ate a couple of months back) propably does not qualify as a world class restaurant, the decor is more like a coffeeshop and Yasuda beats it hands down in that department. However, the Sushi that I ate there was superior than Yasuda at a comparable price in terms of overall quality of the fish. On individual items I can agree that SY could be as good or better but not in terms of the overall selection and quality served over a meal.

Without knowing the details of the businessman it is hard to tell, but I know a Japanese businessman who when he comes here insist on drinking Budwiser wherever he goes(most important thing for him). He might also take everything into account such as the atmosphere etc. Tokyos reputation as a superexpensive place dates back to 10 years ago, today IMO it provides at least equally good value as NY does for dining if you know where to go. If you have a chance to stop over you should take the opportunity, great city to visit for food, but it requires some preparation. If you decide to go I'll definitely help you with recommendations, and the people on the Japanese board I'm sure will assist you as well.

Well, about a million places in Japan for example (OK, slight exaggeration). I like Sushi Yasuda and it is most likely the number one Sushi-place in NY and definitely among the top sushi places in the US. I am sure you had a great time, and the right way to enjoy it is to sit at Yasuda-sans counter as you did. However, when I am in Tokyo I can get better sushi at 20% of the price of what I pay at Sushi Yasuda. If I pay the same price as I do at Sushi Yasuda I get Sushi that is far superior. After my last trip I decided not to eat there any more(or at any of the other top sushi places in NY), not because I disliked it but because I rather spend the money on Sushi when I am in Tokyo(I go there frequently enough that I can make this decision).

is it an availability issue? Singha is more easily available than Kloster in the US, that is for sure. What is all boils down to in my view is that with Singha you get a beer that sounds Thai, Kloster sounds like a german beer. People want to believe that they are getting an authentic Thai experience which makes them more inclined to order/buy Singha. What I personally would like is for ethnic restaurants to serve better beer, especially since IMO most ethnic food goes better with beer than with wine. Thai food is a very good example. Unfortunately most restaurants usually serve a beer from it's "homecountry" + a domestic/international brew of poor/mediocre quality such as Budwiser/Heineken. I don't think things will change though. Last time I was at Sushi Yasuda here in New York I suggested to Yasuda-san directly to start serving beer from Nest (a good Japanese microbrewery now available in the US and served at several high-end restaurants in New York). He did not seem to have any interest in it at all, and unfortunately I believe that at ethnic restaurants we will be stuck with poor beer selections. Like most people I like to drink good wine with good food, but I sometimes feel like I am the only person on the planet who like to drink good beer with good food when beer is a better accompaniment.

Price bump for "specials" - why? To extract a few dollars more out of unsuspecting diners in quite a few cases. Many specials are not really specials, they are featured almost daily. They are just not printed on the menu and there is no reason for a price bump in this case. However, many diners do not care to ask for the cost of the specials and they might also believe that the dish contain some special ingredients that the restaurant obtained for that day which would justify the price hike. Many times that is not the case. Also, I have seen cases when the specials have moved from the verbal to the printed menu and the price dropped 20% (after it had appeared as a dinner special for at least three months every time I ate there). Not every restaurant does this, but there are quite a few that does it. Also, sometimes the special is actually special and the price hike is justified. In your case (Chicken with Sausage, peas and brown sauce) it sounds like it was not justified at all.

I never understood why most Thai restaurants insist on serving Singha only. THe other major brew in Thailand, Kloster, is IMO a better beer. Drinking Thai beer to me adds nothing to the experience at eating at a Thai restaurant, a good quality lager from a microbrewery or Europe would be a better choice. Same applies to Japanese restaurants in the US, they all insist on serving Suntory or Kirin which are some of the worst Japanese beers that can be had. Same applies here as to thai restaurants, a good Japanese microbrew or other quality lager would be a better choice.

I agree that Lagavulin is not for everyone. Talisker is another favorite of mine, although not at the same level as the Lagavulin. If you haven't tried the Lagavulin 18 year old I'll recommend it. It's more difficult to find, but it has an even more peaty taste than the 16 year old. Definitely not for everyone.

Don't know if you have been to Japan yet, but if not you should consider visiting a distillery. Many sake distilleries offer (usually self-guided) tours where you can taste and buy sake. I visited two when I was in Japan earlier this year, good fun and obviously I bought some sakes. To my knowledge there are no distilleries in Tokyo, but if you visit a smaller town they might have a distillery. Ask around at the Tourist information center. IMO, serving a sake that was bought at the distillery gives a little bit of added satisfation, same as serving a wine that was bought at a small winery when travelling.

Monica, Royal Salute is a blended whiskey (scotch) that will set you back about $250. In my view the money is better spent on a high-quality single malt like Macallans 25 year or Spingbanks 25 year old for the same amount of money. The Macallan 25 year is a personal favorite of mine, very smooth and easy to drink. The Macallan 18 year and 12 are not as good, but still very good and significantly cheaper. The best value whiskey you can buy is in my opinion Lagavulin 16 year old that you should be able to get for around $50. One of the worlds truly great whiskeys, and a bargain at that price. It is very smokey though, and some do not like it. Lagavulin also produces an 18 year old double matured that has been matured twice in a barrel, incredible smokey, love it. If your father likes more smoky whiskeys it would be a nice buy. If you don't mind spending the money and is unsure as to what your father likes, I would recommend the Macallan 25 since it would appeal to most whiskey connoisseurs (you need to be very picky not to like it in my view). The Lagavulin 16 year old is in my view the best buy at around $50 and the Lagavulin 18 year (I've seen it for around $80) if you want to give him something very unique at not too bad a price.

I have only been to Daidaya, they actually have several branches. It's a wonderful place, they serve very innovative Japanese food and I do recommend it. It is however not an Izakaya by any stretch of imagination in my view. An Izakaya is a down-to-earth place that serves (usually) good food, it is basically the Japanese equivalent of a pub (although it serves far better food). Daidaya is a place with a very trendy modern decor, I was surprised that it was listed as an Izakaya. The article was OK, but with Tokyo being one of the great dining destinations on the planet they could have done better than that(especially listing Kaiten-Sushi, it's like having McDonalds as a destination restaurant in New York).

RossyW, The only drawback Kyushuu has compared with other areas of Japan is that there is (to my knowledge) no skiing there, don't know if it is an issue for you. Fukuokas proximity to Korea and S-E Asia makes it quite international(but not as much as Tokyo-Osaka-Kobe), and communication to S-E Asia(which you "must" explore while you are in Japan) is quite good. Exploring the region by bike should be fun, some of the best seafood can be had in small fishing villages.

RossyW In my view it will be difficult for you to find an area in Japan with bad food. Tokyo is propably the best place in Japan for food(similar to Paris in France, NY in the US ...), but since you do not wish to live there my advise is to either live close to it(as has been suggested in this thread) or live in a city close to the ocean. Japan does seafood better than any other place on the planet, and by living close to the ocean you will be able to experience the best that Japan has to offer. My recommendation would be Kyushuu, I was there a couple of months back and the food was spectacular. Not only was the seafood spectacular, chicken, beef etc was also wonderful.