DanaT

That's a shame, Bond Girl. Wild Edibles is right near me too. I only had a couple of pieces of fish there though. They seemed good. What type of sushi ingredients do you buy at Sunrise for sushi prep at home?

Glad you thought of it. Its a great idea for a reference. You always regret mint juleps in the morning. That's a good recommendation. Was this a one time special or can we reasonably expect to get one here during mint season?

Interesting about the pickled mackeral. I haven't had any. I'll have to ask my friend Chikako. BTW I just lurked a bit in the Japan forum and read about there being two culinary regions so to speak in Japan with very different histories and customs. I wonder if the definition of traditional Japanese changes depending on what area in Japan the speaker is referencing.

My former Japanese roommate from Tokyo used to make chirashi and maki rolls from raw fish but not nigiri. She stayed away from salmon though. The fish I got at Karagiri didn't seem to be cut for nigiri but they're perfect for a chirashi bowl. I've made passable ume yamaimo and tuna rolls. Yaohan - how well I remember when we all drove to Jersey and how confused we, the two ganji were when she gave us directions. Her English was so accented we couldn't understand her and drove towards Tetley until she pointed to the sign that said 'Fort Lee' Then she shared with us her big find - a vegetable called konyecki - which was the most awful chewy vegetable either of us had ever had. Our French Canadian roommate couldn't order cognac for two weeks after that. Just the name reminded him of the awful Japanese experiment! A small package of toro about the size of a flank size was about $60.

Did you try it out at the Blue Smoke Michael? I love a good mint julep but it is too time consuming to make for a casual after work drink. I'd be interested in hearing your impressions.

Thanks for sharing Todd. Looks good, except for killing the shrimp right in front of you. If the Japanese mackeral is stronger than Spanish mackeral that is one strong fish! Were you at the bar? How was it served? One at a time or en masse?

Good story :) Before I knew what Balthazar was, I and 3 friends walked in at 6 one night. I brazened my way through it (the two girls were visiting from Spain and it was our only night out) and said, "Do you possibly have a table for 4 of us who have absolutely no reservations whatsoever?" The maitre d' was young and glanced puzzledly from one to another of us before saying yes. I think it was the two stunning looking girls in the group that got us the table. The small oysters were delectable. and the lamb was heaven. After we went, I heard about the reputation and have been scared to go back. I think a second time will not live up to that first time.

Thanks for the heads up on West Side sushi places. I don't go to the West side often but when I do its nice to know a good sushi place. I've heard of Sushi of Gari but never been. Chris, I would have been surprised at a $200 tab. Do you think the experience was worth it?

What a fun idea! jrichman if you're into roadfood and you're going to be around NoHo, the Great Jones Cafe is a great cheap eats for Cajun and a fun atmosphere. I look forward to reading your report.

Good questions jj. Just the questions I was asking. This looks very tempting. $30 omakase if this is what you got twahaliii is not bad at all.

Well after NOT getting a reservation at the French Laundry the week we are out there, my girl chum and I will console ourselves with a nice sushi experience at Yasuda! Yum!

Hi Todd, Your comments surprise me too. When I went to Yasuda, the pieces were shorter than normal; the fish wasn't necessarily thinner. That in my mind is a good thing because I have a small mouth. The debate between big sushi and small comes up in every sushi discussion I've ever participated. I think it boils down to a matter of taste. But I'm also amazed at the lack of variety you spoke of. Yasuda never prepared the same fish the same way twice so the fish we had would have tasted different even if it had been the exact same fish. For example we had two types of anago - one with sea salt and one with homemade soy sauce. The taste experiences of the two were remarkably different. Yasuda-san's individual preparation and variety is the main reason I prefer Yasuda over Kurumazushi. If you had been to Kuruma and remarked about the lack of variety, I would have agreed. After awhile, my friend and I couldn't distinguish the tastes between the different fish types.

Thanks JFLinLA. I look forward to hearing more. You're right we don't have a lot of Central American cuisine.

That's tough to answer. Generally we like any type of food so long as attention to quality is there. Coming from New York, we'd like to try some California speciality that New York doesn't have but beyond that we're game for most anything good.

We didn't yet. We heard its a bear trying to get reservations but with three of us going for it we're keeping our fingers crossed. Cool, thanks for the suggestions.

Carolyn, I sincerely wish we could sample the food at Matsuhisa but with a splurge at the French Laundry, we'd better not tempt ourselves. The last time we sat at an upscale Japanese restaurant and ordered omakase our intended $60 meal doubled in price. Gardena is definitely on our travel plans. And the A.O.C. winery looks fun. Has anyone heard of Violet's? I saw a couple of posts recommending it but nothing too specific.

Thanks everybody. Just going to check out these restaurants. Will be back! :)

Hi all. This is my first thread in egullet. Two of us will fly to San Francisco, stay a few days, and then drive the coast to L.A. SF is well represented in this forum and we chose a couple of suggestions that we can't wait to try but what are the L.A. restaurants most recommended here? To give you an idea of our taste: the French Laundry is our splurge. In San Francisco, we'll try out Aziza and Far Leaves Tea but we've yet to find a L.A. restaurant to put on the list. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hmmm, lunch is out. I work downtown. I'll just have to try for a dinner reservation. I thought I'd have my new digital camera next Tuesday but it won't arrive by then. So no pics. That's a seriously scary thought, JJ.

Well Milla, I and my partner in culinary crime plan to try Kuruma ourselves. This forum is going to be dangerous to my pocketbook and my waistline! Is it like Yasuda where you can make reservations for the sushi bar? We spent about $120 apiece at Yasuda and I would be uncomfortable spending anymore than that. Is it possible to keep it to $120 apiece and still have a good experience?

Are they open on Sunday? I have class near there and a sweet bread would be tasty.

I didn't intend to put you on the spot oakapple it was just a general observation. If this had been a discussion of the best top-tier restaurants, I would place more emphasis on reputation and consensus. But for the tried and true standards, I think reputatiion has a lot more influence of people's perceptions of their meal. But that may not be germane to the discussion here.

It may be in how we define tried and true...for me, its good, dependable, and someplace I go often enough to be able to judge its consistency. Some of the suggestions look like they are based on one or two visits. For me, that would not be a basis to call a restaurant tried and true. I've found that the higher the level of quality, the harder it is for a restaurant to keep consistency unless its at a certain price point where the extra dollars go to making each meal consistently excellent. Then its priced out of a range that allows you to go often engough to judge its consistency. How often are people going to places like Katz, Peter Luger, etc.? Are any of the restaurants your neighborhood haunts?

The moderators can delete this if its inappropriate here but... You could try Kurumazushi, a sushi place often compared to Yasuda. It would be fun to compare the omokase between the two. Alas, I haven't done that yet. If you go to both, please share your comparison in this thread. It would be fun to read. Sushi Yasuda vs. Kurumazushi

This may sound heretical but are there really any tried and true restaurants over 10 years old in Manhattan? The only restaurants I know over 10 years old are living on their reputation only. They may have been noteworthy once but something is missing. I think restaurants change hands and fold too quickly for that. If I want to eat the best that New York has to offer at any price range or type of food, I'll go to a new restaurant with something to prove.