umetaro

don't mean to nitpick, but the kubota hekijyu is the first image and the second one is the hakkaisan. i recognize the kubota because right after the niigata earthquake i attempted to drink all the kubota manjyu left in SF. i didn't succeed, but i also don't remember most of that month either, so it all worked out. oh, and the last character on the hakkaisan label (the one that looks like space invaders) is the one for "mountain." you'll see it all around chinatown SF on signs as part of the "gold mountain" (kumsan in cantonese?) name.

Here's some pics from one of my visits there: http://flickr.com/photos/umetaro/search/text:ino/ If you like Ino, you should also try the sushi bar at anzu in the nikko hotel. Same traditional style and attention to detail.

I second a visit to Mitch's. Here's more pictures... http://flickr.com/photos/umetaro/tags/mitchs/

from descriptions around the internet i got the impression that sakura is more of an izakaya than a sushiya. seems well worth a visit though.

Dunno if that was a typo or not... it's "omakase." I haven't been to San Diego in a long while, but sushi ota is probably your best bet. http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/info....ES99248&code=SD also, sorry i'm the bearer of bad news but kabuto was sold to some korean folks (the owners of ariake) a few months ago and the owner of murasaki has contracted some kind of throat cancer.

The $250 does not include tip. The tip is left to the diner's discretion.

these are the top three on my list: ino hamako koo in that order. koo is less traditional than the other two and if you want to eat omakase style, i'd call a day ahead to let them know so they can plan ahead and buy things. let me know if you need addresses to these places. i'm feeling quite lazy right now.

I wouldn't go to Kiss for the sushi. Their small dishes are outstanding, but I didn't think the sushi was anything spectacular.

for future reference, i found this... http://joi.ito.com/archives/2002/07/30/sushi_iwa.html the uni donburi mentioned in the comments sounds sweet.

Got a loooooong ass layover there coming and going. I think I just might need a break from all the Korean food I'll be eating.

thank you very much for looking. much appreciated.

Yes and no. You'll see when you get there. I'll report back. Eh, I'll be with a gyoppo who speaks Korean pretty well. And she loves to argue. If I get her drunk enough she starts punching too. Good times.

Ah, my bad. I assumed that was a regional form of a similar dish instead of a foreign name for a particular dish. I guess I should have used google. Dur. Could you point me to those sites? Even sites in hangul would be okay. Also, what do you consider "insanely expensive?" If it's good enough I don't mind spending the money for it.

hmm... on a trip back from vietnam, in november of 2003, i was able to leave the airport. have the rules changed recently?

hwae is not sushi (i do enjoy hwae dup bap on occasion though). i have not had the pleasure of eating cho bap yet, but although "vinegared rice, sometimes topped with raw fish" might be considered sushi by some, they'd have to possess a pretty broad definition of the term. so, to be more specific and avoid confusion, i'm looking for good edomae style nigiri zushi in seoul. if you need a definition of "good," please use some of the pictures in this post as a referral: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=892044 thanks much.