Don't Hog The Bar

Sushi Savvy - Mike Skurko



OK. There’s this general notion in Japan that “only foreigners” will camp out at the sushi bar. The Japanese approach, and possibly the polite and correct approach, is to get in at the sushi bar and eat your meal and get out. It sounds pretty simple, but again, I’ve seen more that a few blunders in this area myself.
Let’s start with a place I know of in Tokyo. This sushi-ya is very popular. What exactly does this mean? Yes, they take reservations.. By the half hour. Sure, they can set you up with two half hour time slots, but generally speaking you get in there for your half hour time slot, you eat your amazing sushi and you get out. Nothing personal, but that entire European notion of spending as long as you like over an espresso at the bar is right out the window here. Sure, there are places that would be more than happy to have you camp out at the bar and knock back bottles of high end sake all night. Usually the ones that are not that busy. Turnover equates profits…
Once again, let’s keep this one flexible. Be aware of your surroundings. If you are in a sushi-ya that is really packed and there is a line of people waiting for your seat? Then you do the right thing and try not to waste time lingering over tea at the end of your meal.
On a recent visit to Dai-wa Sushi in Tsukiji in Tokyo I wound up sitting next to a couple from San Francisco. As we ate and chatted they called for their check and smiled. “This is our first trip to Japan. They told us that only the foreigners linger at the bar.” I guess they got the memo. I wonder if they are the only ones or if “we” foreigners are finally starting to get it? No need to gulp your tea and choke on your final bites of ‘inari-zushi,’ but be considerate. Chances are good you will be waiting outside in the rain some day and will be happy to see an efficient crew at the bar and nary a one holding court over their fifth cup of tea.

Shhh... no shouting @ The Sushi Bar

Sushi Bar Savvy – Keep your business private at the bar

By Mike Skurko

On a recent business trip I was having lunch alone at Karuma-zushi in New York on 47th. This is quite possibly one of the best sushi bars. Not just in Manhattan. Globally. It is as good as it gets and, yes, compares to anything I’ve had in Japan. It’s painfully expensive and a perfect place for a power lunch. This is not a ‘first date’ lunch spot unless you are Donald Trump. The bill for my ‘chef’s choice’ (o-makase) sashimi lunch with a single (small) beer was $380 (before any gratuity). It is sashimi of the gods. This is where you take someone who you do the big deals with. Regularly…

As I was enjoying my solo meal and chatting with Uezu-san I couldn’t help bust notice some business was going down at the sushi bar and it showed a serious lack of savvy. I had a five thousand dollar custom suit to my left and sitting next to him a more casual gray haired guy. It became *quite* clear that the ‘suit’ was from one of the larger investment banks and the casual guy was his client. Ah, private banking and a high end meal to cement the ongoing relationship. Still, having spent the past four years in the IT/Security space I sat there and watched one of the larger power lunch blunders I could imagine. Private banking is about trust and privacy. No one needs to know your financial business. So? You really should not be having this type of meeting at the sushi bar. Especially if you can’t keep your voice down. Nope. There are private dining rooms at Kuruma-zushi. Use them if you are there to delve into private matters. Not all power lunch meals involve trade secretes or issues of national security. However, if you are a banker with a client you should never, ever sit at the sushi bar and discuss the specifics of your client’s portfolio. It’s really dumb. So, as I sat there eating another buttery slab of hamachi I couldn’t help but tune in. The banker was talking about moving a seven figure amount from one fund to the next. He was talking about the total projected value of this man’s portfolio. He ran a few numbers with a calculator. (note: never use a cell phone, calculator or laptop at a sushi bar. Ever. It’s very bad form) I couldn’t believe this. As I glanced to my tea cup there was the printed portfolio placed next to my elbow. On the counter! I could read the client’s name, phone and account number. Oh, this is really stupid. I was almost tempted to interrupt, but instead re-engaged in chatting with Uezu-san, and happily tucking into another beautifully marbled pink wedge of 0-toro with freshly ground, light green wasabi.

So, here’s the sushi lesson of the day. Be aware of your surroundings. Your business is your business. Keep your voice at an appropriate level and never put confidential business documents on the sushi bar or any other place where they can be seen. You can discuss business at the bar, but run numbers back at your office. Doing business at the sushi bar is fully appropriate, but delving into the specifics of a stock portfolio at the bar is certainly rude to the sushi master and also a serious breech of business privacy.

Sushi 101 - The Basics

Sushi Savvy - The Basics
by
Mike Skurko

If you consider yourself to be a sushi master you might want to skip this. I am about to describe some of the basics of the sushi bar. Real basics. Sushi 101 for those of you who are still new to this and/or any of you who have not had sushi in Japan. Yes, there are some "basics" that come from a culture that has been eating sushi for a really long time now. So, there's some simple stuff and some slightly esoteric things to consider. I once had a teacher tell me that "we are all beginners at one point," yes this is true, but it's still kind of funny watching an adult learn how to ride a bicycle. (really, it is.) So, let's get you to the bar looking like an adult shall we?

So, you go to the sushi bar and take a seat at the bar. Here's my first pointer. If you are going to the trouble of getting good sushi and want to ensure that you are getting the best cut of hamachi you should always sit at the bar. I am not sure why this works this way, but if you get to the bar and come across as, well, not a complete ass you have a very good chance at getting some guidance. Sit at the bar. Show some respect. You are a guest. Behaving accordingly. So, you are at the bar and, for the sake of this particular piece, let's just call if your first visit ever to this sushi bar. If there is an option for 'omakase' or chef's choice then this is absolutely what you should order. This allows the chef to pick and choose what is fresh and good. Granted this can be expensive. If there are limits to your lunch budget you can ask for a range and/or just ask what the 'omakase' will cost. In some circles this will have you pegged as "cheap," but having a lovely lunch for one and a bill that is over five hundred dollars can be unsettlingly at the best of times. If you are not going with a full blown chef's choice then always ask what is fresh/good today. Let the master guide you. This shows respect and if you only insist on 'maguro' you will never learn about all the colors in the master's palate. If you have any specific aversions by all means speak up. I know there are a lot of people who squirm at the thought of that slimy-yellow sea urchin. You can mention this to the chef. If the wasabi is something you prefer in small doses let them know at the bar.

All right. You are at the bar and you are well behaved. You are in the hands of the master. The first piece of nigiri is offered on a small plate. You are at the bar. You are *not* at the table. It is perfectly acceptable, in many cases preferable, to eat with your hands. Yes. Not at the table, but at the bar you can palm that o-toro placed on the rice and deftly turn it over as you dip the fish side of the sushi into the soy sauce. This is really critical and I can not tell you how often I am at a sushi bar and watch some hapless fool drop the nigiri rice side down into the sauce. What happens? The rices comes apart into the sauce and that perfect, bit sized moment is lost into a clump of inky black sauce. With your chopsticks or by hand you *always* need to flip that piece and lightly apply sauce before bringing it to your mouth. Ahhh, now the other moment of potential contention. Do you bite the piece in half or go for the entire chunk? OK, this one is not so terribly black and white. It works like this. If you can easily, without choking, take an entire piece then by all means do so. If you are prone to panic and might, just possibly choke? Then nip the piece in half and quickly eat the other piece without dropping *any* rice or bits of flesh on the counter or back into the soy sauce.

Here's a bit more than the absolute basics. If you are at a place that is known to be really, really good then you should do the following without fail. Go with the 'omakase.' Ask them to start you with sashimi and then end the meal with sushi. The really high end fish is amazing and should not be mixed with rice or much, if any, wasabi or soy sauce. There is a high end that is amazing and should be best taken straight up - no chaser. The same goes for sake. If you are drinking really good sake then the last thing on earth you will *ever* want to do is to have that 'junmai daiginjo' served hot. (trust me on this. you will look like an absolute idiot if you walk into a sushi-ya and ask for a hot bottle of their best sake.)

Here's another really basic tip. I am not sure where you are eating your sushi. Sushi can be found in incredibly land locked places and thanks to unreal logistics it's quite possible to have sushi in Chicago on Tuesday that was auctioned off at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo on Monday. That being said here is a very basic rule of thumb. If your sushi smells fishy then it is not going in your mouth. Fresh fish does not smell fishy. Ever. Yes, I know, this is terribly basic. It is however a very good thing to consider if you are snapping up sushi at the buffet in Vegas or at a small sushi-ya in Wisconsin. (and yes, I have had perfectly delicious sushi in both of those places) So, if you are at a reputable sushi-ya this will never be an issue. Sometimes you will find yourself at a somewhat questionable place that is not even close to a source of fresh fish. Your sushi smells strongly of fish? Put down that ‘nigiri’, you need to order something off their grilled menu! Possibly chicken. Yep.