262744 Sun May 25 07:08:36 -0700 2003 4 26 International 0 1388311 A few weekends ago, my butchou invited us out for, as he put it, one of the last chances this year to eat sushi (he won't eat sushi after the end of May because "nothing's oishii after that", and for fear of red tide). We were given strict instructions to eat no lunch that day, and to meet at 4pm sharp in front of Umegaoka station on the Odakyu line, which turned out to be just a stone's throw from the original Midori-no-sushi. At 4pm, there were the beginnings of a line forming, as the restaurant is renowned for low prices and high quality. By the time we left, the line stretched well round the corner. We began with house specialties: octopus sashimi, succulent and meltingly soft chunks of suckers, the slimy-ness transformed into silkiness with the fresh sharpness of ponzu and a dollop of spicy momiji oroshi (chili-infused grated daikon). The other house specialty was kani-miso salada, a mound of sweet cooked zu-ai gani crab meat, topped with a thick creamy green puree of crab, um, stuff. As close to crab delight as one can get without sucking it out a freshly-steamed crab yourself. We moved on to the nigiri, starting with gutsy fish to come down from the crab salad: they were out of kohada, so we settled for firm iwashi (sardine), and aji (spanish mackerel?), rich but not gamy and freshened with just a tiny smear of smashed ginger. Despite the oiliness of the fish, I was struck by the deliciousness of the rice - fragrant with vinegar, but just barely tangy, not sour, and the grains of rice glistened as though they had been individually polished until they shone. A few palate-cleaning slices of ginger later, we moved to toro. First, chu-toro, deep pink, striated strips with a satisfying chewiness that allowed the taste to linger. Next, decadent pale-pink mottled o-toro, generous slabs that draped the rice. Buttery-rich, a soft pillow for your teeth to sink into. Next came botan-ebi (prawns), huge beasts with silky, slightly sticky, translucent sweet meat. Followed by thin, briny shako tails (mantis shrimp). Then we moved onto my butchou's wife's favorite part of the evening - clams. We sampled a range of textures, from almost ethereally soft ishigaki kai, to a liver-like akagai, to briny crisp mirugai and tsubagai. At this point, the house sake was flowing about as generously as the conversation and we began ordering whatever delicacy looked good. Elegant tapered strips of sayori, firm and chewy almost like ika. Matsuba gani crab legs, full of sweet, slightly briny meat that we sucked out like candy. Slightly pinkish, creamy rich hotate (scallop), the sweetness heightened with a sprinkle of salt. Uni - good, but not that overwhelming ocean-intense delight that sometimes can happen. Aburi-toro, "regular" aka-mi cuts of tuna, briefly blasted with a blow torch to give it a smoky patch on the surface. Katsuo (bonito), lean at this time of the year, but with a richness almost like beef carpaccio. Sated and slightly dazed from the range of textures, and tastes, we calmed ourselves down with bowls of intensely flavored miso shiru made with fish stock and called it quits. But not before butchou ordered two anago (two veritable bricks dripping with smoky goodness) for us to take home. Wishing good luck to the patient hordes lined up outside, we made our way down the street to Meriage, a tiny, battered but comfortable wine and cheese bar. There we finished our conversation over a bottle of Yarden 1998 Golan Heights cab, enjoying its rich, jam-like finish while we nibbled on yellow, luscious stilton, and a tangy cabichou. Midori Umegaoka 1-20-7 3429-0066 Nigiri range from 150 yen to 500, excluding special items such as o-toro. Kani-miso salada is 600 yen. There is also a branch in Shibuya - anyone know if it's good? Sun May 25 07:08:36 -0700 2003 0 chibi 1 1388317 Wow, great review! - it makes me want to eat sushi again (although I guess I'd better hurry). Any rough idea how much your meal cost? (Being too lazy to do the math myself....) Oh, and you wouldn't happen to have the phone # of the wine bar, would you? I've been tempted by the Midori-no-sushi in Shibuya, but was always put off by the lines. (I've learned that not every place with a long line is necessarily any good, although this one sounds like it would be.) Mon May 26 05:17:29 -0700 2003 1388311 0 Robb S. 2 1388318 Nope, sorry, I didn't see how much the sushi was. But I reckon one could come away very satisfied for under 6000. Oops, that's Mariage (ma ri a-ju), not Meriage and the phone number is 03-3439-3800. Setagaya ku Umegaoka 1-16-4. It's one of those one-person shows, and you can have "master" (who seems to be very knowledgable and passionate about wine and cheese) make you dinner. But I'd go back just for the big platter of luscious cheeses. I did see the bill for this place - just over 10,000 for two bottles of wine and a plate of cheese. Mon May 26 06:36:32 -0700 2003 1388317 0 chibi 3 1388602 I went to the same sushi place a couple of years ago and had their tabehoudai deal. The line was ridiculously long, but we got there early and only had to wait about 20 minutes. I can't recall how much it was, but remember it being very reasonable. The great thing about the tabehoudai was that there were no rules attached other than a two hour limit (if I remember correctly). You were free to order anything: otoro, ikura, uni... I had about 4 or 5 servings of the sea urchin. The anago was also very memorable, being about a foot long on a tiny base of rice. I was later told by a Midori regular that going to non tabehoudai route was preferable as there wasn't much cost difference. Tue Jun 10 00:49:38 -0700 2003 1388318 0 Christina 1 1388358 What a fantastic post! This one definately gets printed out and stuck in my "Tokyo" folder in anticipation of a trip this summer. Tue May 27 23:28:16 -0700 2003 1388311 0 foodfirst