Kiriko Recommendations

[allisonteal]

I am going to Kiriko for dinner this week - I have never been but heard great things. Is there anything that this place is known for and that I must order?

Thanks!

[omotosando]

I second the matsutake mushroom soup. Worth every penny. Uni and ikirua are usually good. I also love the truffle ice cream that is sometimes available - weirdly good.

[kevin]

is the truffle ice cream around right now, seeing as truffle season is starting up?

[omotosando]

Not sure. I'm trying to kick sugar and thus don't ask lately re available ice cream flavors, less I be tempted to order one! Instead, I gamely ask for some pickles to finish off my meal.

[epop]

then you ought to avoid sushi as the rice is full of sugar

[omotosando]

Actually, I've always been curious exactly how much sugar is in sushi rice. Do you know if it's a lot? I was also wondering if the rice that is used for chirashi is the same rice used for rolling sushi.

Perhaps I should be sticking to sashimi and kitchen rice, but as I once overheard someone at a sushi bar explaining to a newbie who wanted to know the difference between sashimi and sushi - "when you start ordering sashimi, first they call your banker for a line of credit."

[jcwla]

I would load up on sushi.
I personally no longer care for their blue crab rolls: either too much mayonnaise or not enough, and too many times with shell in them.

The house-made ice cream is also wonderful. Sesame the best.

[Jwsel]

I've never ever had a shell in a blue crab roll. The only complaint I've ever seen about one of their blue crab rolls came from my brother, who said that it had "too much crab" for him.

[epop]

i had the beginning of grit once, worth mentioning to them, actually

[JudiAU]

I've never had shell in the hand roll either so I hope it is a limited problem.

I prefer the vanilla ice cream which I believe has a bit of honey in it. Really excellent.

[allisonteal]

Thank you everyone!! Looking forward to trying all your favorites!

[epop]

squid with uni.

also great salmon roe usually.

scallops. uni period. sometimes great toro too.

had beautiful mackerels there before

[oro3030]

I went once, several years ago. Oddly the two things that stand out in my mind are the house cured salmon which is easily the best cured salmon i have ever had and the ice creams. The sushi was great of course but thos etwo things are what are what stand out in my memory.

[yoyoma25]

anything with salmon. Ken Namba, owner, is a salmon expert.

is ownership changing hands?

[Jwsel]

See my reply to your other post. Ken is forming a corporation and transferring ownerhsip of Kiriko to the corporation. He is not going anywhere.

[igj]

I have a few things that I love to get at Kiriko - esp. Japanese red snapper, served with a squeeze of yuzu and some rock salt - but I also try to always ask about what sushi they have not on the menu. There is almost always something of interest among the 4 or 5 things that Ken managed to score that day, but the servers descriptions are often lacking in detail. This is easier if you are sitting at the sushi bar, especially in front of Ken since he does a good job of describing the various fishes (when asked anyway).

If you like the cooked food side of things, be sure to check out the specials menu, presented inserted artfully into a piece of bark. Usually something excellent there.

And unlike the sushi purist places, Kiriko does a very good job on the rolls. Although I am not a fan of California rolls, my FIL loves the ones at Kiriko and I have tried them several times - and they are actually pretty nice. Ditto for the tuna roll and the vegetable roll/futomaki.

[Jwsel]

The blue crab handroll is great. I also highly recommend a few different types of sushi. The house-smoked salmon is lightly smoked and fantastic. (They also serve it wrapped around mango slices, but I've always stuck to the sushi.) The seared toro -- carmelized using a blowtorch -- is my favorite item. Last week, we had the best bluefin I've ever tasted. They also made a freshwater eel that was not the prepackaged eel and was served with a homemade ponzu sauce. Generally, for sushi, I let the sushi chef make recommendations.

On the hot food front, the halibut with spicy miso sauce is always good as is the soft-shell crab (tempura crab served with a ponzu dipping sauce). The matsutake mushroom soup, if still available, is expensive ($16 for a small serving), but very earthy and flavorful. If you like mushrooms, it's a good choice and was the subject of a discussion a few weeks ago.

For dessert, the homemade ice creams and sorbets are excellent. The black sesame and chai tea ice creams are my favorite, and last week I had a fabulous peach-mint sorbet. Ken also makes a Kabocha pumpkin creme caramel that is amazing. It's not too sweet and, unlike a lot of pumpkin desserts, has no cinnamon. However, if you like pumpkin, it's not to be missed.

[CChow]

My two favorites at Kiriko are the albacore tataki salad and the blue crab handroll. Have a great dinner!