Sushi recommendations

[klagirl]

I'm kind of stuck in a rut with the sushi I order at my usual place (yes I should go to another one, but this one is 5 minutes from home and fairly impressive for the neighborhood).
So I'm looking to try some new stuff.
Here's what I usual order (not just for me or necessarily at one sitting)

Nigiri (I also get a few pieces of sashimi sometimes)

- maguro (red tuna)
- sake (salmon)

and this not exactly nigiri but it's on the nigiri menu : spicy meguro tempura and spicy sake tempura

maki

- salmon kamikaze
- tuna kamikaze

- "small" maki
maybe some salmon or tuna, or spicy versions of those

So I'm on a salmon-tuna fest... heh...here's what the place also offers that catches my eye that I haven't tried, maybe you guys have insight? I don't remember the whole menu though obviously!

Nigiri : hamachi, kunsei albacore (smoked white tuna), mackerel, tai (red snapper), tobiko (flying fish roe)

Chef special : rainbow, goldfish (eel, avocado, cucumber, tobiko and spicy mayonnaise covered with salmon and shrimp), salmon maki tempura aspargus, h-2 (yellow tail, shitake mushroo, asparagus, scallions and tobiko in two layered tempura roll), atlantic (salmon, tuna apsargus, lightly fried in tempura roll with spicy teriyaki sauce), lobster maki

the other chef specials tend to have bbq sauce..which is weird , but is it good?!?!

chef special with seaweed : Pacific (smoked white tuna, smoked salmon, tobiko, lettuce, marinated seaweed and asparagus), apple (shrimp, apple, avocado, tobiko, spicy mayo and lettuce), oriental (goji, marinated seaweed, yellow pickle, asparagus, cucumber and avocado)

maki : hiyashi, harumaki...and friends have begged me to order spider but..crab meat ...

small maki: 911 (shrimp and salmon mixture, tempura, pepper and very spicy sauce), negihamachi, tempura maki, salmon skin

By the way, I avoid california rolls and rolls with crab stick, philly cheese..:P

[KayceeK]

I agree with the poster who suggested you sit at the bar and ask them to offer suggestions to you. They know what is freshest! Also, have you ever tried eel? Oh God, so good!

[Bob W]

I will second the recs for scallops -usually it's sea scallops but some places also have bay scallops. Either way, it's great sushi

Definitely get some yellowtail too. It's like buttah.

[klagirl]

Thanks everyone! I'll be heading there tonight, I've gotten myself too sushi excited:)
Hamachi here I come! I'll try the scallops too - and will give one of the chef's specials a try. And I'll definitely try the bar one of these days and try omakase... I've always been a bit intimidated by the bar so that'll be good!

[gordeaux]

Good luck. Be open minded. Would love to hear what you tried and if you liked it.

[alanbarnes]

Although you might get some suggestions here as to what might taste good in general, there's only one guy at your local sushi bar who knows what's best at that place that day - the itamae (sushi chef).

In my experience, if you sit at the counter and ask the chef for recommendations, he (or, rarely, she) will point you toward things that are very tasty. If you love something, say so. If you don't, ditto, but more importantly say why. (Too fishy? Too chewy? Crunchy texture doesn't appeal?) It will help the chef figure out your personal tastes.

If you already know and trust the chef and want to have a completely new experience, just sit at the bar and say "omakase, onigaishimasu" (roughly, I entrust myself to your good will). The chef will hopefully give you the stuff s/he thinks you'll like most, and that will show the tane and the chef's talents at their best.

[babette feasts]

Scallop (hotate) is one of my favorites, and very mild if that is what you are after.

I'm not a big fan of crab, but I do enjoy spider rolls and don't find them too crab-y.

The great thing about sushi is that you can try 1 or 2 pieces of anything so easily, so it is a relatively low-risk dining adventure.

[gordeaux]

If you are looking for suggestions on what to try, I don't know what you'll like. As far as the hipster maki, you're on your own. You might dig it, you might not - what's the harm in trying stuff?
A few suggestions, however:
1. TRY YELLOWTAIL (hamachi) IMMEDIATELY!
2. Sit at the bar, and ask the chef to hook you up with things they think you will like after you tell them what you do NOT like.
3. Part of the fun of going out for sushi to me is what I wrote in #2. Try new things. Have FUN trying them.

The bbq sauce is PROBABLY the stuff they drizzle on the unagi and anago. It has become a standard part of the hipster maki as of late.

Mackerel must be pristinely fresh for me to enjoy it. It's a fish that breaks down very quickly. If you try it, and it's a tad on the funky side, don't swear it off for life. When it's pristine, it is mild and buttery.

[fmcoxe6188]

agree on the Yellow Tail! Delicious!!!!! Scallops mentioned below are also sweet and fantastic, and if prepared properly, my favorite is octopus. Really light and clean tasting...

[MMRuth]

I tend to prefer Spanish mackerel to mackerel for that reason - but perhaps I just haven't had pristine mackeral. I'll try it next time I'm at a v. good sushi place.