The “menu” at Sushi Bar
Nashville is experiencing a little bit of a sushi growth of late. (Not as a lot as with tacos, however nonetheless a number of new choices.) I haven’t been to the brand new 888 but, however I’m listening to good issues in regards to the vinyl listening room and sushi bar. I’ve now made it to Sushi Bar within the Golden Sound constructing at 610 Journal St. within the Gulch, and I can attest that it’s fairly the expertise.
The omakase service gives 4 seatings an evening in two sushi rooms on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, and 5 seatings on Fridays and Saturdays. Diners are inspired to reach 15 to twenty minutes early for a complimentary welcome cocktail within the vibey lounge earlier than the meal. And I gotta say, eating at 5 p.m. and being completed by 6:30 after an unimaginable 17-course nigiri tasting is that this outdated man’s definition of heaven.
As soon as the whole seating group is assembled, a curtain is drawn separating the lounge from the sushi theater, and company are seated at a U-shaped bar with identify plates, a scrumptious bowl of pickled greens to clear your palate between programs, and a presentation plate the place the three cooks place their artwork. What you gained’t see are any utensils or chopsticks, as a result of that is strictly a hand-to-mouth expertise, lest the artistry of the nigiri get crushed by instruments.
Whereas the service is conventional, and the cuts of fish are acquainted, I wouldn’t name it a straight-ahead Japanese omakase expertise. The culinary group, led by Michelin-starred director of culinary growth and technique Chef Anthony Martin, enjoys injecting playful parts into the menu. For instance, an providing of madai (sea bream) was served with a little bit of enjoyable molecular gastronomy aptitude due to the inclusion of small globes of gelatinized ponzu to each mimic roe and add a bit of hit of acid to the fish. An impressive Ora King salmon dish was cold-smoked over peach wooden and sprinkled with bourbon-smoked salt in a growth you’d by no means see in Jiro Desires of Sushi. Of their homage to a fish taco, the cooks introduced a young slice of ruby snapper that had been cured in kombu and topped with a salsa verde and a sprinkling of tortilla powder. It was crazy-good, and just a bit bit loopy.
The menu modifications seasonally and relies on the provision of excellent fish, so the night’s choices are displayed on small indicators behind the cooks to allow them to be swapped out and in. The fish butchery was immaculate at our meal, the fish had been amazingly contemporary, and watching the cooks create the dishes by way of deft manipulation by smooth fingers was dinner theater at its greatest.
The meal is $165 per diner, and beverage pairings can be found together with two ranges of sake flights, wine, Champagne and Japanese whiskey. Along with the three devoted cooks for every sushi room, two gifted and educated beverage administrators handle the drink service and advise when it’s time to modify to the following glass. You’re additionally welcome to revisit a previous pairing to see the way it goes with totally different plates. I loved the Signature Sake choice, though the higher-end Unique pairings listing seemed phenomenal.
The tempo of the meal was speedy with out feeling frenetic or rushed. Every course between the opening hand roll and shutting dessert is supposed to be eaten in a single chunk, so there’s no motive to dawdle, and the cooks usually work a few programs forward anyway.
All in all, it was a improbable expertise. Should you go into Sushi Bar with an open thoughts and pockets, you’ll discover flavors and artistry which might be uncommon in Nashville.
On the decidedly extra inexpensive finish of the sushi spectrum, Ikura Sushi opened up a couple of months in the past within the Cool Springs space at 8113 Moores Lane, and what makes this informal spot stand out to me is the household behind it. Himmi Vasquez represents a neighborhood success story I doubt many individuals have heard, and I’d like to share it.
He grew up on a farm in El Salvador with no electrical energy till he moved to the second-largest metropolis within the nation, Santa Ana, in 1991. A 2001 earthquake destroyed his home and leveled a lot of town, so Himmi moved to Nashville, the place his uncle lived. Whereas finishing his research regionally and studying the brand new language, he labored two restaurant jobs on the identical time, as a prep cook dinner at Blackstone and as a dishwasher on the authentic Virago location on Division Road.
The sushi rollers at Virago fascinated him, and Himmi studied them from the dish pit. Finally, he moved up in ranks from dishwasher to prep work on the recent aspect of the kitchen to pantry to salad to sauté, however on a regular basis he wished to get his fingers on some fish.
MStreet Leisure Group founder Chris Hyndman gave Himmi his first alternative to maneuver to the sushi aspect after seeing the gorgeous cheese plates his younger worker was assembling. So Himmi was moved to plating sushi, laying out the rice on the nori, however nonetheless not touching any fish but.
“The rollers had been too busy to show me something,” Himmi tells me. However finally he began to select issues up alongside the way in which, whereas nonetheless additionally working at Blackstone. After Virago moved two extra instances, Vasquez met chef Andrew Whitney, who helmed culinary operations for MStreet. Whitney introduced in new substances for him to experiment with and pushed him to develop new dishes.
Himmi lastly stop his second job and have become a salaried worker at Virago. “I used to be over every part, however I didn’t have a title or something,” he recollects. Himmi ended up working at Virago for 23 years, and his spouse was an 18-year worker. By the point he left in June of this 12 months, Himmi had risen to govt sushi chef earlier than he determined to strike out on his personal with the assist of his former employers.
With none exterior traders, Himmi and his spouse took over the previous Fuji Japanese Restaurant area in Brentwood. “The previous house owners left every part behind,” he explains, “so I’ve cleaned and repaired every part, painted the partitions, modified the flooring and painted murals for adornment.”
Beginning over hasn’t been too troublesome, as he’s nonetheless sourcing his fish from the identical distributors as he used to, and a number of other of his favourite Virago creations are on his new menu. He’s particularly happy with the colourful Katana Roll, the primary dish he ever got here up with on his personal.
He’s excited in regards to the smaller dimension of his new operation. “I need to take my time,” he says. “Virago is an enormous place, and I need to deal with high quality — and new forms of fish and types of presentation.” With 64 seats, together with a 10-person sushi bar, Himmi has the time so as to add panache to his rolls with parts of coloration and dramatic presentation that might embrace clouds of dry-ice smoke. His plating remains to be immaculate, and the possibility to get a bit of playful with it every so often simply provides to the attraction. Plus you possibly can eat your self foolish for about $20, and generally you don’t want the glamour of Sushi Bar.
Personally, I really like them each!
