2012 gastrobits awards

After some a short absence, I was compelled to make an update based on my 2012 year end awards.

Looking back at 2012, it was the year where I truly embraced food writing. I set a torrid pace to start the year and then experienced some burn out as we neared the end. Looking back at all the photos, there's so many good dishes that I had during the year. For this year's awards, I've decided to just highlight the best dishes and assign them some arbitrary awards.

Best New Restaurant - Akinori Sushi

Akinori opened just recently has and has been serving an inspired trendy style of high quality sushi. If you like your sushi in the kaiseki style (some hot dishes as well as sushi), then Akinori is the place to experience omakase done right.

Best Vegatable Dish

carrot - TBL3 @ George's California Modern

The carrot cooked from the coffee crust grill was an amazing preparation. The carrot was prepared to actually taste similar to meat in heartiness and texture. The flavors meshed together incredibly well.

Best Ethnic Thai

som tum muazuar - Zabb Elee (NYC)

This papaya salad from Zabb Elee was a masterpiece. There was a wide range of flavors and textures while delivering a rich thai flavor. Best of all, it only cost $10. Unfortunately, you'll have to fly to New York City to sample this dish.

Best Ethnic Latin

octopus - Mision 19 (Tijuana)

The octopus from Mision 19 had a variety of latin flavors with incredible technical execution. Each octopus was cooked very well and had a complex range of sauces to highlight the flavors and texture of octopus. Not only was this dish the best Latin, dish but it was one of the best dishes of the year.

Best Ethnic Chinese

famous prawn in hot wok - Lao Hunan (Chicago)

The prawns were cooked perfectly in the hot wok and had a great balance of flavors and spice to resemble Thai food to some extent. The accompanying garnish added a lot of flavor in the form of herbs and spices to add depth to the dish. 

Best Noodles

tonkotsu ramen - Tsujita (Los Angeles)

The tonkotsu ramen at Tsujita packs a might flavor punch as the broth is boiled for 60 hours prior to serving. The result is an extremely thick and luxurious essence of pork flavor.

Best Ethnic Italian

tagliolini nero - Balena (Chicago)

The squid ink pasta from Balena was sauced perfectly and contained a great amount of flavor of both sea urchin and crab. This is pasta cooked properly

Best Ethnic Japanese

matsutake mushroom soup - Akinori

The matsutake mushroom soup was full of fresh seafood cooked to perfection along with a slow cooked mushroom soup. The flavor of the mushroom transferred well into the broth and was an extremely surprising and fulfilling highlight to the omakase meal.

Best Sandwich

porchetta sandwich - Ariccia Italian Market

The porchetta at Ariccia is amazing in flavor. Recently, the pig was changed to a local acorn-fed pork, which has imparted even more flavor into the finished porchetta product.

Best "Pizza"

tuna crisp - Flavor Del Mar

With nothing comparable to Pizzeria Mozza, the best "pizza" I had was the tuna crisp at Flavor. The mix of the tuna with the umami crisp underneath was the perfect bite.

Best Raw Preparation

raw beef - Totoroku

The raw beef dishes were all amazing at Totoroku, but none were more impressive than the beef throat. The yield to serve a table of 4 requires the slaughter of 1.5 cows. The throat has an incredible balance of natural fat with a pure beef flavor. I enjoyed the raw beef throat even more than the finest toro.

Best Seafood Dish

salad of dungeness crab - A Simple Supper with Gavin Schmidt

The dungeness crab salad capture the pure essence of crab flavor to explode in my mouth. The accompanying spring vegetables really highlighted the sweetness of the crab dish. To top it off, there was some special preparation to the gelatinous wrap that could only be served in an underground dinner.

Biggest Surprise Dish

chanterelle stew - George's California Modern

I didn't eat this until there was 38 minutes left of 2012, which was the first surprise. The second surprise was the incredible unctuous texture of the dish. It was simultaneously rich, while being anchored with the earthy flavors. Each bit was also incredibly light and delightful.

Best Dessert

watermelon, prosciutto, love & break dancing - Evolve Explore Your Senses

The dessert from Jeff Bonilla was not only one of the best desserts, but also nearly the best overall dish I had all year. It combined elements of the savory prosciutto to enhance the sweetness of the watermelon. Every bite was light and packed full of flavor.

Best Overall Dish

smoked beef tongue - TBL3 @ George's California Modern

The beef tongue in this dish had a delicious smoky flavor, but it was the brandade cream that really highlighted the dish. Each bite of this dish was a party in my mouth.

Best Overall Restaurant - George's California Modern

With another awesome TBL3 and a well executed New Years Eve, George's California Modern takes home the title of best restaurant 2012. George's raised its gastrobit rating from gigabyte to terabyte and includes a great wine list worthy of the oenobyte. Last but not least, I had an incident during my New Years Eve experience that was handled masterfully by the front of house. Another food writer commented that it was a "Michelin move," and I agree.

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Sora

Date of Dining: 11/3/2012
Price: $11-18 per appetizer, $15-30 per entree
Location: 655 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
website

The Quick Bit:

+ great aromas in the food

+ premium ingredients in the food

+ excellent service

+ free validated parking after 5pm

Δ construction in the front makes the restaurant hard to find

Δ some flavors are repeated

When Sora first opened two months ago, I was really interested in trying it. Unfortunately it opened while I was planning for my vacation, so I was unable to attend the opening. Perhaps that is for the better because the restaurant was much maligned in its initial reviews. Fast forward two months, and the owners are trying to re-invent the restaurant. I've seen no less than three separate coupon offers to try and get diners back into the restaurant. It was from the bloomspot deal that I got the opportunity to try a four course dinner for two.

Sora is headed by Chef Teruya Noriyoshi, who trained under renowned Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Chef Noriyoshi worked with the Nobu brand in the flagship restaurant before opening Nobu aboard the Crystal Serenity cruise ship, Nobu Milan, and Nobu San Diego. Sora, which means "sky" in Japanese, focuses on Japanese Italian style dishes that Noriyoshi featured at Nobu San Diego during tasting menus. While there currently is no sushi bar, the restaurant plans to add one in the coming months to supplement the Japanese-Italian fare.

First Course

wagyu tartare - onion, garlic, capers, soy sauce, olive oil ricotta foam

The wagyu tartare was a bit of a misnomer as the meat was torched to give it a smoky flavor. While I was initially perplexed, I liked the seared preparation as it melted the fats in the beef slightly to give the entire dish a great mouth feel. Some bread accompanied the tartare to enable creating a crostini type serving mechanism that worked really well. The olive oil foam added to the mouth feel of the entire dish.

mussels - miso sake broth, yuzu juice, garlic

The mussels were cooked perfectly. The miso sake broth was delicious, but the key ingredient was the yuzu juice; not only did it add the required acidity, it brought a nice freshness to the entire dish. As many of you have noticed, I tend to order mussels a lot because I enjoy them and it gives a good indication on the quality of cooking. In this preparation, I felt both the flavors and technique were among the best mussel preparations I've had.

Second Course

parmesan cheese block for the risotto

truffle and wild mushroom risotto - black truffle, wild mushroom puree

The black truffle risotto was the highlight of the night. First, the truffle aroma from the risotto was totally prevalent when it was initially brought to the table. Then the entertainment factor of the parmesan wheel for the risotto was an added benefit to the dish. Finally, the risotto had great flavor. While the parmesan wheel might be discounted as a parlor trick, it really did add some nicely melted cheese to the risotto and improve upon the flavor. While I worried that the cheese might make the dish too salty, the risotto was perfectly seasoned in the end.

I also felt that there was tremendous value to this dish. While a truffle risotto is likely to set you back $45-60 in most fine dining restaurants, it also includes shaved truffles on top. This particular preparation didn't include the shaved truffles but only cost $28. Moreover, the portion was equal if not greater than those other restaurants. I'd like to see a $5-10 supplement to add shaved truffles on top next time.

uni and crab pasta - garlic negi miso sauce, edamame puree, fusilli di gragnano

While the uni pasta was well-prepared, it was a bit of a letdown after the risotto. There were strong aromas of uni coming from the sauce, and the crab added a nice sweetness that complemented the uni. The pasta was handmade and prepared perfectly al dente. I really enjoyed how the pasta was able to capture the sauce. If I had one complaint about this dish, it's actually that the portion was too large. Because uni is a strong flavor, the extended version of it somewhat overwhelmed my palate. 

Third Course

(Note - while the deal allows ordering 2 entrees, we decided to get 1 so we could try both the risotto and uni pasta)

japanese new york sirloin - wasabi butter armagnac sauce, maitake, shiitake

I had very high hopes for this dish to finish out the night, and I ordered it over the filet because I was fascinated by the description of the wasabi butter armagnac sauce. Unfortunately, the sauce did not live up to my expectations. The meat was still cooked well and went very well with the mushrooms, but the dish seemed flat after the absolute hits of the risotto and the pasta.

Dessert

green tea tiramisu

I'm not exactly sure where the tiramisu came into this dish, but it was very enjoyable. I didn't really detect liquer, but this dish featured layers of green tea, chocolate cake, and marscapone which were very enjoyable. Best of all, it was not too sweet.

Conclusion

While Sora still has a few things to sort out, I really enjoyed my experience there. The food was well-prepared and well-executed, and the portion sizes were adequate. I would go as far to put Sora as a gaslamp destination for convention goers. I understand that while the restaurant had some initial hiccups, it has learned from those mistakes and is now generally back on the upswing.

I was also extremely impressed with our waiter and the service in general - I would put the service on one star michelin level. The ambiance was somewhat of a strange trendy vibe, but that is to be expected from gaslamp restaurants.

All of this is enough for Sora to get the megabyte award.

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Ippudo (New York) - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 10/5/2012
Price: $14-25 per ramen bowl
Location: 65 Fourth Ave, New York, NY
website

The Quick Bit:

+ great selection of different tonkotsu styled ramen

+ authentic ramen flavors outside of Japan

Δ wait times can be long

Δ price makes it a huge luxury

While ramen is normally considered a fast food item in Japan, the American attitude towards ramen is very different. Most people probably consider is a cheap yet filling meal enjoyed by "poor" college students. However, some other places have decided to enhance ramen to the point where it is a luxury food made from the best ingredients. One such establishment representing the latter philosophy is Ippudo.

When I visited New York, I knew the city was great for its diverse ethnic foods; one of the foods I wanted to try was the city's best ramen. After several people pointed out that Ippudo was considered the city's "best" I decided to visit during lunchtime to avoid the large crowds.

Inside Ippudo, the restaurant is much more the atmosphere of a trendy New York restaurant with Japanese influences than the Ramen-ya. While this didn't take away anything from the taste of the food, I did feel a bit out of place eating my ramen in such a swanky environment.

shiromaru hakata classic ramen - tonkotsu, pork loin, kikurage mushrooms, menma, red pickled ginger

As one of the bowls we sampled, we decided to go for the classic. This would give us the pure flavor of the tonkotsu broth without any added ingredients. As expected, the broth had a full a rich flavor; unexpected, the broth had a deep complexity capped by the delicate sweetness. Overall, this was a great bowl of ramen.

akamaru chashu ramen - tonkotsu, pork loin, "umami dama", cabbage, sesame, kikurage mushrooms,
black garlic oil, nitamago (soft boiled egg) (extra)

This preparation was widely considered the favorite of many who recommended Ippudo. The black garlic is very similar to the kotteri from Ramen Yamadaya. While I found this bowl of ramen to be very enjoyable as well, I felt that it did not hit the highs as well as other comparable ramens of the same style - namely this type of ramen goes for the strong, in your face, umami kick flavor profile.

While the shiromaru ramen had its own unique style, the akamaru ramen was very similar to the signature ramen from Yamadaya and Tsujita. While I felt that overall this ramen was better than Yamadaya's, I would probably rather eat at Yamadaya 19 times out of 20 due to the price difference. I also felt that it lagged a bit behind Tsujita's ramen in every category.

Conclusion

New York's best ramen was definitely a very enjoyable destination; the ramen served is as good if not better than most places in Japan. However, the price ultimately factors into the equation. Before you go to Ippudo, you should ask yourself the question of just how much you're willing to spend for "great plus" ramen rather than just great ramen. 

Ultimately, Ippudo still delivers as New York's best ramen restaurant, but I will rank it in the higher category of awards due to its price. Thus, Ippudo is given the megabyte award.

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Ramen Yamadaya - San Diego

Date of Dining: 8/26/2012
Price: $8-11 per ramen, $4-5 per appetizer
Location: 4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA, 92117
website

The Quick Bit

+ great tonkotsu flavored broth

+ fresh takoyaki

+ high quality ramen

Δ seating space could be larger

Δ non-tonkotsu dishes could be improved

One month ago, Ramen Yamadaya opened in San Diego. You would think that I would have been on top of this one, but instead I was distracted by something called Boiling Crab. Fast forward a month, and Yao at {insert-food} informed me that he thought Ramen Yamadaya was on par with the Costa Mesa location. As I was generally happy with the Costa Mesa visit, I knew I had to try Yamadaya.

Ramen Yamadaya has two qualities going for it:

1. the tonkotsu broth is boiled for 20 hours
2. they save the good bits at the bottom of the stock pot to make the kottieri sauce

For some other San Diego blogger coverage, check out Kirbie's post as well as Dennis's

Appetizers

edamame - salt

This was your typical edamame appetizer with salt added for the extra flavor punch. The edamame came out piping hot, so we had to wait a little bit for it to cool down. 

takoyaki - ginger, katsuobushi

The takoyaki also came out piping hot, which was a good thing. Unlike other San Diego locations, I felt that these were not the pre-made frozen variety. The katsuobushi added some nice umami flavors to counterbalance the piping hot pancake ball with the chewy center surprise. Overall, a very fun and well-executed dish.

Ramen

Yamadaya Ramen - tonkotsu kottieri, bamboo, wood ear mushrooms, nori, egg

As I reviewed in the previous post, the yamadaya ramen comes with the traditional chasu topping as well as braised pork belly. We elected for the kottieri sauce as the table took my advice to sample that flavor combination over others. The soup was very nice and creamy and full of flavor.

kakuni ramen - tonkotsu kottieri, bamboo, wood ear mushrooms, egg

The kakuni ramen is the most expensive ramen on the menu and comes with an extra large sized portion of the braised pork belly. Again the soup was extremely tasty and full of flavor.

While you can't see it in my photos (you can in Kirbie's), the noodles for the ramen are special thin noodles. The noodles at our table were generally cooked well and had a nice texture, but the consensus at the table was that we missed the more traditional larger noodles.

While I understand that the thinner noodles have a larger surface area to enjoy the flavor of the soup, one element of enjoying a proper bowl of ramen is enjoying the noodles themselves.

tsukemen - chasu, egg, bamboo, nori

I opted for the tsukemen and got an extra large bowl of noodles so the rest of the table could share.

tsukemen noodles - the thick kind

As you can see, the noodles of the tsukemen were the more "traditional" thicker ramen noodles. When these thicker noodles were placed in the tonkotsu broth, the consensus was that people were generally happier with the taste.

The noodles were prepared perfectly and were extremely chewy in texture. This really added to the enjoyment of the tsukemen because it allowed the flavors to linger on the palate for a longer period of time.

tsukemen broth - kakuni

The tsukemen dipping broth contained the same concentrated tonkotsu flavors, but were modified additionally with a strong element of nori and other kelp flavors. The broth contained small bits of braised pork belly as well.

Unfortunately, when I asked the waiter to take the bowl to add hot water to my tsukemen, he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. This is an absolute sin to enjoying the tsukemen as the advantage of tsukemen is that you get the noodles in soup from the ramen portion and additionally get the fully flavored broth to finish off the meal.

Conclusion

Ultimately Ramen Yamadaya in San Diego still has a few growing pain kinks to work out. However, the flavor of the tonkotsu broth alone easily makes the ramen the best I've had so far in San Diego. I'm really happy that Yamadaya is now in San Diego as it really shortens my drive for quality ramen.

Yamadaya San Diego carries forward the franchise bit award for the San Diego location on the strength of the tonkotsu broth alone.

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Akinori Sushi (Omakase) - August 2012

Date of Dining: 8/18/2012
Price: $60-90 per person for omakase
Location: 1417 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
website

The Quick Bit

+ high quality fresh sushi

+ product from japanese fish markets

+ creative flair to modify sushi

Δ service could be more attentive

Walking into a new sushi bar can be like a first date - you may or may not know something about the chef/restaurant before and you're trying to figure out if it will work out, and the chef is also trying to figure out what might appeal to you for your dining experience. Sitting down for the first time in front of Chef Akinori Sato and saying "omakase," there was definitely one of those awkward silences where he tried to figure out if I wanted the good stuff or just a variety. He went with the polite question of, "Sushi or sashimi?" to which we responded, "A little of everything" before the entire journey kicked off.

Akinori Sato is the owner and head chef of Akinori Sushi, which opened one month ago. Prior to opening his own place, Aki (as he is known by his regulars and staff) was the head chef at Surfside Sushi. When I asked him about his style, he said that it was grounded in edo style, but my take was that he has embraced more of a modernist take on sushi with a liberal use of sauces and blowtorches. However, everything is based in the fundamentals of edo style from the loosely packed small amount of rice to the fresh wasabi.

I had Aki at somewhat of a disadvantage going in as the restaurant came highly recommended by fellow food writer Rodzilla and gastrobit regular Michelle. I had a good feeling that the journey through this chef's menu would be exciting, but I really didn't know how events might play out.

Sashimi

sashimi platter

Aki started us with a sashimi platter - as he was making the sashimi, I inquired to if he had anything from Tsukiji. He informed me that while normally he does have product from there, this week it was closed. Fortunately, it was prawn season in San Diego and he had some amazing product locally.

amaebi (sweet shrimp) - San Diego

The amaebi was from local San Diego waters and still alive when Aki killed it. You could tell because the legs were still moving on the head piece. You can see this in Rodzilla's video if you're interested.

The quality of the amaebi was incredible due to the freshness and both the texture and sweetness of the shrimp was the perfect way for me to start the meal.

hamachi (yellowtail) belly

Next, I sampled the toro of the hamachi. This was an incredibly nice flavor and mouth feel from all of the fat in the hamachi. 

jack mackerel

While Aki called this Jack Mackerel (I'm guessing this is the proper name), usually others call it Spanish Mackerel. This was a great fully flavored cut of the mackerel and had a great depth of flavor as well as freshness.

blue fin kama toro (tuna)

Aki explained this dish as just "blue fin toro" but when I asked if it was chutoro (guessing on the color), he informed me that it was in fact not from the belly. When I offered "kama toro?" I think that is when he knew that I was serious about my sushi.

The toro melted in my mouth and was probably the best sashimi on the plate. However, it was only the best by the smallest of margins as everything on the plate was amazing.

aoyagi (orange clam)

The aoyagi was probably the best in terms of flavor and texture I've ever been served. Usually this was more of a delicate sweetness, but I found that this particular serving had a fuller sweetness in flavor.

uni (sea urchin) - San Diego

We finished with a nice piece of local San Diego uni. Aki was explaining that he had imported from Santa Barbara at the old place, but found that the local San Diego variety was even better.

Prepared Dishes

fried amaebi head

The first cooked dish to come was the fried heads of the amaebi - the perfect way to finish off enjoying the shrimp. The head was fully flavored with the meat and guts still in the shells. I did have a small debate as to if I should suck the head raw, but ultimately decided to wait for it to get cooked.

prepared dishes plate

Since not all the items were cooked, I'll just go with these dishes as requiring some additional preparation beyond the sashimi. Where the sashimi plate was more about enjoying the natural flavors of the product, this is where we learned a little more of Aki's own style and how he likes to present his food.

hirame - white truffle oil, ghost pepper salt

Aki explained this dish as being a "boring" fish so he had to make it more exciting. I was a little afraid when I heard the ghost pepper, but this dish ended up really working well. The ghost pepper gave the spicy kick and was just enough to open the palate to accept the white truffle even more. The halibut was the perfect conduit for the heat of the pepper and flavor of the truffle.

ika (squid) - tapiko (cod roe), shiso

The squid was an excellent quality in the texture, and it was accompanied by the tapiko to add salt as well as an additional element to the dish. The shiso served as a lettuce wrap type vessel for the entire dish.

uni tofu

Aki described this dish as his take on uni as tofu. In addition to the uni itself, he actually did incorporate some tofu cubes as well to give a nice color to the dish. This preparation was just more great uni flavor. 

rock shrimp - green onion, gochujang, miso, mirin

The rock shrimp was a big surprise. The shrimps were fried to perfection and tossed in Aki's special gochujang miso mix. There was a great balance between the heat of the gochujang to the crunch of the batter to the sweet flavor of the shrimp. 

waygu - portabello

This was the best dish on the plate and of the evening. I didn't clearly hear what the top bit was but Aki made a point to say that it was "free". The waygu started out chilled, but Aki brought out the torch to give the dish a quick sear.

The waygu literally melted in my mouth; in combination with the top portion that might have been Fowl, Osprey, Ibis, or Egret liver was an intense flavor explosion in my mouth. There was a duality of succulent rich flavors from the beef itself and the topping on top that combined into a deep complexity of flavor. The most welcome surprise was that in addition to these flavors the torch gave a nice smoky finish to the meat, which served to cut into the fatty flavors.

miso marinated chilean sea bass - shishito

The Chilean Sea Bass was good, but for me the perfectly fried shishito pepper almost stole the show. The cod was cooked nicely and full of flavor, but the flavor of the pepper really complemented the sea bass.

Palate Cleanser

seafood cocktail

okinawa seaweed, hirame (halibut), hotategai (scallop) cucumber, caviar , chive

Aki named this dish a seafood cocktail, and it served as the perfect palate cleanser between the previous dishes and the sushi. I loved the visual impact of the dish as it almost seemed like there was a plant growing out of the cocktail.

The combination of the seaweed and cucumber was extremely refreshing. As it was a hot day, as I enjoyed the cocktail, I was actually feeling any lingering heat escape my body. My only tiny complaint of the dish was that I felt the hotategai was a bit lost in the dish. Really there could have been any protein and the dish would have been just as good.

Sushi

sushi plate

As with any proper japanese meal, we finished with the sushi as the main event. 

saba (japanese mackerel) - konbu, ginger, chive

This was the best sushi for me of the night. The saba was wonderfully full bodied in flavor and the ginger and chive really served as a great topping for highlighting the flavor. The konbu was a nice glue element to tie all the smaller elements of the dish together. I probably could have eaten 10 of these as they were so good.

seared blue fin toro (tuna) 

Aki brought the torch to this dish as well, and topped it with another "free" topping. This time I heard that the topping was a terrine that Aki made himself - it may have contained a combination of Fowl, Osprey, Ibis, and Egret livers. The fattiness of the toro and the terrine was a perfect flavor complement. The flavors of the terrine really integrated well with the toro to introduce a new flavor that had great qualities of each.
This dish drew a great contrast in relation to the waygu dish - both relied on the duality of fat flavors combining into something more rich and complex. I'm somewhat curious how this dish would have worked with ankimo as the topping to get a true surf vs turf comparison.

uni (sea urchin)

There was some slight disagreement to which piece of uni was better looking so I just decided to include both. Uni is always a great way to finish off a sushi meal. The only thing that is better is when it is followed by anago.

This is why I was really surprised when the next dish was introduced

salmon belly - katsuobushi (bonito shavings), olive oil pesto, balsamic reduction

This dish was a great dish for showing off Aki's creative flair. The salmon was topped with bonito shavings to add some extra umami while the balsamic added some sweetness. The real surprise came from the olive oil pesto (hidden under the salmon). The pesto was actually made with shiso instead of basil, so it was more concentrated in flavor. The amount of the pesto included was the perfect balance to give a surprise in flavor, but not enough to overwhelm the flavor of the salmon.

Encore

soba (buckwheat noodles) - sesame shiso pesto, tomato, asparagus, onions, shitake

I was even more surprised when Aki liked that we enjoyed his pesto and wanted to show yet another use of it. In this pesto sauce, he used sesame seeds to thicken the sauce. The result was a great umami-filled sauce to go with the Jap-Italian pasta.

Dessert

As part of the omakase, guests are offered ice cream, but we declined as we were completely satiated.

Conclusion

My experience at Akinori was a wonderful journey. In addition to the traditional sushi and sashimi, I really enjoyed the additional prepared dishes sent my Aki. By the end of the meal he offered me the fist-bump signifying that my initiation to regular was complete. The entire meal was an extreme high with almost no low points. I enjoyed Akinori so much that I'm already trying to plan an return trip. Aki said that he does expect a few matsutake mushrooms to come in during that season, so I'm excited to see what he does with them.

Inevitably, I think the question will be if Akinori or Kaito is better. If I compare comparable preparations of dishes side by side, I feel that Akinori would win more often. However, Kaito's omakase offers more of a progression where the flavors of the fish build on top of each other in a crescendo, so Kaito is still the top for me by the slimmest of margins. However, the experience at Akinori is enough for me to award Akinori Sushi the terrabyte award.

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