sushi oto is owned and operated by japanese people, typically another sign of quality, but surprisingly, we learned that our sushi chef, while japanese, didn't know a lick of the language even though his name tag was in japanese and was muttering all the japanese greetings that sushi chefs yell out when customers first enter the bar.
we had a great time chatting in english, sharing stories from the bay area, where he was also from, and learning about the very choice cuts of fish he was treating us to. here's what we had...
sashimi - aji, sake, hamachi, maguro (spanish mackerel, salmon, yellowtail, tuna)
starting with a sashimi special plate, this was surprisingly high quality and quantity for under $30. and, it actually included the entire aji skeleton as seen above. you know you're getting fresh stuff when you get the whole fish (which wasn't recycled from another plate in the back kitchen).
big cuts, extremely fresh fish. a great start.
mirugai (geoduck or giant clam)
after the sashimi, we started diving into the refridgerated case in front of us. mirugai is one of my favorites so we had to have that. geoduck clam is pretty ugly in its native state. but once you cut away the tough exterior skin, the meat is sweet and briny with a firm, not quite a crunch, bite.
kinmedai (golden eye snapper)
kinmedai is one of our favorites, having eating over a hundred dollars worth at our favorite sf sushi bar, ryoko's, over the past year. slightly seared with a blow torch, ota's version is rare with seared skin and a dusting of fresh grind rock salt. amazingly sweet and tender.
age aji (fried spanish mackerel bone)
in between sushi courses, our aji bones from the sashimi plate returned to us completely deep fried with fresh lemon and ponzu sauce. you can basically eat everything minus the head so we happily munched away on the crunchy bones and washed them down with ice cold sapporo draft.
amaebi (sweet raw shrimp)
i love amaebi so we each had one. delicate, sweet and moist. oh so good.
another species of clam (can't remember what kind)
our sushi chef seemed to have an affinity for clams so he introduced us to a couple more. this one was similar to mirugai but with a slightly softer texture. very good. just can't remember what kind it was though.
nama tako (raw octopus)
having recently discovered takowasa (raw salted octopus with wasabi), we were excited to try this recommendation by our chef. it's not like tako at all, which is boiled first then sliced. this was absolutely raw and slimy with a bit of a chewy texture. not for everyone, but the meat is sweet and just a bit briny. never really had this before so it was a treat.
akagai (red clam)
another type of clam that was again similar to mirugai but more tender. very good.
uni (sea urchin roe)
now this, was amazing. our chef told us their uni is sourced locally in san diego, which has very limited availability and is one of the most desirable in the US. fresh and clean tasting, firm textured but creamy on the mouth, and briny, nutty and sweet all at once, this uni was probably the best i've ever tasted. wow. just wow.
age ebi atama (deep fried shrimp heads)
by the time that orgasm had settled in our mouths, our chef brought out the fried shrimp heads from our amaebi sushi. crunchy and full of explosive shrimp flavor, this was a perfect and satisfying end to our culinary journey at sushi ota.
on the way out, the sushi chefs were busy preparing for dinner service and on chef was patiently focused on fileting what i believe were sardines. he had beautifully plated the filets on a plate under perfect lighting so i had to snap this gorgeous photo.
overall, sushi ota is definitely everything everyone says it is. extremely fresh fish, a wide selection of special fish, generous cuts and expert chefs, this is no place for sauce-laden sushi roll lovers, but a haven for foodies and chowhounds who know how to savor raw seafood in its purest, freshest form.
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