![]() The menu also offers a wide variety of tempura, teriyaki, otsumami, soups, noodles, rice, salad and desserts that aren’t on the conveyor belt. Looks like an ice cream cone filled with rice, raw fish and vegetables wrapped in a piece of nori seaweed. Temaki – hand-rolled type of sushi characterized by its conical shape. The seafood may be raw or cooked.įutomaki – a roll of seasoned rice and fillings wrapped in a thin sheet of roasted, dried nori seaweed, then sliced crosswise into rounds and served with wasabi and pickled ginger. Maki – fish, vegetables or other ingredients rolled up inside of seaweed and vinegared rice, then sliced into round-size bites. Sashimi – thinly sliced raw seafood served without rice and typically eaten with soy sauce. Nigiri – sushi consisting of a small ball of rice smeared with wasabi sauce and topped with raw fish or other seafood. To make it even easier at Kaito Sushi Bar, the place mat at the table where I am seated explains the price of each dish passing by me.īlue plated food costs $5. So I really appreciate this specialty restaurant on the MSC Seashore. One cruise ship that has since been scuttled would have entrees and desserts displayed at the entrance to the main dining room. I know in my cruising years I have sometimes ordered an appetizer or entrée from one of the ship restaurants and, when it arrived, it didn’t look at all like I thought it would. I watch all the dishes pass by me before choosing the ones I want at Kaito Sushi Bar. Instead, as is the custom when you're happy with your meal, I bought him a sake.A mechanical Lucky Cat waves her paws on the front counter as two sushi chefs prepare fresh delicacies and place them in domed dishes on a moving conveyor belt. No fun to eat.”) And a night in the care of the cheery fish expert chef Iwata (also of Tomiko and Ichiban) made me want to give him an honorary ichthyology degree. Chef Morita (with 25 years of filleting under his knife, formerly of Nobu and Tomiko) won't scold you for sushi sins like drowning his creations in soy sauce or not eating sushi in one bite. The Pork Miso soup was chunky and piping-hot good.īesides its seafood, what makes for a good sushi bar?Ī freewheeling, friendly chef. The sea urchin squid was wet and chewy, like the wood planks on a wharf. Say “yes” even when chef Iwata offers you abalone liver, or, as he announced, “abalone guts.” It's a gritty, earthy paste for someone who likes oysters. The tuna sashimi (also Canadian) tasted like berries.įor a more interesting experience, try the abalone. The toro – from the cold and choppy Atlantic side of Canada – was oily and smooth, clearing the palate like a helping of icicle radish. It was out-traveled by the creamy and slightly seared red snapper from New Zealand (6,500 miles). The recent winter offerings included the brightly flavored Spanish mackerel, flown in 5,500 miles from Japan. This attention to offering fish at its prime – it hasn't been frozen or dressed in a mayonnaise disguise, I should add – makes Kaito a safe place to explore. Go with what the sushi chef recommends, a request made simply by saying, “omakase.” Even water temperature affects its taste. Because just as with the oranges that grow in your yard, there is a window of time when a fish should be eaten. Different places, we can get,” said chef Morita from behind the long display case of seafood glistening under plastic wrap. The global and hard-to-get selection, ordered by the chefs, focuses on fish that are in season. He and his wife, Hiromi Kimura, round out the cast of characters who own and staff Kaito.īertsch said the intimate, smaller operation allows for a fresher variety of fish purchased from vendors in Los Angeles. “It's a work in progress,” said Ryan Bertsch. Yet, the lasting impression created by head sushi chef Kazuo Morita and Ryoichi “Joe” Iwata's approach to making Tokyo-style sushi (called Edomae sushi) make Kaito a worthy ocean find. On a Saturday around 8 p.m., as American rock music played behind curtains leading into the kitchen (tres authentic Japan), I was informed that two large birthday parties had just made a run on the fish inventory. I cannot praise the strip-mall restaurant for its first impression – it's narrow, with fluorescent lighting better suited to an office. I'll admit I'm the raw-fish type, and I made the trip to Encinitas in search of a reason to believe that prepackaged grocery store sushi wasn't worth the digestive trouble. That's the little bit of sushi wisdom I got after visiting Kaito Sushi, which has a new location (since April 2008) and new menu (the owners dropped the Italian and are now strictly Japanese). Stripping a sushi bar down to its basics (no koi pond, no funky East-meets-West fusion rolls) can make for a streamlined dining experience, a chance to commune with the succulent and salty gifts of the sea. ![]()
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