Sushi Zo, I love you!

After a long, horrible afternoon of cleaning our once again filthy apartment (this time we were doing a deep clean versus hiding everything in closets and little floor piles), the love of my life and I decided to reward ourselves and take Eat, Drink & Be Merry's advice by going to Sűshi Zo. For the record, I have no idea why they would put an umlaut over the "u" but they can do whatever they want.

We tried to go to Sűshi Zo once without a reservation on a Saturday night but were unable to get in. The hostess seemed genuinely sorry that she was unable to accommodate us and we noticed how cozy and promising everything looked.

Tonight, the minute we sat down we noticed how sparkling clean and inviting everything was. Even the sushi chefs sparkled: it's that kind of place. Usually when going for sushi, we prefer sitting at the bar but after such an exhausting day, I felt like a table. The whole place is small but not crowded, couples receive tables intended for four. The place was lit nicely and the minute our sweet waitress brought us our steamed hand towels and green tea, I felt very cared for. The menu was beautifully simple. There were no crazy "Robertson rolls" or weird appetizers. It was a true sushi restaurant. I didn't see sashimi on the menu, which I found a little odd but I didn't question...I just embraced it.

I know that many people will say, "But you have to have the omakase!" That may very well be true because of course, sushi chefs know exactly what they're supposed to do: entertain and delight your palate from beginning to end, but I, my dear friends, am a snob. I firmly believe that I have a fine palate and that I also know exactly how to order, and I know my preferences. I will someday soon, sit down at the sushi bar and have a conversation with the sushi master and we'll talk, get to know each other and take it from there. J and I did that with the lovely Bobby, owner of Sushiman , months ago which quickly became one of the best experiences of my life. We had another excuse tonight though, we have only minor ducats and we ordered perfectly anyway!

We started with the miso soup because I am a soup whore. Then we ordered yellowtail, salmon, kampachi, spicy tuna hand rolls and a yellowtail and scallion roll.

For you Mish, Miso hungry!!! Also, I'm a corny, corny cat

They were brought out one by one, on tiny plates (poor dishwasher). Upon setting down our individuals plates the dish the waitress instructed us: "No soy sauce," or "Very little soy sauce." My ears perked up and I obeyed. She was absolutely right. The minute we bit into the yellowtail we swooned: rich, buttery and smooth, the rice and fish were both the perfect temperature. Absolute perfection. The kamapachi and salmon were wonderful but it was the yellowtail that really gets you. The kampachi was lightly dressed in yuzu and the salmon had a paper thin shell of vinegar, which was interesting...but not necessary, as the salmon was rich, fatty and flavorful (rff).

Everything was perfectly seasoned, cut beautifully and made me so damn happy. We savored every bite and panicked when the last roll came. The rolls were fair, lovingly wrapped in perfectly toasted seaweed with a little extra diaper piece to cover the end but it was all about the fish. We ordered more yellowtail and salmon. We thought of Bobby, who regards mackerel as his favorite and ordered two different mackerels, Spanish and Japanese. Everything was so good we also ordered the red snapper, blue crab roll and of course, another yellowtail roll.

Sake to me. Shut up, you know you were thinking it!

This is the delightful Spanish mackerel. Absolutely derightfur indeed. I was surprised at how great this was.
Saba

Blue Crab Roll: the other rolls were better

The Spanish mackerel was our favorite out of the second order. I've always liked broiled mackerel okay but this was love. Rich, topped with the perfect amount of ginger, it literally melted in my mouth. The saba and red snapper (a little too sweet) were still buttery (like everything we had) but the Spanish mackerel kicked saba's ass. The Blue Crab Roll was cooked unfortunately and wasn't as good as I had hoped but like I said, it was all about the nigiri.

Everytime we dipped our fish into the soy sauce (very sparingly of course), our soy sauce would produce a beautiful sheen from all the lovely fish oils. For dessert we had more yellowtail and vowed to come back. I grew a little sad watching the patrons at the bar hand receive their orders from the sushi chefs and knowing they were closing and that we had to go but I was still glowing from the beautiful meal.

The oils

So... I'm still zen from the wonderful night. Not only did I have the best sushi I've had in the longest, everything was incredible...and I got to go home to a sparkling kitchen. The prices were reasonable and the service was truly excellent. The staff are very thoughtful, watchful and opinionated in a good way. Usually I wouldn't care for people telling me what to do but it was kind of a turn on. Plus I got to flick off Matsuhisa on the drive back.

Good night and thanks again to D and Oishii Eats for recommending this heavenly place.