![]() It’s the ultimate contrast, the sensuality of the flesh playing against the brutal decadence of the hot, crunchy heads filled with creamy tomalley. And just as we’ve devoured the tails, the heads arrive deep-fried to a crisp, their big black eyeballs staring blankly through a thin layer of tempura. The taste is clean and sweet and fatty all at once. Undressed and completely naked, every supple curve and indention of the flesh is stunning, almost like looking at a grapefruit segment that’s been removed from its casing. The tails of live sweet shrimp are stripped of their protective armor and glazed with a fine gossamer of soy. It is topped with pickled scallion and ginger and a single brushstroke of soy sauce, and I cannot imagine a more perfect bite. As I bring the plate toward me, the mackerel’s iridescent skin shimmers between silver and blue, like one of those pictures that changes shapes depending on the angle at which you view it. “Aji,” says the chef as he’s handing over another piece of nigiri. The sea bass has a more pronounced salinity than the halibut. Although the tables around the dining room are set with soy sauce, there isn’t a single bottle at the sushi counter. Everything handed to me is meant to be consumed within seconds exactly as it is. The idea is that I’m not supposed to dip anything into soy sauce or muck anything up with wasabi. It’s topped with a few drops of what I presume might be shishito pepper oil. ![]() Next up is sea bass, a pinkish pearl essence of flesh, delicately crosshatched with a dozen meticulous knife marks. It tastes like fresh tears, and with this one bite, I know I’m in for an extraordinary ride. It’s the perfect size for a single, civilized mouthful. It’s topped with a single fleck of orange and red relish of some sort. The flesh is vaguely translucent on one end, fading to an opaque white on the other. The glistening sliver of halibut clings to an equally proportioned lump of rice. “Halibut fin,” the chef says, timidly, handing two small plates across the counter, each sporting a single piece of nigiri sushi. Almost immediately after this, the first course arrives. “Pickled” is perhaps too strong of a word for these cucumbers, though, which taste not of vinegar but of sake. It’s a bowl of lightly pickled cucumber slices. Within seconds of our sitting down, the first dish arrives. “The counter is for omakase only,” she says, apologetically. ![]() The hostess gives us one of those polite little bows. “Can we sit there?” I ask, pointing to the counter. When I originally stop in for lunch, the dining room is thronged, yet strangely no one is sitting at the sushi counter. Omakase is a simple word with a rather profound meaning that humbly translates to, “I trust and respect you. Omakase is that tradition of putting yourself in the hands of the sushi chef, letting him prepare whatever he desires. ![]() South American Restaurants 2022 North American Restaurants 2022 European Restaurants 2021 European Casual Restaurants 2021 European Classical Restaurants 2021 European Cheap Eats Restaurants 2021 North American Restaurants 2021 North American Cheap Eats Restaurants 2021 North American Casual Restaurants 2021 Japanese Restaurants 2021 Japanese Casual Restaurants 2021 Asian Restaurants 2021 Asian Casual Restaurants 2021 Asian Restaurants 2020 Japanese Restaurants 2020 European Restaurants 2020 European Classical Restaurants 2020 European Cheap Eats Restaurants 2020 European Heritage Restaurants 2020 European Gourmet Casual 2020 North American Restaurants 2020 North American Heritage Restaurants 2020 North American Gourmet Casual Restaurants 2020 North American Cheap Eats Restaurants 2020 Japanese Restaurants 2019 Asian Restaurants 2019 European Restaurants 2019 European Heritage Restaurants 2019 European Gourmet Casual 2019 European Classical Restaurants 2019 North American Restaurants 2019 North American Heritage Restaurants 2019 North American Gourmet Casual Restaurants 2019 North American Cheap Eats Restaurants 2019 Asian Restaurants 2018 Classical & Heritage Restaurants 2018 European Restaurants 2018 European Classical Restaurants 2018 European Gourmet Casual 2018 European Heritage Restaurants 2018 North American Cheap Eats Restaurants 2018 North American Gourmet Casual Restaurants 2018 North American Heritage Restaurants 2018 North American Restaurants 2018 Asian Restaurants 2017 Classical & Heritage Restaurants 2017 European Restaurants 2017 European Gourmet Casual 2017 U.S.Before I stumbled upon Sushi Murasaki, I had been making my rounds among the county’s top-rated sushi restaurants for months, hoping to find a truly memorable omakase.
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