Sushi Like You Mean It

So everyone told us, once we had sushi in Tokyo we would never like American sushi again.  I was dubious.  I mean I get it, but how good could it really be?

Well first off, the restaurant we went to was AMAZING!  It was called XEX (Yeah that sounds Japanese) and was situated on the 42nd floor of an office building overlooking the ginza.   As if the view wasn't enough, and it was, the restaurant itself was gorgeous.  

The hostess greets you at the elevator and escorts you down this mood lighted pathway to a big bar with an expansive view of downtown Tokyo.  The lounge was packed and smoky so we didn't pause for a photograph here. 

Hostess, lighted pathway

They literally had a zen garden in the middle of the restaurant.

This is a private dining table in the garden next to a flowering tree.
There were a lot of private rooms behind slatted sliding doors.
We know because we could hear a lot of drunken laughter.

That's our sushi master and behind him are the shimmering lights of Tokyo.
Far beneath him.
At one point during the meal a fabulous show of fireworks started to go off in the distance.
I thought Russell had arranged them just for me.
Turns out they were coming from Tokyo Disney.
It was magical.

Unlike the glass cases at American Sushi bars, this bar presented the specialties on a block of ice.
  That's some kind of shell fish, alive.

Next to the shell fish is a bowl of the bounty to be served that night.
The bar itself was wooden and so smooth.  It smelled heavenly.

Can you guess which
sake glass is whose?







We ordered a pre fixe meal and the first course was served in a covered bowl.
Hmmm. They usually serve miso soup at the end of the meal.


This was no miso soup.  It was soooooo good.
Mushrooms with sea urchin.
Like budda.


A medley of seasonal vegetables served in a bath of deliciousness.

Sashimi with radish and the customary wasabi.

Although there was nothing customary about this wasabi. 

The chef hand grated it off of the wasabi root right in front of you.

And it was not strong or pungent but flavorful and complementary.

Sashimi that literally melted in your mouth.

And that's not a chunk of butter; it's egg.

I think this is baked cod.  I love the way they dress the plate with the Japanese maple leaf.

The lemon wedge will give you an idea of the scale of this dish.

This ain't no American portion.

This was dessert, some sort of custard with mini pancakes and mango slices.

I love the silver bowl.

Ok, so they were right.  The only thing I might miss about American Sushi are the rolls. 

Other than tuna roll, I  have not encountered any rolls in sushi land.  

And I have to confess, I do like a crunchy, 

spicy spider roll, doesn't everyone?

As in America, sushi bars can be highly congenial.  People like to start up conversation.

There's always the curious inquiry over a dish, WTF is that?!, pass the soy sauce, kampai!, etc.  Well, at our little sushi bar, to my left, there sat an older gentleman with a younger gentleman.  My guess is they worked together.  They were both wearing suits (Japanese uniform) and had briefcases.  Over a few courses I recognized they were there celebrating the older man's birthday.  He was very happy about his birthday and at one point shared a card with the younger gentlemen.  When I looked over he encouraged the younger man to show the card to me.  Turns out it was a birthday card from his son who lives in Houston (Houston-why?).  It was one of those cards that plays a tune you can't get out of your head once you've opened it.  I think it was Elvis.  He was completely enamored with it, simply amazed.

Feeling magnanimous, he decided to share something else with me.  He handed a picture to the younger man and very emphatically gestured for him to share that with me as well.  I could have happily lived my whole life without seeing what he handed me.  It was a picture of him holding a shotgun, while he proudly posed with the dead carcass of a bear.  I was horrified.  The old guy was beaming.

The younger guy, sensing my horror (although I was trying to be gracious: smiling and bowing; trying not to barf) attempted to explain to me that it was actually an act of kindness the bear was shot as, due to the unusually hot summer, the bear would most likely have starved to death. 

Uh huh.

We left soon after the bear scene.

Wanna see my bear picture?