Tataki: Sustainable Sushi

I’m a huge sushi lover. In San Francisco you could throw a stone in any directionand hit a sushi joint.  I’ve got two places that are staples: Ebisu for high quality traditional nigiri I grew up on (I’m kind of “meh” about Ozumos) and Kabuto for the contemporary-fireworks-in-my-mouth dishes.

Tonight I went Tataki - a place I thought at first was going to be more novelty than quality. But I was pleasantly surprised.

In short, their mission statement is to serve species of seafood that are harvested in a sustainable manner.

Knowing that, I was a little skeptical. No Toro, not Hamachi, and no Hirame. I was like “crap, those are my staples. I am not eating just California rolls and tamago.”  But like it said, I was pleasantly surprised.

Tonight’s meal:

• Tataki Deluxe: 5 types of Tataki of the chef’s choice served with 5 dipping sauces (Salmon, Scallop, Amber Jack Tuna, Skipjack Tuna, and Kampachi)
• Beef Carpaccio,
• 3 kinds of Nigiri: Tonight’s special mackerel (I can’t remember the name, but it was so light and buttery with just a hint of the ocean at end), Saba (regular mackerel), and Uni.

Everything was super fresh. The subtle sweet, salty, and buttery tones of each cut of fish was testament to the quality.  Because this place didn’t have my standard choices, it gave me the opportunity to try some great stuff I would have never thought of trying elsewhere. This was another of those moments when change was good. It won’t replace Ebisu or Kabuto, but it’ll be a new place to add into the rotation.

In addition to being a great meal, I walked away feeling good about not eating a species into extinction…for tonight at least.

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