nozawa

there are a few dining experiences that alter and broaden your view of the food you have been eating. they are representative of a shift in how you used to taste and consume a dish and how from that first bite on, nothing will taste the same again. my first meal at sushi nozawa over a decade ago, was such an awakening. pre nozawa, sushi was just sushi - small slices of fish on top of cold sticky rice and cut rolls, usually always with avocado and almost always tasting alike. sushi was an activity, not a meal.
post nozawa, sushi became a mind blowing, delicate, buttery, fresh and nothing compares to experience. i know you can find sushi like this all over japan, and now, in the states, there are a handful of sushi chef's recreating amazingly perfect pieces of fish, but for me, sushi nozawa was an awakening of sorts - the beginning of my love for not just sushi, but for the craft and skill and importance of fresh, high quality ingredients that go into creating memorable dining experiences.
well, master nozawa is retiring at the end of this month (his expanding chain of sugarfish restaurants run by his son will attempt to continue to carry the torch) and so i had to go for one last final taste, a last pilgrimage of sorts. we sat at the small sushi bar and put ourselves in the masters hands (there is no menu at the bar) until we could not eat another bite. everything, from the starting tuna sashimi to the warm rice crab hand rolls and yuzu halibut were as perfect as i remember them being. no frills, no fuss and no avocado's and until i fly to japan or win the lottery and eat at urasawa- i suspect they will remain to be the yummiest.
sayonara sushi nozawa and arigato!

*photos courtesy of yelp because, well, i forgot all about taking pictures as soon as the first dish was placed in front of me.