Tojo's

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

one thing i'd like to make a comment on is Ebisu's sashmi platter seems to be lacking a bit. The salmon is rather HUGE and fatty, those farmed orange ones, to me it taste pretty disgusting. The tuna was rather large too, its more like korean style sashimi like sushi town etc


Thats one category im hoping it'd get improved...otherwise i love Ebisu dont me wrong and deon , a loyal customer thats for sure.


The reason i brought this up was because one time i brought a couple family friends and they did not enjoyed the sashimi too much, but everything else was very well done.


just my 2 cents

[RFlush]

Originally Posted by Obsideon

It was way more than 6 years ago I believe. I remember when we changed over to 'keep with the fad' we were also one of the best, if not the best AYCE in Vancouver, but because we were serving higher quality and higher grade food with more professional (and freakin' expensive) Japanese chefs it was difficult to sustain and make profit and potential was very limited so we had to discontinue the AYCE. A year or so after we switched back to authentic, traditional dining.

Wakaru?

Oh and no, it was never "Buffet get-your-own-food style" lol!

I remember we had to get our own miso soup and sashimi slices and it wasn't even that good. Granted I am no food critic, but it tasted no different than Richmond Sushi or any other AYCE.

Also, doesn't Ebisu serve fusion sushi. Is that authentic and traditional?

[6793026]

Originally Posted by Obsideon

Japanese owned with roots going back 40+ years starting in Yokohama. Ebisu is the same owner as Kamei Royale, one of the oldest (turning 35 years old!), authentic, traditional Japanese restaurants in Vancouver.

Thanks for asking though, it's always good to clear the air of any misconceptions

Culverin: No offense taken. I know exactly where you are coming from. I just didn't go into as much detail as you have.
I believe all good chefs should have their own knife sets that are kept razor sharp. Specifically all our sushi chefs were trained and have worked many years in Japan before coming over to work for us.

wow, so much fail on this. Saying having jap chefs with great knives skills, is that suppose to give it more value in saying it's Jap owned? haahhah

I have been to Ebisu lots of time and while the quality ain't best of the best, the way it's presented, the special 'spin', the sauces and alcohol menu makes me want to go there instead of the AYCE places.

If after reading Culverin's post, Obsideon still feels Ebisu serves the same grade, quality, cuts, type, species of sushi as Tojo's, i really don't know what to say.

[Spoon]

Originally Posted by Z3guy

I'll remember never to go to your restaurant......

I'm sharing the same sentiment now that I know Ebisu belongs in the same group as Kamei Royale.

And to defend their product with words like these:

I remember when we changed over to 'keep with the fad' we were also one of the best, if not the best AYCE in Vancouver.

Just admit your mistakes and move on. I don't know if it's improved since way back when, but the food was junk regardless of how you try to spin it.

[Obsideon]

Originally Posted by Z3guy

Nice back pedal buddy! Culverin owned you.....and you work in the restaurant biz? I'll remember never to go to your restaurant......

Back pedal? Culverin elaborated in detail on the same perspective as me.

Originally Posted by Mugen EvOlutioN

one thing i'd like to make a comment on is Ebisu's sashmi platter seems to be lacking a bit. The salmon is rather HUGE and fatty, those farmed orange ones, to me it taste pretty disgusting. The tuna was rather large too, its more like korean style sashimi like sushi town etc
Thats one category im hoping it'd get improved...otherwise i love Ebisu dont me wrong and deon , a loyal customer thats for sure.
The reason i brought this up was because one time i brought a couple family friends and they did not enjoyed the sashimi too much, but everything else was very well done.

I will definitely take a note of that right away! Thanks for the constructive feedback! Always appreciate it! See you soon bud!

Originally Posted by RFlush

I remember we had to get our own miso soup and sashimi slices and it wasn't even that good. Granted I am no food critic, but it tasted no different than Richmond Sushi or any other AYCE.

Also, doesn't Ebisu serve fusion sushi. Is that authentic and traditional?

RFlush, once again, No. Not for 1 day has it ever been self-serve. I'm not sure if you are mistaking it for another restaurant...
When did I ever mention that Ebisu is authentic or traditional? Hence it was re-branded EBISU and not Kamei. Completely different direction, aiming for unique fusion dishes in an Asian-resto-lounge atmosphere. Point is that we still have the same chefs that have been trained in Japan to prepare and cut the fish.

Originally Posted by 6793026

wow, so much fail on this. Saying having jap chefs with great knives skills, is that suppose to give it more value in saying it's Jap owned? haahhah

I have been to Ebisu lots of time and while the quality ain't best of the best, the way it's presented, the special 'spin', the sauces and alcohol menu makes me want to go there instead of the AYCE places.

If after reading Culverin's post, Obsideon still feels Ebisu serves the same grade, quality, cuts, type, species of sushi as Tojo's, i really don't know what to say.

I don't know if my grammar is way off or you are just percieving my sentence wrong lol ... but what I said was "All good chefs should have their own set of sharp knives" ... and then I just made a small note that all our chefs each have a set. How do you lump that statement together with another and form another opinion entirely?

Tojo is great at marketing. Everyone in the industry knows about it.
Infact quite a few of our chefs have actually worked with Tojo himself.
I admit I know there will obviously be some detail differences here and there, but if you still feel that you need to justify paying 3x more for the same cut of fish then props to you, I'm too poor
Thank you for your support and constructive critisicm is important!

Originally Posted by Spoon

I'm sharing the same sentiment now that I know Ebisu belongs in the same group as Kamei Royale.
Just admit your mistakes and move on. I don't know if it's improved since way back when, but the food was junk regardless of how you try to spin it.

Kamei Royale-AYCE was almost a decade ago. We live and learn
It wasn't a mistake, we were even featured in The Province as being one of the top AYCE at the time.
I am not biased. I am comfortable to tell you if a competing restaurant is infact GOOD.
Guu (Thurlow) has great food whenever I go and I actually go there frequently afterwork, good friends with the chef.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

I think there is no need to drag Ebisu into this, as they have many different branches plus Kamei Royale is aiming to achieve a totally different dining experience than ebsiu

Ebisu is not your traditional japanese cuisine, its like a lounge with modern japanese food in mind and fuzion it together



compare apples to apples guys

[Anakin]

how many of you have actually been to japan? i would say anywhere that makes rolls cannot be considered traditional japanese

ebisu is clearly not traditional japanese, it's an izakaya (IE a drinking place with food, it just happens to be good pub food)

[Culverin]

Hey guys,
I didn't make my post to trash on Obsideon and Ebisu. I just wanted to help sort out some confusion that seemed to be floating around this thread.


My qualifications? None really.
I'm just a really picky foodie.

Admittedly, I've never been to Ebisu, it's been on my to-do list ever since I finally decided to start posting on RS.
How can I be a full-fledged RSer if I haven't gone to Ebisu right?

... doesn't Ebisu serve fusion sushi. Is that authentic and traditional?

Authentic doesn't have to be traditional.

Authentic = Whatever "a peoples" eat in their native land, this includes junk food and pub food. I would say even the junk food @ Daiso is authentic.
Traditional = Whatever their ancestors ate, including the method in which it is prepared.

As long as I'm not eating the "sweet and sour chicken balls" equivalent white washed japanese cuisine while being marketed as "authentic" and "traditional", I'm pretty happy.
I don't really care the origin of the recipe I'm eating as long as it's good.
I think there's a fine line between dedicated foodie and food elitist.

Originally Posted by Obsideon

Japanese owned with roots going back 40+ years starting in Yokohama. Ebisu is the same owner as Kamei Royale, one of the oldest (turning 35 years old!),

authentic, traditional Japanese restaurants in Vancouver.

Authentic is good.
I've got a huuuge long rant about non-Japanese people doing sushi, but let's save that for another time.
Maybe after post my rant after yet another person brings Samurai Sushi to a potluck.


As for Japanese owned. Yes, it makes a difference too.
Japanese owned/operated means a couple things for me.

1. Japanese training and heritage means they KNOW what good sushi SHOULD be like.
   
   Imagine trying to design a race car without:

• Understanding the basics of how a car should handle and behave. (Chinese and Viet people don't have a sushi background at all! Nothing even close!).
• Having proper training from somebody who's has designed successfully designed a car.

I know this is going to come off sounding racist, but the Japanese people I know are intrinsically neurotic, they take a lot of pride in their work. This translates beautifully in the restaurant industry, especially delicate food prep like sushi.

wow, so much fail on this. Saying having jap chefs with great knives skills, is that suppose to give it more value in saying it's Jap owned? haahhah

The actual quote was this:

I believe all good chefs should have their own knife sets that are kept razor sharp.

Bingo!
It matters to a lot. A chef's knives are his primary tool.
Maintenance in your primary tool is a very accurate reflection of how much care a chef puts into his work.

As a sushi chef, if you aren't attentive enough to know you're working with a dull knife, or care enough to do something about it, I don't want you anywhere near my sushi.

Sushi isn't like other foods, you don't cook sushi, you prep it to let the pure unadulterated ingredients shine through.
With something like that, I demand attentiveness and pride from my chef.
hahahaha, ok, now I'm beginning to sound like an elitist.


I've never really worked in the industry, but even for home cooks, it shows.
People that don't live for food will end up using dull knives and just leave it be.
My foodie friends all own at least a Shun, Wusthoff or Global if not something better.

My own steps went something like this:
Wusthoff Classic > Global > Japanese Hand Forged Gyuto



I think Obsideon just made some very general statements:
japanese owned = good
sharp knives = a caring chef

Sounds like he assumed everybody would be able to connect the dots.
You needn't burn the guy just cause you can't.

[ilvtofu]

LOL I'm so sick of hearing the negativity around "non japanese" sushi chefs I wish I could be genetically superior with japanese sushi handling skills rooted in the blood that flows in me

Ugh I wanna be able to slice sashimi

[LiquidTurbo]

I come into this thread expecting to read about Tojos and I get talk about Ebisu. LOL.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

^

same i want to know more about tojos damn it

[LiquidTurbo]

Let's get this thread back on track. So who's actually been to Tojo's here? Worth the money?
Posted via RS Mobile

[bcrdukes]

No more chit chat about Ebisu. There is an entire thread dedicated to them.

This thread is about Tojo's. May I kindly request everybody to stay on topic, please and thank you.

[unit]

tojos was really good last time i went 2-3 yrs ago.
worth trying considering a lot of the dishes are pretty original.

but obviously its not a value pick, so it wont really be worth the 150+ you spend after everything if your expectations are insanely high.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

$150 + for a person or two, either way i better expect it to be god like, like tender juicy pussy in my mouth. Now thats money

[unit]

for one person.
average meal will cost 100, but u can easily spend more.
add a few drinks, hst, and a 20% tip and you're pretty up there.

[LiquidTurbo]

On No Reservations Vancouver, Anthony Bourdain had real wasabi made from root. That looked amazing. 100 per person is quite the expensive meal though. May be too rich for my blood.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Death2Theft]

100$ per person sushi isn't that head and heels above 50 or even 30$ per person meal.
For 100$ a head with no booze i'd rather hit up a french restaurant.
But if you want to throw money around to impress people then by all means go to Tojo's.

[Blinky]

I wouldn't go to Tojo's for sushi.

I went maybe 5-6 years ago and ordered omakase. It was wonderful - delicate, unique preparations according to what was fresh and available. There was no sushi included. This in my mind is good. I'm going for the creativity.

I last went about two years ago. Ordered omakase again. It didn't wow me, and there was a sushi course. Don't get me wrong, some of the sushi presentation was well executed - a wafer-thin egg wrap comes to mind - but none of the dishes we had that night really stood out to the point I'd remember them today.

Personally, I wouldn't make Tojo's my choice if I want to have a nice dinner out. There are too many other options in Vancouver.

[6793026]

I hope to put this in a way everyone can understand. Tojo's is like fine dining but for jap restaurant.

Surf and turf dinner at chain restaurant would be for say 25 dollars, you just can't compare the prices from that to say.. West or Le crocodile in which you'll get the same "beef and seafood" but it'll cost you 45 dollars.

Is it worth it to get porterhouse for 50 dollars? is it worth getting unique sushi at tojo's? is it worth it to eat fine dining when you can have shark fin soup, abalone and feed table of 10 instead and have 8 courses and even red bean soup for dessert. People and usually a lot the non foodies might no see why it's worth so much going to Tojos. just my 2 cents

[SlySi]

I frequent Tojo's twice a year.
Usually taking a customer or a customer taking me out.
Its a great place to burn business expenses.

I do enjoy Tojo's though.
Tojo himself is a great person. Sit at the bar. Say hi to him and he will chat with you.
Half the time I have no clue what hes saying, but a great guy nevertheless.
All of his staffs love working for him. Unlike many other trashy, mini skirt driven restaurants. Tojo's restaurant has class.
He takes great effort when prepping food. You clearly see his passion and art when you're sitting at the bar.
The quality of food is bar none.
I love Sake. Tojo's has an excellent sake list. And if you can afford it, ask for the sake thats not listed on the menu.
Can't recall what I had last time, but the bottle did run me $110.00
If you are a sake fan, it was simply fabulous.

I love the fact that Tojo does not recommend sushi or sashimi with soya sauce. Nothing drives me more insane than watching people drown their food in soya sauce.


Comparing to Miku.
Thats tough.
Miku deserves their own thread. Another stellar restaurant.

[JayDaMan]

that place is sooo good fuck i would go there everyday if i had the money lmfao

[LiquidTurbo]

Miku? Or Tojos.
Gotta say, love Miku's website. Very very slick. Tojo's has reputation and marketing on its side though.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

Originally Posted by SlySi

I frequent Tojo's twice a year.
Usually taking a customer or a customer taking me out.
Its a great place to burn business expenses.

I do enjoy Tojo's though.
Tojo himself is a great person. Sit at the bar. Say hi to him and he will chat with you.
Half the time I have no clue what hes saying, but a great guy nevertheless.
All of his staffs love working for him. Unlike many other trashy, mini skirt driven restaurants. Tojo's restaurant has class.
He takes great effort when prepping food. You clearly see his passion and art when you're sitting at the bar.
The quality of food is bar none.
I love Sake. Tojo's has an excellent sake list. And if you can afford it, ask for the sake thats not listed on the menu.
Can't recall what I had last time, but the bottle did run me $110.00
If you are a sake fan, it was simply fabulous.

I love the fact that Tojo does not recommend sushi or sashimi with soya sauce. Nothing drives me more insane than watching people drown their food in soya sauce.


Comparing to Miku.
Thats tough.
Miku deserves their own thread. Another stellar restaurant.

i wish i was as lucky as you

lol

[observer]

Miku's torched salmon is nice, but not keen on all the izakaya style yelling. Tojo has private rooms and offers a more comfortable environment for chatting, service I find a little patronizing, and haven't found a killer dish making me wanting to go back yet.

However, if I want to focus on food alone, I personally think the otoro at Sushi Hachi is the best fish I have tasted in Vancouver. Too bad they are always crowded (reservation a must, only husband and wife working) and it's rather smoky inside. They make killer unagi though.

My ideal Japanese restaurant would be Zest's setting, Sushi Hachi's fish, Dan Cafe's hot dishes.