Jiro Dreams of Sushi!!

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by Ronin

I can't even find a place locally that compares to Sushi Dai, let alone Jiro's.

What makes Sushi Dai so good compared to another sushi shop down the road there? There must be plenty of sushi restaurants around that area and freshness must be somewhat on par. If I'm not mistaken, doesn't it cater to foreigners? Apparently the wait times are crazy, 3+hrs. If you had to wait that long, man anything would taste good.

I just wanna make sure it's not a tourist trap before investing 3+ hours to wait to eat there!

[Ronin]

Does this look tourist trappy to you?

Spoiler!

o-toro/high quality tuna belly


suzuki/sea bass


tai/red snapper


uni/sea urchin


magurozuke/marinated tuna


akagai/red clam


aji/mackerel


shiroebi/baby shrimp


kajiki/swordfish


rolls (shellfish/cucumber and chu-toro)


anago/sea eel

Admittedly you're not going to get the extreme attention to detail you'll get at Jiro's but hey, it's also about 10% of the price.

I haven't been to the other places but I loved the food at Sushi Dai so much the first time, I ate my weight in otoro...and the second time...well, I WENT A SECOND TIME within 2 weeks. It's good food...good enough to justify the wait. And it isn't just tourists. Lots of locals...or at least other Japanese people in line.

There's 4-5 restaurants at Tsukiji that have lines...Daiwa and Sushi Dai have the longest...but I doubt you could go wrong at any of them. The others get almost no traffic...and I think I'd rather eat at a place I know is going through a lot of seafood so it isn't sitting in the fridge? I'm sure there's a reason there are lines. They really do a great job, the food is awesome and the people there are friendly as hell. I got the same chef on both my visits and he's hilarious.

[unit]

its not a tourist trap but i saw like a 3hr line of chinese people there last time, went to a different place and was still totally beyond satisfied.

[LiquidTurbo]

^ Yea, I figure with the restaurants in the local area, there must be many hidden gems as good as Sushi Dai for less expensive and no waiting, I mean, they all have access to the same fish that Sushi Dai does! I'm just imagining that waiting 3 hours has something to do with it.

[Ronin]

Having access to the same fish doesn't mean having the same fish. That's not how the market works.

I'm sure there are other good places there but Sushi Dai isn't expensive. $30 for that sort of meal isn't expensive. $7 per piece of otoro is, though.

[LiquidTurbo]

I'd pay $30 for that meal in a heartbeat

[Jer3]

sushi dai is quite good though daiwa is only slightly lower in quality in my opinion (ootoro/chuutoro wasn't quite as nicely marbled nor tasted as great).

i tried out sushi maru this time around and found it to be equally as nice as sushi dai minus the insane lineups. the anago was quite nicely done i found and the aburi sushi they are known for was miles better than any aburi i've had in vancouver. the ikura was quite nice as well.

if ur in tsukiji as well and not feeling like sushi, theres an small restaurant named toyochan serving up amazing katsu hayashi. theres also a place around the corner of tsukiji-shijou that serves chirashi hitsumabushi that i wasn't able to try this time around.

[Obsideon]

I've also dined at Sushi Dai twice, AMAZING I tell you! ... both times I ordered the set combo, TWICE. Then added a whole bunch of other sushi on top of that. The other people at the counter were staring at me as I devoured them all piece by piece lol ... delicious!
The fish and seafood they get is literally carted in minutes from arriving into the port and the chefs choose the cuts of the fish to get, some chefs have a better eye and feel for it then others. Hence the reason Sushi Dai is more popular than the other chains in the area, plus the guaranteed higher turnover ensures that you will get the freshest of the fresh. Other restaurants in the area could have the same fish sitting there for days.
The standouts are obviously the O-toro and Chu-toro but the Botan Ebi (Sweet Prawn) and the Uni (Sea Urchin) is also heavenly!
My friend who was with me bought a huge pack of fresh Hokkaido Uni and ate it all in 1 night ... kind of overkill but... that's really how good it was lol
Next time I'm heading to Japan, Jiro will be on my list for sure! I can't wait!

[LiquidTurbo]

Who here would pay 300-400 to eat his sushi? I'd be hesitant, but really, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

[skyxx]

^I rather pay him than head over to ToJo's.

[sonick]

Yea, plus $300 to $400 is expensive but not really unaffordable. If you have an interest in food, I think it's worth it to pay that knowing you'll eat what could be said is the best sushi in the world. Especially since there's only one Jiro.

Hype from the movie and Michelin stars aside, is there any other sushi chef in the world that supposedly compares to Jiro?

[cho]

just saw the movie last night, was soooooooooooo hungry

would drop some cash to eat there in a heartbeat

[TRDood]

Saw the documentary today. Very respectable individual.

Spoiler!

It seems like the documentary hasn't talked about Jiro's wife. I think it would be interesting to learn how she copes with Jiro's work life and the teachings of her two sons.

[Ronin]

$300-400 is a lot of money but you're getting a 3-star meal. You're not dining there all the time...once or twice provided I have the money is a no-brainer for me.

[Jer3]

watched it on sunday and it was a great. the thing that surprised me was seeing hachiro mizutani of sushi mizutani fame in the movie. never knew he apprenticed/worked for jiro in his younger years. i also didn't realize the kuruma ebi cut in half is a jiro inspired creation.

from what i gathered from chowhound before, jiro's ginza branch is more catered towards japanese clientele while the roppongi branch inside roppongi hills is where most foreigners are diverted to. most likely because the chefs at the roppongi location know some english.

movie also made me hungry so went for ajisai after the movie and made it on time at the opening so we didn't have to wait for a table

[Presto]

I'm halfway through this awesome movie. Roppongi isn't really another branch. It's Jiro's younger son's business. It's awesome that the restaurant is the same design, only mirrored, because the son is left handed.

[Zeph331]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Nothing in Vancouver is in the same class.

No? not even Miku Resturant in Downtown? or Minami??

[european]

I love Japan! I love documentaries! and I certainly love sushi! I wanna watch this on blu-ray. I will check if bestbuy or futureshop has it in stock and will report back.

[KingDeeCee]

^ Canada doesn't carry this movie in bluray.

[rageguy]

Originally Posted by Zeph331

No? not even Miku Resturant in Downtown? or Minami??

Miku/Minami is a completely different style of sushi. It's aburi. Whereas Jiro is more on the traditional style of fish on rice. No crazy aburi sauce, no crazy MSG.

If you are to compare Jiro to something here in BC, look at Sushi Hachi in Richmond or Ajisai in Vancouver. Both offer the same style, but of course not the same quality as Jiro.

[ForeverYours]

Saw this movie a couple weeks ago.

these guys are so passionate about they put in so much hard work making every little piece
3 month waitlist just to get into the restaurant as well there must be a huge backlog

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by Zeph331

No? not even Miku Resturant in Downtown? or Minami??

I've eaten at both. They're great restaurants but not the same sort of Japanese food and not in the same league. I have massive respect for Miku and Minami. I've talked to the restauranteurs and they're passionate about food but sorry, they aren't Michelin star quality restaurants and not in the same league as Jiro.

Think about it this way: Jiro has been a sushi chef longer than just about every sushi place in Vancouver has been open...probably put together.

[european]

Originally Posted by KingDeeCee

^ Canada doesn't carry this movie in bluray.

Cool. Neat. Thanks for the heads up. I'll go through Amazon.com

[Ronin]

I just downloaded it after seeing it in theaters. I'll buy it when it's convenient.

[Presto]

It's available for instant streaming on the US Netflix.