Sushi Across America

KOJI OSAKAYA

Miyagi's, The Danster and Godzilla

Could there possibly be a connection between eating sushi and the proliferation of baseball in Japan (thus eventually leading Hideki Matsui to The Bronx) and (hopefully) leading the NY Yankees 2005 to the pennant and the World Series?

The case could be made that sushi came East in exchange for baseball going West. What's next, Amercian-born sushi chefs becoming big stars in the Land of the Rising Sun?

Anyway here in New York Dani and I feasted/snacked on aji, spinach gomae, a Miyagi roll, snow crab, a tilefish appetizer, Sapporo, miso soup and age tofu. (Not to mention a salmon skin special.)
Afterward, Dani went to work and I joined Burgerman, Mary and Jessi at the Stadium and Godzilla provided the fireworks - the go-ahead 2-run HR in the 7th and two insurance runs on a 2-RBI double in the 8th.
It was fun baseball.

Dani Again (5/03)

After a depressing Yankees game (with the Blue Jays coming back from behind in the 6th(?)), Dad and I went to Miyagi for some comfort food. The minute we walked in, the waitress saw our Yankees garb and sad faces and immediately knew the team must not have done so well. What happened, they were so good last year. I know. I know.

The dinner was complete with the Melia favorite, the Miyagi Roll, a sashimi platter, Ikura, a spicy yellowtail roll and lots of Dad/Daughter bonding. We ended the meal with Tofutti Tempura and a game of dots-- dad won.

ps. Tino Martinez hit a homerun as I wrote this.

Dani's Entry

4.23.05 (A Feast at Amura)

After an emotional day in Melbourne and a long drive to Orlando, Dad, Geri, Jess, Willie, Luke, Jeanhee, Sushi Mike and I feasted at Amura in Orlando. It was one of those rare (and wonderful) occasions when Dad and all his kids are in the same place at the same time.

Since it happened to be passover, we set a cup of sake out for Elijah, but alas dad thought it was his about it and drank it. The delicious dinner was complete with two huge sushi boats, Unagi upon Jess's request, lots of Dynamite hand rolls and Ikura monsters fashioned by Dad.

It might have been the most sushi I've even eaten. Although I always seem to think that after dinner with Dad.

What We Got - Nothing to Lose

The Yanks lost again today . . . to the dreadlocked Red Sox . . . and it's back to AkasakA for more sushi ... in Detroit.

Spanish Mackeral . . . uni . . . white tuna . . . miso soup . . . hamachi . . . seaweed salad - - -

It was good.

Yanks Lose - We Go to Takahashi

The game was over. The girls looked at me with those eyes and asked and teased gently and I broke down easily. We took the 4 Train to 125th, the 6 to 96th, picked up Jessi's car and drove downto Avenue A.

We had a white tuna sashimi that was really good. We all had miso soup. I had a Sapporo. Dani had a salmon skin hand roll, jessi one with unagi and i had spicy yellowtail.

We had more than that but I don''t remember right now. Yesterday before the game Dani and I ate at SambaSushi and the two events run together.

Samba Sushi was a first for me. I think Dani ate there before.

Anyway, it was good. We weren't that hungry because I went to Whole Foods - the new one in Union Square - in the building that housed a Woolworth's for year and I maybe a May's Department Store.

I bought Green Mountain Chips, WF Hummus and salmon spread. We ate it in the park (ruining the original plan of having an early sushi dinner.) But the salmon spread was really really good.)

We walked all over Grammercy Park trying to find a sushi bar we had eaten at last year some time (maybe even the year before.) We had gone to Yoshi's but they were closed and that's when we found this other place. What we were really doing is walking off some of the salmon salad/hummus and chips.

There has to be seven or eight sushi bars in a six square blocks.

In fact there was another one two doors down from Samba Sushi.

Samba Sushi - modern cool look. Sushi bar booths and a few nooks and crannies. We sat at the bar and had o-toro and amberjack. We had uni and ukura and it was all great.

Then it was off to Yankee Stadium - - - the Yanks lost and we went to Takahashi. It's All Good.

PALINDROMES -- akakakakakaka aka akasaka

That's a mouthful and a mindful . . . if you are still with me, then you and i and the other readers will probably be together in nyc -- in early april (1st tuesday nite (after the yankees have played the first 2 games against the red sox . . . it promises to be a great year for baseball ( even the mets look good Mr. Dylan) -- merle & bob - a little piece of heaven -
"could be holding you tonite
could stop doing wrong start doing right --
it don't matter what i think -
think i'll just stay here and drink"

\\Dateline Detroit ::: drinking smoking -- oh yeah and eating sushi at Akasaka . . . you ain't been till you been . . let's all go see the Yankees in Detroit on July 3rd and eat sushi at AkaSakA afterward and we-ll tell you about why the waitress made sure we weren't driving . . . i wish you were there

What did we eat -- some great red snapper - - i mean GREAT --
white tuna and good uni -- R)rachel where are you ) uni uni uni --\1st time 4 Geri - - - and lots of beeer and saki and more of the same - river eel hand rolls -- lots of native people in the ethers / . .
greaaaaat yellow tail . . . miso soup ... tuna and dancing in the nite - - like Frank Sinatra . . .