sushi

while this is a very cool thread, i wish people had noted their frame of reference - what they like - when they were making recommendations. i think sushi recommendations come in wildly different flavors and it is because people like wildly different things.

for instance, sushi (and japanese food) is our favorite thing ever and a very serious deal. we're about one thing - quality. excellent, super fresh, authentic sushi. couldn't care less about the crazy, creative bonzai superman philly volcano roll. quantity is also not a big deal. don't care a whit for atmosphere or friendliness or chatter from the chefs. it's all about the food. always omakase.

don't know why but also seem to be more comfortable if the chef is from japan. loved the fact that sushi sasabune (in HI) had the sushi nazi thing going and was all about quality and keeping it authentic and want to hit sushi nozawa (in CA) for the same reason.

i totally get that people look for completely different things. i have friends that value an engaging chef as highly as the food. we go to the places they like and are happy to just order safely. i think that as you experience higher and higher quality sushi that it's impossible to go back. better to do a shrimp tempura roll (which i like) at a mediocre sushi place than to take a chance on being bummed out by a c+ order of uni.

with that being said, our 2 favorite local places to go are...

-sea saw for just flat out awesome japanese inspired food (thought it is priced way beyond us)

-kampai for awesome, fresh authentic sushi at an incredible value

at kampai, we always, always wait for yuki-san (gray haired chef to the right) though aji-san rocks as well. only sat with the apprentices once and yuki-san took over when one was going to give us some tuna that he didn't approve of. had them go into the back and get the other stuff... i don't think he likes it too much when we leave it all up to him but he's used to it. it's always stellar and unreasonably cheap when compared to other quality places.

shinbay was great as well so we're waiting and hoping to hear something positive out of the autumn court development. we've also had great food at shimogamo. the other valley place that stands out in memory was mikado (long gone from camelback and scottsdale roads). had some great sushi and even kaiseki-style there.

other than that, we do want to try sushi-ko as we've seen that the chef is ex-matsuhisa. don't know if that will mean a lick but the last ex-matsuhisa chef we ate at became our go to person when i lived in huntington beach (takashi abe of ristorante abe and now of blue fin)

so if anybody feels like qualifying/chiming in on what they like about the places they've recommended (fancy creative rolls, scene, huge portions, just plain fresh and unique fish), it might be super helpful???
pulling from thread...
-Ichi Ban - Central and Thomas
-Tokyo Lobby
-Fish Market
-Dozo-Akaihana
-Sushi Ko
-Mishima
-Sakana (hayden & indian bend): do lunches here as right next to work, decent quality, good vlaue
-Zen 32
-Sushi on Shea
-Mr. Sushi
-Sushi Eye
-Sushi Kee
-Sushi Ken
-Kampai: our favorite for excellent quality sushi, also happens to be a great value
-Kyoto: decent sushi, super, super, super, super cheap, first tried sushi here back in 1985??
-Shimogamo: very good quality, good variety, need to try again
-Sea Saw: not standard sushi but just flat out awesome japanese inspired dishes, don't question the value but still can't afford more than once or twice a year. been coming in at $400+ for 2 of us with no crazy wine.

just can't get my mind around listing Ra & Blue Wasabi, though in fairness i've never given them a chance.

and if any of those falls in the flat out awesome quality, authentic sushi (interesting selections imported in from japan or elsewhere always a bonus) category, would love to hear so!!!

sushi progression...
kyoto
ninja (chandler)
mikado
kampai
move to ca
matsu (recommended by yuki-san & aji-san)
the view at the marriott on fashion island
tsunami (don't bother for straight sushi)
daimon (don't bother for straight sushi)
ristorante abe
matsuhisa
ginza sushika
move to kauai
kintaro (stay away from kintaro's if you're a quality person)
tip top (only decent sushi on island)
heard hanamalu cafe was good
move to oahu
yanagi sushi
sushi sasabune
move back to az
more kampai
nobu in lv
nobu in ny
sea saw
kaygetsu (san mateo)
shinbay
tetsuya in syndey oz
shimogamo
hiro sushi
stingray (cool but don't bother for straight sushi)
blue fin (ca)

ultimate goal is to do masa in ny

non-sushi loved japanese: ca shabu shabu (ca)kappo honda (ca)ebisu (ca)