Jay Eats Worldwide

One of the BEST sushi restaurants is closing today. Sushi Hanada was a hidden gem in Port Hueneme (Oxnard) where some of LA’s top sushi chefs would drive over an hour to get to on their days off to eat here. YES, it was that good!   Not because they received top notch quality seafood from Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo, but just the opposite.    Sushi Hanada used a lot of local sustainable seafood and the preparation was the real secret.    Chef Yuki Hanada was the master at bringing out the flavors of local ingredients. Sushi Hanada served Edomae-style sushi, made from seafood caught in Tokyo Bay.    Small fish, Japanese tiger prawns, clams, sea eel, etc. were cured or lightly cooked before serving.    200 years ago, it wasn’t about toro or uni in sushi, you needed to know what to do with what you could get your hands on and how to bring out the flavors. Chef Yuki did all of those things and more.    The 3 or so times I’ve dined ...

Do you know Tekka Maki?  Tekka Maki It's a single item sushi roll, also known as hosomaki, with nori (seaweed) on the outside and one item on the inside.  Fill this roll with tuna and it's called Tekka Maki. An interesting story, this roll was created for gamblers as a  snack item (or sandwich like) at casino-type places called "tekkaba" and hence the name "Tekka Maki" or Gambling place or casino (tekka) roll (maki). With the seaweed on the outside, the gamblers' fingers wouldn't get sticky from the rice. Now you know more about your sushi. Photo by Jay Terauchi Jay Eats Worldwide ©Jay Terauchi

"Overture, curtains, lights This is it, you'll hit the heights And oh what heights we'll hit On with the show this is it" ~ The Bugs Bunny Show That Famous Sign... Only In Hollywood! I was fortunate to again be invited to join a walking food tour through Hollywood. This tour includes some places I haven't been yet and a couple of new restaurants  that have opened recently. See the Hollywood Foodie Tour 2015 HERE See What Jay Eats... We met up at Demitasse Roastery and Kitchen for some Strawberry Ginger Lattes as other food writers, bloggers, and influencers arrive. A Kombucha Dog Raspberry and the Strawberry Gazpacho. The Strawberry Gazpacho with a crispy Jamon Serrano, a quail egg, and croutons. Next, the chef at Demitasse Roastery and Kitchen created a Medley Plate for us (L)  Vegetarian Lumpia  with green beans, snap peas, peanuts, and black garlic (C)  Crudo Ye...

Photo by Sushi of Gari  Now Open in Hollywood! I was first introduced to Sushi of Gari years ago in NYC. A friend invited me for omakase at a Japanese restaurant. Omakase is "chef's choice" in Japanese, meaning, the chef will serve the very best of the day. Owner Chef Masatoshi "Gari" Sugio became a sushi chef in Japan at the age of 19.  He was drawn to the artistic and culinary world of sushi.  Years later, he opened his own restaurant in NYC.  I was invited to a media preview of their new Hollywood location.   It's not a very large space, maybe 11-12 seats at the sushi bar, and 6 tables (accommodating 2-4 people). There's also a private room.  Besides great fish, the beverages are top notch too. How about an $800 bottle of  Dassai Junmai  Daiginjo "Beyond"? Photo by True Sake In case you were wondering,  here's what an $800 bottle  of sake looks like. It's waaaa...