Sushi rolls: Buffet vs high end restaurants

[gorcorps]

After my small stint in Japan I'm convinced I'll never understand sushi. I couldn't taste the difference between the different types of tuna and other fish if it was just cut and served. Some were way more expensive than others, and I just couldn't figure out why. Fine by me though... that means I haven't developed an expensive taste for such things.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Minado sushi is crap. It about grade above supermarket sushi. It just shows people have never eaten good sushi. If all you ever had is terrible sushi, I guess it can be good.

It's called "good enough for the price"

 

[smackababy]

After my small stint in Japan I'm convinced I'll never understand sushi. I couldn't taste the difference between the different types of tuna and other fish if it was just cut and served. Some were way more expensive than others, and I just couldn't figure out why. Fine by me though... that means I haven't developed an expensive taste for such things.

Clearly, you've had too many paint chips as a child then. Different fish have different tastes and textures. And the pricing difference is likely due to the market cost of the fish.

 

[Insomniator]

Rolls are seaweed, rice, a few veggies, and possibly a little strip of meat. Most buffets can handle that very well for the average rolls. Imitation crab, basic tuna, basic salmon, and and tempura shrimp are all simple enough to do to make a good roll.

Sushi rolls are cheap and easy to make. Most places charge way too much for them. At least for the cheaper style rolls. There are more expensive rolls that can be made from more expensive ingredients, but again the price on those go up proportionally.

Anyone claiming that rolls made at a high end restaurant of the same type of roll is better than a fresh made roll from somewhere else just has post purchase bias in regards to inflating the worth of the pricier sushi roll just because it was more expensive in the first place.

Sashimi is a bit different than sushi rolls, and you don't see buffet places typically do pure sashimi platters for that reason.

I go to high end japanese sushi restaurant for good sashimi and rolls I can't get at other places when the mood strikes me. I don't go to a high end japanese restaurant for a California roll that costs $15 when I can get the same thing from a many other places for much cheaper.

You either have really good buffet's around you or have never actually had a decent 'regular' sushi roll.

A plain tuna roll at a buffet is warm, 90% rice and has a speck of barely recognizable fish in it. The same roll from a good restaurant is still only 5-6 bucks and comes cold, fresh and with a beautiful piece of fish inside. Its not even close.

 

[gorcorps]

Clearly, you've had too many paint chips as a child then. Different fish have different tastes and textures. And the pricing difference is likely due to the market cost of the fish.

*shrugs*

Dunno. I'm not much of a fish person in the first place, and raw food in general isn't a norm for me. I may have been distracted so much with where I was and what I was doing that I didn't really slow down to enjoy the food as much.

All of my favorite dishes there were cooked in some way. None of the sushi felt particularly special, and I couldn't say what I had was any better than what I've had in the states.

 

[Ns1]

There are multiple grades of rice, nori, vinegar, and fish used in the creation of sushi. Buffets don't even have access to higher grades of rice, nori, vinger, or fish, let alone the budget to buy that shit.

 

[Rakehellion]

There is no such thing as good sushi buffet. It doesn't exist.

This. Just do McDonald's if you're trying to save a few bucks.

 

[nickbits]

This thread inspired me to checkout a local Japanese buffet tomorrow. I'll report back how it compared to the place I normally go.

 

[ponyo]

Buffet places like Minado can't season the rice. I don't even know if they even do. It certainly doesn't taste like it. When they make the rolls or sushi, they compress the hell out of the nice so it becomes one big clump. There's no air in the rice. Add the super thin sliced piece of crap fish, and it's like you're eating day old rice balls dipped in soy sauce. Sushi should melt in your mouth. You shouldn't have to drink a cup of water to aid in swallowing.

 

[Ns1]

This thread inspired me to checkout a local Japanese buffet tomorrow. I'll report back how it compared to the place I normally go.

sushi buffet in michigan. you might as well just stab yourself in the mouth and get it over with.

 

[slag]

sushi buffet in michigan. you might as well just stab yourself in the mouth and get it over with.

Its not unheard of to fly in fish the same day or next day. There are places in Kansas that do this.

 

[Ns1]

Its not unheard of to fly in fish the same day or next day. There are places in Kansas that do this.

True, but the odds of a sushi buffet doing that in michigan = zero.

 

[Eug]

Uber high end japanese restaurants will grate fresh wasabi using their shark skin wasabi grater to order.

although agreed, it is not meant to be put on everything (same with soy sauce)

True, and also, most restaurants don't even have real wasabi in the first place.

Mainstream grocery store wasabi paste isn't actually made from wasabi. It's horseradish and mustard and green food colouring.

Unfortunately though, I haven't had such high end Japanese food often. Too expensive.

Buffet places like Minado can't season the rice. I don't even know if they even do. It certainly doesn't taste like it. When they make the rolls or sushi, they compress the hell out of the nice so it becomes one big clump. There's no air in the rice. Add the super thin sliced piece of crap fish, and it's like you're eating day old rice balls dipped in soy sauce. Sushi should melt in your mouth. You shouldn't have to drink a cup of water to aid in swallowing.

That sounds like really crappy sushi, and I've had my fair share of that in the past.

But I remember when I lived in Vancouver, we would get all-you-can-eat sushi which was really quite decent. However, it wasn't from buffets per se. They were restaurants which made to order sushi from a list. You paid a low flat price for lunch or dinner and got all the sushi you wanted.

The sushi I got there was better than what I usually get from regular Japanese restaurants in Toronto.

Lately I just get ramen though, since my wife is pregnant and can't have sushi, and my toddler daughter loves noodles.

 

[smackababy]

True, but the odds of a sushi buffet doing that in michigan = zero.

They use frozen, not fresh, fish for their sushi. One of the many reasons high end sushi bars are superior.

 

[Eug]

Its not unheard of to fly in fish the same day or next day. There are places in Kansas that do this.

I went to a Greek restaurant and a Portugese restaurant that did this. Both were awesome. The Portugese restaurant even 15 years ago charged like $40 for main fish dish though, so I don't do that often either.

 

[Ns1]

They use frozen, not fresh, fish for their sushi. One of the many reasons high end sushi bars are superior.

I used to think that all frozen was bad until I saw Anthony Bourdan interview uber sushi chef Naomichi Yasuda who actually does freeze his fish to good results.

I highly suspect these high end shops are using blast chillers and whatnot to get their stuff frozen in minutes, vs just throwing the fish into a freezer and hoping for the best. Dethaw method probably also impacts the taste/texture.

One of the worst I had was some korean sushi joint in oregon - the salmon tasted waterlogged, and the sushi rice stuck to my fingers.

 

[Eug]

I saw that Anthony Bourdain show too.

However, most other higher end sushi chefs swear by non-frozen fish. And you can't freeze uni with good results.

The other thing about freezing that is good though is it does kill some parasites.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Frozen vs Fresh doesn't have a huge distinction with modern flash-freezing techniques. Also the freezing process tends to kill parasites that may otherwise wriggle its way out of the fish mid-sushi bite.

Also I don't really take "serious" chefs too seriously when it comes to modern cooking technologies. Many chefs like to stick with tradition saying that tradition is strictly better for no actual reason.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

There is no such thing as good sushi buffet. It doesn't exist.

I agree. I went to a few and the sushi was really sub par. Plus they force you to eat all the rice otherwise they stop serving you.

 

[Markbnj]

Buffet places like Minado can't season the rice. I don't even know if they even do. It certainly doesn't taste like it. When they make the rolls or sushi, they compress the hell out of the nice so it becomes one big clump. There's no air in the rice. Add the super thin sliced piece of crap fish, and it's like you're eating day old rice balls dipped in soy sauce. Sushi should melt in your mouth. You shouldn't have to drink a cup of water to aid in swallowing.

Food threads are so predictable around here. First, I don't know whether you're talking about the Minados I referred to, or another, or whether the different restaurants are even related. But your description doesn't fit my experiences there. It's not as good as handmade sushi from Midori, the Zagat-rated place just up Route 10 a half a mile, but for the sum total of what the buffet offers it is pretty great.

 

[smackababy]

I used to think that all frozen was bad until I saw Anthony Bourdan interview uber sushi chef Naomichi Yasuda who actually does freeze his fish to good results.

I highly suspect these high end shops are using blast chillers and whatnot to get their stuff frozen in minutes, vs just throwing the fish into a freezer and hoping for the best. Dethaw method probably also impacts the taste/texture.

One of the worst I had was some korean sushi joint in oregon - the salmon tasted waterlogged, and the sushi rice stuck to my fingers.

I've had salmon that was still frozen a bit and it was pretty bad. It was like the texture of Italian ice, only as sashimi and terrible.

 

[Insomniator]

Food threads are so predictable around here. First, I don't know whether you're talking about the Minados I referred to, or another, or whether the different restaurants are even related. But your description doesn't fit my experiences there. It's not as good as handmade sushi from Midori, the Zagat-rated place just up Route 10 a half a mile, but for the sum total of what the buffet offers it is pretty great.

My GF has been bugging me to take her to Minado, have you been to the one on RT10 in Morris Plains? Is it better than the one in Little Ferry? I've never been to either... though we're in both areas quite often.

 

[Markbnj]

My GF has been bugging me to take her to Minado, have you been to the one on RT10 in Morris Plains? Is it better than the one in Little Ferry? I've never been to either... though we're in both areas quite often.

That's the one I'm referring to. I called it Denville but you're right, it's Morris Plains. I haven't been to Minados in Little Ferry so I can't compare them. My wife and I enjoy the Morris Plains restaurant every now and then. As I said above it's pricey for a buffet, but from my perspective the sushi is fresh and plentiful, they have a ton of variety, and the other 2/3 of the buffet is a variety of hot and cold chinese and japanese dishes.

For handmade to order sushi I highly recommend Midori, just a little further up Route 10 on the same side of the road.

 

[ponyo]

Food threads are so predictable around here. First, I don't know whether you're talking about the Minados I referred to, or another, or whether the different restaurants are even related. But your description doesn't fit my experiences there. It's not as good as handmade sushi from Midori, the Zagat-rated place just up Route 10 a half a mile, but for the sum total of what the buffet offers it is pretty great.

Minado is a chain. I've eaten at Minado and it's sister chain Nori Nori. Both are pretty much the same restaurant only with different names. I've even seen Minado printed serving plates being used at Nori Nori. Regardless both have really subpar sushi.

 

[Markbnj]

Minado is a chain. I've eaten at Minado and it's sister chain Nori Nori. Both are pretty much the same restaurant only with different names. I've even seen Minado printed serving plates being used at Nori Nori. Regardless both have really subpar sushi.

Yeah, there are apparently five of them. Well, I probably won't change your opinion, whether you've eaten at the Morris Plains location or not. People have different standards. I don't think I'm clueless about sushi, and what I have had there has been good. I don't think anyone who decides to try it will be disappointed. I can also say that every time I've been there the significant majority of the customers were asian. I usually take that as a good sign. It isn't the Walmart portion-size-over-everything crowd that eats there.