Cape Cod in Winter discussion....Anything?

ccg, did you ever do Lyric in Yarmouth Port? For info, please go to this link and send me a PM (messaging) and I'll reply:
http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=ywQ3UghEJUG3JDUoyb3PxQ

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Some yelpers are fans. A recent post expressed preference for Oki sushi in Brewster over Inaho. I wish they had elaborated. Oki Sushi link: http://okisushibrewster.com/

Afar in Southern New England

Cape Cod Recommendation Needed

phelana do return with a comment on your evening. I'd like to join with others in wishing your soldier friend Godspeed. May he have a safe and uneventful journey while being enlightened and uplifted by the experience.

Afar in Southern New England

Cape Cod Recommendation Needed

I understand. Not Your Average Joe's at the Hy Mall makes a great burger but I would much prefer the Irish Pub O'Shaes. The owner is a delightful fellow. I'd dinned a few times with him next to me at the Yarmouth Port sushi bar.

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Irish Pub
16 Route 28, West Harwich, MA 02671

Afar in Southern New England

Cape Cod Recommendation Needed

Totally agree with hzp on O"Shea's in Dennis, link: http://www.osheasoldeinne.com/
Seaside Pub at the end of Main Street, Hyannis, link:
http://www.seasidepub.com/
Regatta has a great bar, it's comfortable for all sorts of folks, unpretentious and neighborhood-like. The reason I like Regatta now is I find I can dress down and be completely comfortable. But, still, I do get your drift.

Afar in Southern New England

Cape Cod Recommendation Needed

Yup Brazillan Grill should do more then satisfy; however, I believe you have a "special occasion" here so I'd suggest the Regatta of Cotuit. The Regatta will satisfy the meat lover in him and the veggie lover in you and end with a great memory for both of you. Best wishes to him. Happy New Year to you both.

ccg: I recall you writing that the Seaside Pub, across from BG, does a great burger and has a good and comprehensive menu.

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Regatta of Cotuit
RR 28, Cotuit, MA 02635

Afar in Southern New England

curious about the bias/ volume of certain posts.. [moved from Southern New England]

I agree with ccg re agreement with nsxtasy.

Afar in Site Talk

Sushi Cape Cod

The Soybean And The Sea

The love affair Americans have with Japanese food is a strange affair indeed. When I returned from Japan in 1966 I told people Americans might eat some foods like teriyaki, tempura or even noodles but never would they eat sushi. I was on the record. I wonder today why I was so certain, why I was wrong, and if the foods of Japan are just a passing fad? Six of us, my wife and I plus four friends were eating at Misaki in Hyannis recently. It was a Tuesday night and the restaurant was mobbed with diners of all ages. Yes, a full restaurant on a miserable day after a major snow storm one day before the start of winter on Cape Cod. I wanted answers to my questions and a most interesting discussion ensued. Two of us had sushi, one had tempura, one had yaki soba (buckwheat), one had nabeyaki udon (flour) and one had teriyaki shrimp. What an eclectic mix of entrees. How did we come to so broadly embrace Japanese food?

The history behind why I was certain: Following WWII discrimination against the Japanese intensified. The prudent choice was to return to living within the urban enclaves on the West Coast. In the 1950’s there were signals I missed that would punctuate the changes to come. There were events that would acclimate people to the food of Japan. I’ve read that around the godforsaken areas where the camps were during the war, locals began eating foods the imprisoned would prepare. Surrounding communities later supported Japanese restaurants. In the west coast urban areas during the 1950’s visitors to San Francisco and Seattle would seek out Japanese restaurants. The U.S. government began a campaign to educate people about healthy eating. Doctors partnered with the government making fat-free and nutritious food a goal to healthy living. The foods from Japan fit their concept: good food = good health. The arrival of television offered an immediate and dramatic way to spread the message. But, I failed to weigh these important events.

In Japan, in the mid 1960’s, I witnessed that the vast majority of Americans disliked the food; in fact, many were afraid to eat the food. Most people would not go into the local communities and mingle with the Japanese. When I returned to Boston I found no restaurants except for a couple in the more cosmopolitan city of Cambridge. When I tried these restaurants they were terrible. I watched stupefied as American dinners ladled spoonful after spoonful of sugar into a cup of green tea. A year later I left for Chicago. Soon Japanese restaurants began opening, and quickly, one after another. I was elated but wondered how they would survive. The fact that they had sushi bars and were crowded was confusing to me but I was happy. No doubt I was unaware that attitudes toward the Japanese were no longer hardened and unbending.

Why I was wrong? Perhaps I knew too much about the food. I could not imagine Americans enjoying the smelly pickled products like takuwan, pickled radish or dried packaged products from the sea like kazunoko, sun dried pickled in salt herring roe, or most especially nori (seaweed) and dried ika (squid). Cooked meats were not all that different from our own renditions. Noodles and rice would be boring. Anything soybean based would be tasteless and no good. Surely no one would ever eat natto, boiled mashed soybean. Sushi and sashimi in the stomachs of Americans was laughable. Eating fish bait is how most people referred to it at first. I figured these restaurants could only prosper in upper class neighborhoods or in yuppie neighborhoods around universities, with regular clientele, and never expand and grow. Americans would never embrace the language. There would be no patience with all the new words to learn. We have a nihilistic and insular concept of the spoken word or so it seemed to me at the time. Sushi is finger-food, not exactly our idea of a Sunday dinner. Raw and yuck were synonymous. And, the piece de resistance or to place a crown on this scenario, there was the hilarious idea that the diner would be handed two sticks to eat with instead of a knife and fork. By 1990 the foods of Japan were all the rage. Americans could not get enough of this most unlikely ethnic cuisine.

Are the foods of Japan a passing fad? Nothing is forever except apple pie and ice cream. That said we’re long past the fad stage in years of sushi enjoyment. This improbable culinary journey seems as permanent as the pizza, hamburger, and the grilled cheese sandwich. Perhaps the foods of Japan began as a fad in California — birthplace of all fads. The baby-boomer generation had the advantage of being well educated. Tolerance and a commitment to fairness for all was the hallmark of the WWII generation. Both generations tried to put prejudices aside to their everlasting credit. The boomers embraced the world. During the fad phase, it became fashionable to eat sushi. Once popular, sushi became recognized as healthy food. Short grain rice and okazu (the many seasoned side dishes), the ceremonial food mochi (pounded rice cakes), grilled eel, and fish eggs all became part of the American diet. As a young man of Irish decent with a Japanese wife I could not have been more perplexed. I expect young children on Cape Cod today think words like tofu, miso (soybean paste), soba, maki and udon (noodles made from flour) are English words.

The Shinto religion and later the Buddhist religion, in their early incantation, discouraged the slaughter of animals and use of meat for food. Dairy products were also not used in food. Accordingly, a heavy emphasis on the gifts of the sea and earth became the basis for the Japanese diet. Food preservation techniques were developed and refined to ensure supplies throughout the year. This was how sushi began; that is, fish preserved in fermented rice. When the long influence of China was joined by European cooking techniques, a strong emphasis on artistic presentation took hold. Today, around the world, haute cuisine restaurants are following this practice of presenting food as edible art.

I will complete this journey into Japanese food with a stop at Asia in Mashpee Commons. You will note that I have come to refer to sushi as a style, as in traditional Japanese or American. Asia has a master chef that splits the two genres. Chef Wong is from Taiwan and he worked for a Japanese chef for more then two decades. He brought to Asia a refined technique for the classical way of preparing Japanese sushi, yet he incorporates his own individual style to present sushi as edible art. His expansion of the traditional is an ingenious rendition of the American style. This careful blend of style is what makes sushi at Asia unique. You can read descriptions of meals I have had at Asia in posts above. How fitting that this journey began a Misaki in Hyannis where the chefs in the kitchen are a group of young Americans, and will end at Asia in Mashpee where the talented chef is Chinese. I love it.

ccg: Your post was the reason I delved more into this fascinating subject. I've found my dogma is punctured by experience and I learn by observation. I started this thread at the beginning of the year thinking deviation from the techniques perfected by the Japanese in the preparation of sushi was a bad thing. I finish the year much more sanguine about the issue. I now feel a rudy optimism about those chefs not Japanese that adhere to quality and the fundamental objectives, as you explain in your pithy outline, of the dining experience at a Cape Cod sushi bar.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Wisdom most often means following your own instincts. I would refer you to the book, Sushi, Food For The Eye... by a Danish fellow, see my post of May 11. I'm quite certain you would bury yourself in the pages until you reached the back cover. With the Border discount coupons offered online, you can get this amazing and excellent book for $22. The content, in part, does a good job addressing your thought. I became a sushi eater in Japan, in the mid 1960's, and I can assure you the Japanese would snicker at the bartender and corporate president as they breathed their way to setting new records for longevity and stable health while on the journey. Thank you, I enjoy the conversation.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Ya, ccg, and I'd love to hear from others why they think people of Cape Cod enjoy sushi. My first take would amplify your "clean eating" idea. The long campaign against cholesterol and for food labeling has people thinking the healthy way.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

ccg, thanks for the link. Basically, most everyone posting is correct, in my opinion. However, the poster uchinanchu, Mar 24, 08 nails the issue with the reference to cotton oshibori. The hand towel is more then a pleasant custom. When eating sushi one should tap their fingers on the damp cotton towel to moisten the finger tips. This prevents the sushi rice from sticking to the fingers. Accordingly, sushi is a finger food. When sushi became popular across the U.S. I was living in Chicago. The wait-staff would become irritated with me because I'd hold on to the oshibori. Instantly, after using the towel, someone on the floor-staff would be coming around to collect it and I would explain that I needed to keep it. Five minutes later someone else would try to sneak their hand in and snatch my oshibori. Funny memories. Now, throughout most of the U.S., the towel has become an early casualty to cost-cutting. Sigh. When I was in Japan, the sushi diner would have the oshibori collected toward the end of the meal. A fresh one would be provided when the check was rendered. When dining on other food, the oshibori would be collected immediately after sitting and using the towel. Fingers are also used when eating handrolls. Chopsticks are used for maki rolls and sashimi. It was a hoot reading through this thread. Loved it. As usual, you were right, the thread is indeed interesting.

Note ccg, that I often refer to sushi as a "style" as in traditional Japanese and American. American sushi evolved as Japanese left the sushi restaurant scene in the boom decade of the 80's. Japanese lost interest with the service industry in general and other Asian ethnicities, not only filled the void, but saw an opportunity to ride a crest. Sushi now took on its own "new" style. And, that's why I say all the posters are correct. It no longer matters if the rigid rules that govern Japanese behavior are meaningful. But, to stay local, why is it, in your opinion, that sushi became such a popular food choice of the residents and visitors of Cape Cod?

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

phelana, I meant to respond to your final sentence about "the temperature is always a tad cool for my taste as well". My thoughts here are a carry-over from my "benchmarks" post of August 25. A sushi bar should always feel cool as opposed to hot. The inventory is constantly removed from the fish case to the cutting and prep counter and hot air in the room would degrade the fish. Look for a skilled chef to always wet the knife blade before cutting a maki roll. The water will allow a clean cut through the rice. Should a sushi chef need to cough, a classically trained chef will do a deep knee bend and do so out of sight of the customer and away from any food. Such a chef is also trained in how to conduct conversation with the customer. Social interaction by the customer is a big part of the enjoyment of the dining experience when at the counter both with the chef and other diners.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Kiddo knows great sushi. No doubt she was taught by a pro. Last Tuesday night, at the sushi bar at Misaki, we enjoyed the company of yet another lovely couple that said they had patronized Inaho since they first opened in Hyannis. It was the same old story: tired of the "chilly" reception from the owners, as you so aptly put it. My wife and I recall frequently driving home after a fine feast at Inaho chanting "we go for the food". And, yes, Inaho has always had an outstanding waitstaff, most stay for years, a successful restaurant tends to enjoy that benefit as you know.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

It is an eclectic menu at Embargo and the assortment you describe is a substantial offering of Japanese food for this particular restaurant. I wonder if it signals the addition of an Asian chef in the kitchen? Edit: ccg, you may remember Chef Toshi from the long time previous owner of Misaki, well rumor has it, after a quick sniff at the Cape recently, he returned to LA. Could he be at Embargo, you think?

At the other end of the spectrum there is change as well. For a simple carry-home meal we have occasionally purchased supermarket sushi. Trader Joe's and Stop & Shop are not good. Ring Bros. is ok but we're not often in that neighborhood. Roche Bros is nearby and has been acceptable, even as numerous iterations of chefs have attended that counter. We were pleased to see yet another new chef staffing the counter and inari zushi was back on display (the prior chef had killed off that item). However, the inari was a lesson in the essential importance of the brand, age/freshness, origin, and cooking expertise of the chef when preparing rice. With a sigh, we had to toss it in the garbage. Yes, it was that uneatable. We are fortunate to have Chef Wong at Asia just across the street.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Sightings: Chef Toshi briefly at Inaho in September followed by briefly at Misaki in Hyannis in October. Fans of Toshi-san will recall his years at Misaki under the old ownership. When Misaki went up for sale Chef Toshi left to join the startup Papermoon at Mashpee Commons. That restaurant was short lived and is now Asia. Chef Toshi left Cape Cod for Los Angeles. Word is Chef Toshi has once again left Cape Cod for LA.
Hot Food: Asia at Mashpee Commons is getting set for cold winter nights. The delightful Japanese noodle meal, nabeyake udon is on the menu. We had it tonight. The bold wheat-flour noodle is served in a mildly flavored broth with shrimp, vegetables and nori with a generous side of tempura shrimp, sweet potato, pepper and onion. For us, there is no better meal to warm up from the inside out then nabeyake udon. Our starter came from the sushi counter. A pate or finely diced tuna mixed with avocado and long onion (negi) sitting in a wasabi-mayo sauce.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

Gravy!

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

ccg, when one has had enough of the kitchen enough is enough. Sometimes going to the closest place with a sign for a meal is the play of the day. And, then there are regrets. One should never assume but I'm guessing form your comment that your Thanksgiving meal was less then satisfying. I'd be disappointed if my guess is right. The holidays have only just begun.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

We tried babyback ribs at Wicked Pizza and won't make that mistake again. Unbelievable how crowded the restaurants were over the holiday weekend in the Mashpee area.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

Ah, moose ribs at The Lodge, bad joke, but your other possibilities can be checked out online at their web sites - good thoughts. Don't know why, last week, we got such a strong hankering for bque ribs; and, just now the Travel Channel had one of those programs with a "best ribs in the country" shows. The Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn looked good enough to eat off the screen.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

Thanks John but too far to go for an iffy meal. We're in the Mashpee area and I should have elaborated more on the where exactly would be ok. I believe Yarmouth has a rib place somewhere? Amazing how this popular food is not popular on the Cape.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

Thank you ccg, will try DJ's after The Giving. I assume Sams is Diego's. And, you have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Afar in Southern New England

Barbeque ribs on Cape Cod

I'm looking for rec's for the best barbeque ribs/chicken on Cape Cod now that Harry's Blues Bar is no more.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

The issue of catch size of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna will impact all Cape Cod sushi restaurants eventually. The ten-day meet-up of the ICCA has begun in Paris and the first day brings the anticipated clash between fishermen and activists. However, the real issue is the cheating and illegal fishing for the "great ones". Links: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6240398,00.html
and
http://tinyurl.com/38hsk2f
and
http://tinyurl.com/39gk9fl

Afar in Southern New England

Cake date - Cape Cod

Agree with you ccg & mom that a drive to Welfleet and PB would be most enjoyable if the weather cooperated and there is available time allowed for the trip. As for Cafe B at the Rotary, the chef is accomplished, the style of service is decidedly not Japanese, Pain D'A has a hard-earned and excellent reputation, and the atmosphere has it's own cache which one would love or hate. I agree, this last point does present a risk for a "special" dinning experience. So, I'd add: if it's convenient, pop in for lunch and check the place out. If you find it hip and a squirreled away gem and they have the cake - you might have found a new place to hang out.

Afar in Southern New England

Cake date - Cape Cod

I'd want to go to Cafe Boulangerie, just off the Hyannis Airport Rotary but would call first to inquire about cake: 508.778.8588 Link: http://www.paindavignon.com/

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

Thanks johnny46, I can use all the help I can get. Today's fish story: Can We Keep Eating Tuna? Here you go yossarian23, (bet you've already seen it) it's all about Albacore with photo's, link: http://tinyurl.com/36x7f3b

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

You have provided an opportunity to discuss on this thread a restaurant of uncommon accomplishment and achievement in the sushi genre on Cape Cod. I have long admired Chef Yuji for his precise attention to detail and insistence on presenting both sushi and cooked food to the exacting standards of the Japanese. He has tweaked many items over the years to attract clientele; but, Chef Yuji has fundamentally stuck with his traditions. Bravo! Still, the requirement to welcome and thank dinners and converse with dinners, as time and the pressure of business permit, is so ingrained in the classical method of running a restaurant in Japan, that to fail miserably at this pleasant function, means total failure by his own Japanese standards, if used as a measurement of performance. Chef Yuji's willingness to skirt tradition first became evident when he abandoned the use of oshibori (the hand towel). Over the years he did many things to cater to the American sensibility of dinning on sushi, even if with great skill.
Bare in mind, I am not a sushi chef, not Japanese, but simply a critic high up in the viewing stands far from the playing field. However, I think I’ve spent enough time in Japan and at the sushi bar in many of the world’s cities to take a short at discussing what I love. Also, I have remained immersed in Japanese culture my entire adult life. Additionally, I feel I have the experience of bootstrapping a lifetime of small business development. That said, I found your link to Sushi Nozawa conveyed exactly what I feel the content of this thread is all about: Under what circumstances dose one find the best sushi on Cape Cod. Chef Nozawa Kazunori, as profiled in the article you reference, if the perfect example of what I’m trying to convey about the rules and nuance of great sushi presented in the Japanese style. I found it a wonderful chronicle of a chef stubbornly refusing to deviate from what he knows to be authentic sushi. I’m sure, the groundwork has been laid and one day Cape Cod will have such a chef. All who seek classically prepared sushi should view your link to Sushi Nozawa.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

yossarian23, I'm going to guess in NYC, no decor, great food/sushi in the traditional style, you took the family to Aburiya Kinnosuke, 213 E. 45th Street.

Afar in Southern New England

Sushi Cape Cod

As we go forward, this becomes highly subjective and that's ok, just so long as any reader realizes I'm commenting on personal experiences that would not be common to all. Your Mom's conclusions are unassailable. Chef Yuji set the standard on Cape Cod and we sushi lovers have all benefitted from his quest for perfection. I know small business. I started two and retired 34 years later to Cape Cod. Yuji and his wife had the daunting task of building a business from scratch. He dug in his feet and shouldered way too much of the effort over the years, in my opinion. He and his wife had two boys to raise and get through college (one is in and one to go). Everything he does is part of a careful strategy on how to make "overworking" work. Accordingly, he would do away with the salmon skin roll to quicken his pace and to lower the risk of getting burned fingers. In season, he has always had fresh fluke or flounder and angawa, the delicious chewy muscle of the underbelly of the fish. It's a seasonal event. The same is true of albacore or white tuna (a nomenclature now applied to escolar). It too is seasonal, cannot be bought at the fish market fresh, as Chef Yuji likes to do, and is something he gets from a distributor when enough select tuna is not available. On the lack of warmth and not executing the proper greeting you so aptly describe, again overwork causes Chef Yuji to focus too intently on "the job" and it interferes with his responsibility to insure the comfort of his dinner guests. But, the mortal sin committed by Inaho toward treatment of guests is from his wife, who is not Japanese, and does not fully comprehend the importance and full meaning of the phrase irasshaimase.

Afar in Southern New England