Tag: sushi

The 98 Pound Restaurant: Cheap Sushi and More!

Jeremy Iggers — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:41:32 -0500

Header photo by Denis Jeong

I've been told that the whole Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet phenomenom has run its course, and that the next big trend for Chinese restaurateurs is sushi — the profit margins are better. A lot of Chinese buffets already offer a few varieties of sushi, but the new 98 Pounds Restaurant at 98th and 35W in Bloomington actually combines the concepts.

Jade: What's a Critic to Do?

Jeremy Iggers — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:38:50 -0500

The question I get asked most often, (after "what's your favorite restaurant?") is "do you get recognized a lot when you review restaurants?"

Sushi: The Naked Truth — Edamame

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:24:31 -0500

Anyone who has tried to make sushi knows it is harder than it looks. But when you are plopped at the sushi bar watching the chef make rolls, nigiri, or sashimi it looks easy. I, too, thought it was easy when I first watched my master show me how to make a roll — until I rolled my fist roll. When I was done I didn't know if he was pissed or if he was going to burst out laughing.

Sushi: The Naked Truth, part three

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:08:23 -0500

Before we opened in January, I had my whole core team working with me, training at the restaurant in Eau Claire. I knew with all of the bad habits and the lack of outside chefs in the twin cities area it would be best not to hire locally and have to correct bad habits. I'm not saying there are not good chefs in the area, but the top chefs are already employed at good establishments — such as Nami's, Origami's, and Fujiya — and out of respect of the owners I would not try to steal their chefs.

New Group Blog for Foodies: Chef's Table

Jeremy Iggers — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:53:50 -0600

In case you haven't already noticed - we have started a new group blog here at the Rake called Chef's Table. It isn't just for chefs, though - it's for restaurateurs, servers, gourmets, gourmands, wine sellers, cheese mongers, etc. - anybody who is an active participant in the Twin Cities' lively food scene.

Sushi: The Naked Truth, part two.

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:08:58 -0600

Bandwagons and gold diggers. Once something's hot and mainstream it will most likely get exploited. As we all know, sushi is hot, and now it's come to that stage.

How can we make it faster, cheaper, and offer more?! This is the general direction for most new sushi bars.

Tuna Tuna

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:24:05 -0600

Ahi tuna: many people know tuna as ahi tuna. However, there isn't a species named ahi. Ahi means ''tuna'' in the Hawaiian language, so if you ask for Ahi tuna, all you are asking for is "tuna" tuna! Sometimes I like to just mess with people when they ask if I have ahi tuna: I ask what kind of tuna? "Ahi," they reply. "Yellow fin, big eye, or blue fin?" I ask. "No, Ahi!"

Sushi Bar Etiquette

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:42:57 -0600

Good thing we are not in old school Japan and that most elder Japanese/Japanese-trained chefs in the U.S. have adopted our ways.

I could care less how you eat your sushi at the bar or at a table, but with some chefs it could get you kicked out!

Basic sushi bar etiquette:

Sake 101

Henry Chan — Giapponese Sushi — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:23:31 -0600

Saturday, March 1st at 6:30 p.m. we will be hosting a sake educational tasting, a Sake 101 of sorts. We will have three sakes and possibly a namazaki. The three sakes that will be available have a deep and long history, along with taste. Shichihon yari is Japan's oldest brewery, founded in 1540 — before Tokyo was even a city! To date, it is still run by the same family members and with only a staff of four producing the sake in small batches.

Other Fish in the Sea

Lisa Pahl — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:53 -0600

We seem to be in the midst of sushi mania. Two new restaurants—Seven and Musashi—opened recently, barely a block apart on Hennepin Avenue, which means that downtown Minneapolis now boasts at least a dozen sushi outlets. (The others; Koyi, Nami, Origami, Martini Blu, Wasabi, Ichiban, a sushi counter at Macy’s Marketplace, Zen Box, and two Tensuke Sushi locations.)