Athough you can’t run them up the flagpole, food and drink identify a country as fast as its national emblem – hotdogs, apple pie, and bourbon; escargot, onion soup, and Champagne; burritos, refried beans, and tequila; sausage, sauerkraut, and beer; borsch, beef stroganoff, and vodka. In Las Vegas, more and more people are saluting Japan’s culinary trifecta of sushi, sashimi, and sake.
NECESSITY–THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
Japan has relied on the sea for sustenance for centuries. With no refrigeration, however, storing seafood was a problem…until about 1300 years ago when someone discovered if they salted fish and pressed it between layers of rice mixed with vinegar, the interaction preserved the fish. “Sushi” was invented.
Osama “Fuji” Fujita, Master Sushi Chef and Loews Hotels Executive Chef, Japanese Cuisine, reigns at Marssa Restaurant at Loews Lake Las Vegas. He studied for ten years with three Master Sushi Chefs in Tokyo, and his father was chef to the Emperor of Japan. He explained sushi.
“Two different sushi styles developed, Osaka and Tokyo,” he said. “Osaka style, which goes back over 1000 years, is called ‘pressed sushi (oshizushi)’ or box sushi (hakozushi). Ingredients are layered on top of each other. Osaka also introduced ‘inside-out’ rolls about 600-700 years ago. Since sushi rolls wrapped in seaweed (nori) are not to everyone’s taste, restaurants made rolls with rice studded with toasted sesame seeds on the outside instead.
“The Tokyo (nigiri) style, or Edomae (‘Edo’ is the historic name for Tokyo) has been around for about 500-600 years. It was one long piece of raw fish over rice. However, customers could not eat it in a single bite. So chefs cut it into two bite-size pieces. That’s how ‘two pieces per order’ began. ‘Sashimi’ is raw fish fillets sliced and served without rice. Over the years, sushi has adapted to changing tastes and added many modern foods.”
DINING JAPANESE STYLE
A gourmet Japanese dinner is, literally, a “sensational” adventure. The yin and yang of the ingredients delight the palate as the meal progresses from lighter to heavier foods and flavors. Sashimi and sushi bookend the meal. Sashimi is an early course because the pristine elegance of the raw seafood is better appreciated when the taste buds are fresh. Although sushi, on the other hand, may look like a bit-sized hors d’oeuvre, the rice adds heaviness. Consequently, sushi is served just before dessert and is typically accompanied by miso (soybean paste) soup.
Between the two are wonderful discoveries, both cold and hot-the impeccable freshness of seafood, the richness of Kobe beef, different combinations of ingredients, how a chef seasons, sauces, and garnishes a dish, and how it’s presented. That’s what keeps Japanese food, and frequently the same basic dish, interesting as you experience one restaurant after another. Anticipate surprises. South American twists add pizzazz to traditionally sedate dishes. Some restaurants have fish tanks in the kitchen to keep seafood alive until ordered. However, know that a recently “harvested” shrimp may still be wriggling on the plate or a spiny lobster “feeler” may twitch. Nevertheless, that’s part of Japanese cuisine.
Japanese restaurants in Las Vegas span the spectrum from Americanized recipes to exquisite dishes expressing the Japanese philosophy that food should be a feast for all the senses. For a truly exceptional meal, trust the chef. “Kaiseki” is a traditional Japanese “tasting” meal. For the ultimate culinary art, chose an “omakase” menu of multiple courses individually selected by the chef and served on imaginative plates, platters, bowls, trays, and boxes.
NOBU AT HARD ROCK
Nobu Matsuhisa pioneered exceptional Japanese cuisine in the U.S. Before his arrival in Southern California in 1987, sojourns in Peru and Argentina added tasty twists to his dishes. He opened Nobu in Las Vegas in 1999. His disciple-Executive Chef Joel Versola, Executive Sushi Chef Shin Kondo, and Executive Pastry Chef Alejandro Briceno-are carrying the torch. They created our amazing omakase menu.
We both ordered a “special cocktail”-mine a fresh, crisp “Matsuhisa martini” (Krome vodka, Hokusetsa Sake, and ginger); my husband’s Emporio Martini was definitely on the sweet side (Tanqueray gin, Hokusetsu Sake, lychee juice, and cranberry juice). With dinner we drank Nobu’s Japanese-made private label ale. Fresh, crisp, and smooth, it complemented each dish.
Three unique mini-cones of tartar arrived inserted in a Lucite bridge: Oh Toro with a “Nobu” salsa in a squid ink cone, yellowtail with a Las Vegas salsa in a tomato cone, and salmon with a sweet onion in a spinach cone. Golden Osetra caviar topped them all. A great start!
I expected octopus carpaccio to be sliced like beef. Not so. Tiny tentacle rounds formed a silver-dollar-size medallion spiked with a Jalapeño dressing of mullet roe powder, basil, shiso herbs, and yuzu. It nestled in a hollow atop a white china arched bridge. A wafer-thin slat of cedar and a bright green ti leaf adorned the bubble glass square plate of “tiradito,” a Peruvian-influenced sashimi of thinly sliced fluke, salmon and moi from Taiwan. A block of Himalayan salt underneath added flavor, as did a zesty ricotta chili paste and cilantro, tamed by a yuzu and lemon juice dipping sauce.
A turnip with a stem-on “lid” suggested soup. Wrong! Inside was monkfish pâté. Water lilies whose bulbs popped in your mouth lolled in a moat of wasabi-tinged sauce. A baby peach and sweet oyster shooter in tomato “water” refreshingly transitioned us from cold to hot courses.
Centered on a wavy white plate, a large black stone served as hot pedestal for Chef Joel’s original stuffed Mediterranean branzino, rolled vertically, and prepared “in the Nobu style.” The stuffing was shiitake mushrooms, spinach, and crisp sweet onions. Chef Joel tweaked Nobu’s signature Anti-cucho (Peruvian red chili pepper) sauce with pomegranate juice, honey, wasabi, and basil, a zesty and tongue tingling touch. A flying fish fin and bamboo shoot inserted in the top of the rolled seafood added exotic eye appeal.
Finely-chopped golden beets counterbalanced the richness of seared Japanese Kobe beef with grilled ramps (spring onion) and white chocolate and soy-mirin reduction. Our “sushi” was presented on a thick, paddle-shaped footed glass platter: Japanese snapper, oh Toro tuna, sea eel, and yellowtail, with tomago, a sweet egg omelet, joined by sauces from sweet to hot.
A petite flourless chocolate cake “Bento Box” capping our meal enclosed a vanilla ice cream parfait, adorned with shiso (Japanese mint) and a passion fruit and ponzu sauce with fresh fruit slivers.
An awesome dinner! www.noburestaurants.com
PROTÉGÉS AT HACHI
Two Nobu protégés, Chef Linda Rodriguez and her husband, Chef Martin Swift, met at Nobu in London. He was sous chef; she was a consulting chef from Nobu, NYC. They mastermind Hachi at Red Rock. The Nobu influence is obvious in their imaginative, carefully prepared, beautifully presented dishes. The informal restaurant’s warm orange, brown, and gold color scheme is enhanced by large, cherry-blossom photographs arranged inside dark wood lattice panels. Blown glass cherry blossom strands hang from the ceiling. In the Tatami Room with sunken seating at two large tables, two chandeliers of cascading “shells” serve as wind chimes when the sliding doors overlooking the gardens are open.
A miniature “gourd” bowl contained chilled, soy-based gazpacho soup with cucumber slice for a bracing start. Our fresh, tender sashimi highlighted fluke, tuna, and yellowtail, with a seared salmon belly providing a rich addition. Each was garnished meticulously with sprigs of herbs and dollops of imaginative sauces from yuzu to wasabi and minute rounds of sinus-cleansing Serrano chilies.
Their broiled Chilean sea bass, a dish that frequently appears on a Japanese menu, is marinated for 48 hours in saikyo miso, which gives the dish a piquant, sweet taste. Poached daikon and pickled ginger also awakened our taste buds. Our other hot dish was perfectly charred, butter-tender lamb chops ladled with a luscious sweet glaze.
With 38 “little dishes” priced at $8 and under, we dived into sushi and made riotous taste discoveries, particularly with a couple of “originals.” A “G-13” roll enveloped a refreshing trio of mango, tomatoes, and cilantro, with tuna outside and spicy sweet Jalapeño sauce. Shrimp tempura inside and spicy crab outside in a “Pink Elephant” got its kick from sweet mustard wasabi sauce.
Somehow we managed to nibble through three dessert presentations. Highlights? Green tea beignets with caramel passion fruit sauce; tiny cones of extraordinary green tea cheesecake dipped in macadamia nut chocolate ganache sauce; and a refreshing raspberry floating island.
Nobu must be proud of his protégés! www.ilovehachi.com
HOT AND HIP
Food competes with Strip views at Sushi Roku at the Forum Shops and for diners seated in Koi’s FDR -Fountain Dining Room – at Planet Hollywood, both large, trendy venues with high energy, dramatic décor, and friendly food. Both are part of successful, high-powered restaurant groups.
SUSHI ROKU
From the Forum Shops south to Planet Hollywood, every sign promoting shows, restaurants, and other enticements entertains diners at Sushi Roku. With our drinks we devoured addictive edamame (soybean) hummus, irresistible with sweet potato chips. Seared tuna carpaccio bathed in tasty soy sauce, ponzu, and olive oil. Chopped chilies and Jalapeño boosted diced yellowtail. Their baked cod is marinated in black miso for three days, then rinsed, and cooked till it falls apart. A lemon wedge, ginger stick, and chervil complement its tender texture. There was more punch to Chilean sea bass, delivered by a truffle miso glaze, yuzu butter sauce, and tempura shisito peppers, tempered by sautéed spinach. An unusual dish was paper-thin slices of filet mignon wrapped around asparagus. Also different was flavorful spicy artichoke and yellowtail topped by salmon sashimi, dressed with ponzu, and finished with a lotus chip.
José Aleman, Regional Executive Chef, revealed they serve “live” seafood. (So does Shibuya.) “It’s a little weird,” he admitted, “but the taste and freshness are amazing.” We took his word for it.
Either a chocolate or raspberry drizzle added an artsy touch to dessert plates dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Strawberry slices standing on end like the Grand Tetons guarded a chocolate “volcano” surmounted by vanilla ice cream. Bananas flambéed in Jamaica Rum and vanilla ice cream filled a high-sided pastry cup. www.sushiroku.com
KOI
Our FDR window table at Koi gave us front row seats for the Bellagio Fountain extravaganza and all the action on the Strip. Ever-changing amusement.
Koi makes sake approachable and understandable. They offer several flights from frothy pours to serious Japanese Junmai Daiginjo, our choice, entitled “Power.” The proprietary “Koi” from Okayama was clean, fresh, subtle, light, and citrusy. Isojiman, “Seashore Pride” from Shizuoka ratcheted up the flavor profile with ginger, butterscotch, and lichee. Hatsumago, “First Grandchild,” Shozui, of Yamagata, was rich and delicious.
Koi earns accolades for its chopsticks “training wheels,” a springy gizmo you slide up the chopsticks that makes manipulating them a breeze. Crispy red onions were tasty surprises with spicy, seared albacore. Mouth-filling flavor and lushness characterized razor-thin slices of Kobe beef carpaccio accented with micro greens, fried shiitake mushrooms, and yuzu vinaigrette.
Their miso-glazed cod was flaky and tender with understated sweetness. Topping the fabulous list was sesame-encrusted lobster tail with a sesame-yuzu sauce. Koi makes crème brulée with coconut rice pudding, a delicious idea. It’s served with sorbets…ours were lemon, Mandarin, and strawberry, a tart balance. Their chocoholic’s choice, molten chocolate cake, scored high. www.koirestauant.com
VIBRANT SHIBUYA
Entering Shibuya at MGM Grand, you see sushi chefs backed by an enormous “picture” wall of an ever-changing “frame” of jewel-tone colors surrounding a constantly shifting “artwork” of geometric patterns, fish, seahorses, and diving bells “swimming” through an undulating “rainbow” sea. Shibuya’s menu of over 100 sakes guide you with maps and tasting notes. However, we again chose beer, in 24-oz. bottles that our servers kept chilled in an ice bucket.
Again we put ourselves in the hands of the chefs…Executive Chef Stephane Chevet and head sushi chef Yoshinori Nakazawa, for another delightful omakase menu. An exquisite Kumamoto oyster on the half shell barely dressed with orange ponzu and spicy daikon momiji (shredded) appeared in a small wood box filled with ice chips. Flower petals garnished a trio of uniquely prepared Hamachi (yellowtail): Sashimi with garlic ginger and soy sauce, yuzo and seven-spice pepper; tartar with tobiko and garlic-infused ponzu sauce; Sashimi with a freshly sliced sliver of wasabi root (milder and preferable to paste) and micro-chirogi (yam). A taste triumph!
Next was a duo of sashimi: chu Toro (belly) with ginger soy sauce and spiced, crunchy garlic bits; and kanpachi with yuzu juice and black truffle oil. A hot seafood course intervened between Australian Wagyu beef tataki and A5 Japanese imported Wagyu strip loin.
First the fish. My husband savored lobster and scallops in rich uni (sea urchin) butter sauce. I enjoyed yet another Chilean sea bass, this time steamed and enriched by tapioca pearls and elegant mushrooms and given a crunchy accessory of bamboo shoots (think cauliflower stalks). It was served in an octagonal ceramic bowl with a wooden lid resting on a bed of straw on a black plate.
Now the beef. Both were excellent, but the Japanese cut was more sinfully marbled and decadent. Shibuya takes the authenticity of its Japanese Kobe beef seriously. It has ID information, nose print, and family tree of the portion on your plate. A surprising touch with our braised Kobe-style short rib was a morsel of sautéed foie gras discreetly cloaked in sweet, spicy soy and punctuated with pearl onions. Then it was onward to miso soup and, of course, nigiri…big eye tuna, yellow tail Toro, salmon, and freshwater eel with freshly grated wasabi.
A grinding stone served as a dessert dish. Shibuya’s chocolate cake box was filled with lychee mousse. Bright red yuzumomo berries appeared in a parfait of yogurt mousse, strawberries, and bayberry gelée. Rounding out the trio was a smooth Calpico (yogurt-based) panacotta with Asian pears.
Another memorable meal. www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/shibuya-japanese-restaurant
SERENE OKADA
Tucked in a corner of Wynn Las Vegas, Okada is as close as you’ll get to a serene, elegant Japanese restaurant without a trans-Pacific flight. You actually have five choices within the restaurant: the handsome lounge, the sushi bar, the Robatayaki grill bar, the Teppan-Yaki (grill) room, and the fine dining room, our destination. An entire wall of glass, which opens, reveals a stunning garden with lighted, tiered waterfalls cascading into the Tryst lagoon, hillsides of evergreens and banks of ferns, bamboo, rock outcroppings, and lush plants trimmed in the shape of mushrooms. The “Pagoda,” a dining island, floats over the water. Idyllic!
The interior features round, dark wood “beams” lashed together at meeting points. Low-hanging shirred fabric lanterns of various shapes cast a soft glow. Lustrous light wood paneling adds charm.
Executive Chef Masa Ishizawa, who has worked with both Nobu Matsuhisa and Julian Serrano and at Masa’s Restaurant in San Francisco, has created a contemporary menu steeped in authentic, classic Japanese culinary tradition but “also,” he told me, “with continental and French accents.”
A light, refreshing watermelon martini, Okada Chu (watermelon juice, Takara Shochu rice vodka, sweet and sour, and rock candy syrup), eased us into dinner. Our knowledgeable server selected our sakes throughout our meal.
Pale, light, crisp Amanoto Junmai Sake paired with Wagyu beef carpaccio with ponzu sauce, grated ginger, julienned carrot and daikon, and garlic chips. I’m a ginger fan and put several slices into the ponzu sauce, giving a piquant lilt to the elegant beef. Next, a child-size teapot contained not tea but light, clear soup, Dobin mushi, of mushrooms, white fish, shrimp, and bonito, served with a lime wedge. Earthy and smoky, it’s consommé with attitude.
The toasty character of our next sake, Dewazakura-Ginjo, complemented selections from the obatayaki grill…short rib accompanied by a Sishito pepper, asparagus wrapped in paper-thin bacon, and eggplant. We dipped the pieces into three sauces: zippy, creamy mustard and two that were ponzu based, one with teriyaki overtones, the other, citrus. A tasty flavor exploration.
The richness of Kubota Hekiju Daiginjo sake perfectly balanced another mustard sauce with a hint of wasabi, this time similar to Hollandaise with a kick, which was served with the omnipresent grilled sea bass. It was yet another example of Chef Masa’s finesse controlling potentially taste-killing flavors. The sweet, flaky fish was surrounded by a vegetable broth dotted with tiny yellow and red tomato wedges and cucumber.
For our sushi course, we enjoyed an array of deliciously fresh, perfect nigiri: Toro chu, halibut, salmon, tuna, kampachi. Dessert was a “pineapple sashimi” mélange of fresh pineapple wedges, gelée, and sorbet, with coconut panacotta and a zesty ginger cookie. Ginger joined chocolate in a mousse cake dusted with 24K gold and adorned with a chocolate tuille. Sparkling Hana Hou Hou Shu sake created a frothy finale for another exceptional meal. www.wynnlasvegas.com/okada.
