Many, many food personalities, critics, chefs, and other industry-folk were in Japan in March and April.
There are many reasons, but there are three that I believe in particular:
- Noma Kyoto
- With the borders opening up last fall, now seemed like a great time to go, particularly with the favorable currency exchange rate
- Sakura season
Addison writes on “Edomae” and sushi in LA vs. sushi in Tokyo…I get his general drift, but I think there’s a bit of fluff in here, because yes, “Edomae” as a value system is booming in LA recently, and yes LA has good sushi, but New York has the better high-end sushi overall in that style. LA’s sushi scene, however, is extremely prolific, perhaps the most outside of Japan in terms of influence. But it is LA’s eschewing of the “LA style” that is kind of the interesting phenomenon. It’s easy to hate on truffle and caviar, yes, but what about the change in style at the high-end away from the Nozawa/Matushisa/Katsuya South American-inflected offerings, and what advancements in the supply chain and changing tastes as results of social media have done is perhaps an interesting story he doesn’t engage with.
If one wants to talk about “Edomae” proper, then it’s going to be a sushi meal comprised of the types of neta and preparations that people like Hanaya Yohei used in the mid-late 1800’s. Kurumaebi (boiled), ni-hamaguri, kohada, etc. Particularly a little bit later, yes maguro, especially as one of the prime choices for zuke. One perspective, from Keiji Nakazawa of Sushi Sho, is that “Edomae” is “treating the fish to match the rice.” At the very least, there is a treatment/cooking/marination of the topping, though that is not a requirement for what is considered “Edomae” now, of course most of the neta in “Edomae” now is in fact raw. Of course a lot of that is historical. Same goes for the use of akazu; that’s partly what was feasible back then, with komezu being expensive. Consider now why one of the most storied Edomae sushiya in Ginza uses komezu, even for the maguro. And it wasn’t until perhaps Sushi Haru in the '50s that nigirizushi was really elevated to fine-dining level, and I’m quite sure that Fujimoto-san was using komezu. The story of “Edomae” should probably acknowledge a bit more history. It’ll include the style of “the big 3” and the Futabakai, the most legendary of them and perhaps one of the most influential in the sushi world yet unheralded being Shigezo Fujimoto. Yes, he popularized omakase and the emphasis on premium tuna - so much of the current sushi landscape can be attributed to his contributions. Strange that he’s largely omitted from Western media, Addison included.
Masa Takayama and Norihito Endo, in particular, are somewhat interesting choices of whom to discuss, though they were certainly in the right place at the right time and made names for themselves. I get that Masa’s Ginza Sushiko was ground-breaking at the time for being high-end sushi/sushi-kaiseki for LA. In terms of “maximalism,” perhaps Masa’s showman style can be valuable context. But it’s not that the high-end sushi spots in LA aren’t using expensive ingredients, they are, just not the same conspicuously glitzy ingredients. The more interesting story here to me is change in diners’ tastes and attitudes and how that has led to the explosion of what is often considered or touted as “Edomae.” The fact that he and Eater single out Norihito Endo, too, is interesting to me in what it suggests about how sushi media and marketing in this age operate.
If one wants to talk Edomae proper currently, perhaps now one should look to Shimbashi Shimizu, if not Keiji Nakazawa and other authorities who are genuine craftsmen moving forth Edomae traditions. The “jukusei” that Sushi Kimura practices is perhaps less about Edomae proper, though it is an admirable practice. His sort of technical treatment or extended aging of fish is not something really practiced in LA to my knowledge.
“Edomae,” however, despite 1) its literal translation, which would indicate sushi that’s made in the style of how it was back then (Tokyo-style being the most prolific, and 2) its amorphous and inconsistent usage in the West, now basically has achieved secondary meaning in the food world to signify an a retreat to (or more like a “rediscovery” of) a high emphasis on the essential elements of sushi - paying attention to rice, fish marination, storage, etc.
Articles like these seem to reinforce the second definition, which leads to confusion about actual Edomae style which is the first.
What this article seems to be saying is that high-end sushi in LA is trying to get closer to high-end sushi in Tokyo by focusing on important elements that were perhaps neglected before when LA sushi first started (such as the rice).