Shirahama: One Night of Sushi in San Diego

Usually at the mmm-yoso foodblog, Kirk is the head chef, presenting meals from around the world and in San Diego; many times Cathy serves up some interesting dishes here too; today, however, ed (from Yuma) has some sushi (from San Diego) for you to enjoy.

Like most people, I am a creature of habit. I also love sushi, so when I find myself overwhelmed with desire for a sushi dinner (or two), I head to San Diego. Which explains my two day visit earlier this month.

The first dinner was Shirahama. I had been twice before and posted about it here and here. Because the chef’s presentations on this evening were similar to previous visits, a lot of this post will be pictures with minimal comments.

One thing that has changed in the past two years is the signage at the restaurant:

Something else different were the marinated baby squid that led off the meal:

Koji-san explained that the squid are placed in the marinade as soon as they are harvested to preserve their soft and delicate texture. These little guys were full of umami:

Next came tuna and fluke, much as before:

A mantis shrimp and a solid piece of snow crab were next:

The crab was very good, but the shrimp was rather different from what I would have expected, meaty but a bit dry and lacking in standard shrimp flavors.

The next to arrive were amberjack (kanpachi) and sprat: 

The sprat was quite appealing to the eye, shining and reflecting light, a silver strip at each side of the little filet. This relative of herring had a clean fresh fishy flavor. The taste of the amberjack was even more striking – balanced firm richness, worthy of the mmm-yoso dance according to my notes.

Next came Spanish mackerel and a clam:

The mackerel was flawless and nicely accented with fresh grated ginger. On this evening, I was especially impressed by the clam which had a nice variety of textures from crunchy on the edge to soft chewy in the center, all very fresh and flavorful. One of the other customers said to his friends, "mirugai overwhelms rice; this clam is more balanced and refined." It was a good point.

I had started the meal drinking chilled water, but I finally broke down and ordered a 300 ml bottle of Dewazakura sake ($26.50):

Its label says that it has a floral nose and a mellow fruity flavor, along with "a wholesome freshness, a green apple tartness, and a refreshing finish." It seemed fine to me.

Octopus and see bream showed up next:

To me, the bream tasted a lot like good hirame, fresh clean whitefish flavor. The octopus, on the other hand, was uniquely wonderful. Uncooked, it was creamy and moist with a firm soft chewy texture and mild molluscy flavor. Three stars in my notes. Certainly one of the highlights of the meal and even better than the clam I had fallen in love with just a few bites earlier.

Fresh sardine and squid followed:

The ika was fine, pristine and mild in flavor, making it a perfect foil for the sardine, which had a big mouth filling flavor, the taste of the sea but not overly fishy, rich but not unctuous. Another excellent fish.

Koji-san had already wondered if I was finished, but I simply couldn't stop the wonderful meal. I did worry, however, that he might be running out of interesting sushi. The toro and yellowjack that he delivered next convinced me that he had not run through his bag of tricks yet:

The jack was okay though I am hard-pressed to remember much about it because the toro sitting beside it was so absolutely wonderful. Tender and buttery. It melted in my mouth, dissolving into creamy bliss. Wow!

The last item was sea eel topped with a few of salt crystals:

I thought it good, but not exceptional.

One thing that did seem exceptional that evening was this:

I took that picture of the gari as a reminder to myself. Shirahama’s pickled ginger that night seemed especially floral, complex, and sweetly spicy, so good it almost made me doubt my taste buds.

Shirahama is still on its game. Rather than trying to say what I have already said in some new way, I’m just going to plagiarize myself: Koji-san is the master of the traditional and old school and understated. Like a rock garden. If you have some extra money sitting around (this meal was $111) and want to have real Japanese sushi in a Japanese environment, this place is for you.

Sushidokoro Shirahama, 4212 Convoy, San Diego, 92111, (858) 650-3578, open daily 12:00-2:00 and 5:30-10:00

Comments

[Faye]

Is it sad that I recognize this place from the Bowling store next to it. I've driven by this restaurant so many times but have been too timid to try it out. Was this an omakase meal? $111 seems pricey but I don't have much to compare it to (as I rarely sit at sushi bar and order nigiri a la carte or omakase). I was actually in the same plaza over the weekend and remember thinking 'gosh, shirahama's windows are always blacked out'. The octopus nigiri sounds amazing.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

This was omakaze, but I could have stopped the meal sooner. Also $26.50 of the total was for the sake. On the other hand, there is only one sake less expensive than that one and no beer. I also let him know that I like unusual, interesting, seasonal; I'm sure you could specify a price point. There is also a menu, so omakaze is not required. Maybe next time I will have some items off the menu just for something different.

[nhbilly]

Nice.

[caninecologne]

Ah, so that's what kanpachi is! :) I always see this place whenever we go to Phuong Trang or the bakery next door.

What a great splurge dinner!

[Cathy]

That's so funny! My notes usually say 'happy feet' or 'no'. Everything here looks really great; so nice you were able to fulfill some of your cravings.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Thanks billy; good to hear from you cc - I still get confused because I learned mostly the Japanese words for various fish, so sometimes I find the English confusing. I don't always take notes, Cathy, though it is best when I do because my mind gets more forgetful every month it seems. I don't really have a system.