Omakase

LEAVING IT UP TO CHANCEOMAKASE

BY REBECCA JIANG PHOTOS BY ALAN JINICH

The modern restaurant experience accentuates customizability, with chains like Chipotle, Panda Express, and poke bars adding value by allowing customers to pick exactly the mix of ingredients they prefer. Expansive restaurant menus with an almost incalculable amount of course permutations have left the authority at the dining table entirely to the customer. After all, “The customer is always right.” As much as I love getting extra corn salsa and tortillas on the side, there’s something so special about a dining experience where you leave what you receive in the hands of someone else.

Omakase, a Japanese word rooted in the verb “to entrust,” is a style of eating at Japanese restaurants where the customer leaves their entire meal up to the chef’s discretion. In many cases, customers don’t even see a pre-fixed menu; they have no idea what each course will be, or even how many there are. However, the only thing you can expect are one-or-two-bite portions, seasoned to perfection. There will never be a need to dip sushi in soy sauce or add wasabi during the meal. Any wasabi intended to go with the dish is subtly placed between the fish and the rice, and sauces are served with the specific plate they precisely complement. Because restaurants offering omakase often limit seating to just a few guests, you have the full attention of the chef throughout the meal. Every component — from the order of delivery to individual ingredients for that day — is precariously choreographed to form a unique dance for your palate.

OMAKASE E TIQUETTE

Because we’re so used to dining styles centered around you and the people you’re eating with, your first omakase, where it’s now a culinary conversation between the customer and the chef, can be especially daunting. Here’s a quick guide to maintain respect and optimize each aspect of the meal:

Use the ginger to refresh your palate in between courses rather than adding it to the sushi.

In the same way that other cuisines might use citrus or bread as palate cleansers, ginger allows customers to neutralize their palate between courses and taste each dish with more clarity. and it might run cold if too much time is spent on pictures.

Try not to add any additional soy sauce.

Most sushi bars that serve omakase don’t have sauces laid out for the customer’s discretion. This is because they’re already seasoned to perfection!. If you do choose to add a little bit of soy sauce, ensure that the fish, rather than the rice, comes in contact with the sauce.

Eat each piece of sushi in one bite.

Each piece is crafted to be the perfect bite for you, and allow you to taste every element of the sushi at once.

Because of the quality of each of the ingredients and the time the experience requires, omakase isn’t offered at every Japanese restaurant and can be pricey — $50 to well over $100 per person. But if you ever have the opportunity to indulge in this truly one-of-a-kind meal, you’ll walk away never wanting to order for yourself again.

Stray from taking pictures of the meal as the courses are best eaten as quickly as possible to preserve the warmth of the rice.

Most sushi bars are thrilled when the customers take photos of the courses, but it’s polite to check in with the chef before doing so. Courses with nigiri also tend to come with rice that is just slightly warm,

SPOTS IN PHILLY

• HIROKI

• ROYAL SUSHI & IZAKAYA

• SAKANA OMAKASE SUSHI

• ZAMA

I’m a serial splitter. Anyone I dine out If you keep tracing your finger along the Whatever you believe, it’s not a shock with knows that swapping and sharing Meditarreanean coastline, there’s more. that a tradition that spans so many are inevitable. Maybe it’s food envy. But French hors d’oeuvres (“outside of the borders would be difficult to trace… and maybe it’s curiosity. meal”) and Italian antipasto (“before even more difficult when it comes to Tapas proved to be a game changer. meal”) are cousins of the tapa, but you laying claim. I didn’t have to worry about a dearth of have to keep going in order to find a closer The underlying factor between all of options — the point is for your meal match. That, or jump up to Scandinavia these traditions is not the portion size, to be more flavorful, more varied, more for a smörgåsbord. but the community. While the flavors Feast:Tapas, sociable, more adventurous. To mix and match. Want to try the octopus but not sure? Share it. A common misconception debunked: tapas are not just appetizers. They vary from one region to another, but when Countries throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East boast meze (or mezze, maybe mazza depending on location) that cannot be mistaken for a bar snack or appetizer. Mezze, like tapas, are the whole meal. and shared experience are memorable, it’s the conversations over hours of small plates that make tapas, maza, and many more traditions worth repeating. setting out on a tapa-eating mission, the The Sultan of Egypt and the Levant point is to make a meal of it. (For some, had a dish prepared to commemorate tapear is even a verb!) the recapturing of Jerusalem from While the origins of tapas are riddled the Crusaders in 1187 (or was it for his with myths about Medieval kings, they ascension to the Egyptian throne?). This seem more likely to have common origins. invention was hummus. Since then, other According to Telegraph, the word tapa staples have emerged: labneh, tabbouleh, derives from the Spanish tapar, which and baba ganoush; kulen, sudzuk, and means “to cover”; before they were bite- kajmak; taramosalata, kalamata olives. sized plates, tapas served as lids served Chef Clifford A. Wright outlines the atop glasses to feed crowded standing linguistic history. Some claim the Persian bars, keep away fruit flies, or maybe even word mazze (“to taste” or “to relish”) is distract from the subpar quality of the the root, while others claim it stems from drinks. Regardless of the intention, their Italian mezzano, referring to “middle” scope is undeniable. Patatas bravas, tortilla plates. Some have even made the case española, and calamari are synonymous maza derives from the Arabic phrase, with Spanish cuisine. “Mazza haza?” meaning “What is this?”

Spots in Philly:

3 1 4 2 5 6

1. Oloroso 2. Amada 3. Barcelona Wine Bar 4. Isot 5. Zahav 6. Suraya