Sushi Porn

   Madeline & I had a chance to run across the street for lunch today, for some delicious noms at Kabuki! I had their signature roll (tuna, salmon, cucumber, avocado, masago) and the anaconda roll (tempura-battered freshwater eel, avocado, cucumber, masago, seaweed strips). I think they named it that because the pieces are so big, you have to unhinge your jaw to eat them! It was a great chance to chat and temporarily escape from the stress of work & pet issues... Much needed today!

Jen Dreams of Sushi, Too

    Tonight I'm going to see "JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI" at the Tivoli, the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. I haven't been there yet, but now that I'm familiar with it, I plan to go someday! 
　じろさんの鮨が食べたことがありたいんですが。。。 すごくおいしそうな鮨ですね。日本に行きたいです。そして、じろさんの鮨がとても美しいですから、私はびじゆつを作りたいです。とても面白くて、とてもすばらしい映画ですよ。
　The film used a term,「しょくにん」which means artisan or craftsman of the highest level, to describe Jiro. He was abandoned by his family at the age of 7 and began making sushi at age 10, working to survive. Through his work he found love, and for 75 years he has worked tirelessly to improve himself and his food. It is a real testament to the Japanese spirit and demand for excellence, but he was also a quiet man, humble despite his significant accomplishments. His おまかせ menu consists of the best and freshest fish his son can find every morning at  つきじ market, and costs $300 and up for 20 pieces.
   The film is a real work of art in itself, and the comparison of fine sushi served in meticulously planned courses to perfectly orchestrated music is a great one. Every single piece looked almost too good to be true, and I suddenly found my popcorn to be less than satisfying.

   Here's the synopsis from the official website: "JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father."

Day two, in pictures!

Good Morning, Guesthouse!

Good Morning, Nelly!

Good Morning, Little Man!

Baby squeezes before breakfast. Sean was fascinated with my hands.

Good food...

Eric fixed breakfast #1: Homemade yogurt with homemade granola and bananas

Kelley fixed breakfast #2: sautéed veggies, eggs, avocado, balsamic glaze & toast!

After breakfast, Kelley, Sean and I headed out for a little fun... another gorgeous day in LA!

Owl pillows at Paper Source

Treats at Big Sugar Bake Shop (we gave some brownies a good home)

Great letterpress by Hello! Lucky

Zonked! How do babies become exponentially cuter when sleeping? It's a mystery.

snack: Kelley's homemade veggie chili

Time for a sushi fix!!! Treats from Izakaya Sushi Ran:

Kelley & Eric

me & Dave

LA Today!

   Today I was so excited to get out to LA and visit Kelley and Eric, but especially to meet my very first nephew, Sean, who is now 4 months old. (And getting cuter by the day.) Had a great visit with Joni at my house when she came to pick me up, and we were off to the airport. I was a little nervous about airport security and "the boot", but I was pleasantly surprised—they didn't make me remove it! I simply had to go through the full body scan, and then they swabbed the boot. Easy. And everyone was super-friendly to boot (pun intended).

   I grabbed a sub sandwich and found a seat near the gate, next to an older guy who was dressed like a pilot. And… he was our pilot! We sat and talked for about 45 minutes 'til the plane arrived, and talked about careers and goals and family and all kinds of things. He was a great guy and very interesting. He suggested that I talk to the gate agent about my ankle, and I barely had to show her the boot, then she handed me a blue plastic folder that gave me permission to board first, with all the elderly people in wheelchairs. These old ladies were teasing me about my leg and we had a good time, taking our time down the jetway. I got an aisle seat on the left side of the plane, so I could hang the boot out in the aisle to stretch when needed. The women sitting next to me were fun and friendly. Hmm… I might have to wear this boot more often!!!

   Kelley picked me up and we took off to Silver Lake to pick up her biweekly produce assortment, then back to her house to play with Sean and relax a bit. He was alert and happy and kept staring at me with his wide blue eyes. It's really cute when Kelley gets in his face and he crinkles his eyes and emits a huge smile.

   There was a gorgeous, bright pink and purple sunset—blocked by trees in the yard, though—I'll have to chase down a photo if we get another. I guess smog is good for one thing, eh? If I remember my high school science, particles in the air make for good sunsets because light and color reflects off of them. It was pretty spectacular.

   Kelley took Sean through his evening routine (dinner, bath, walk around the neighborhood 'til he falls asleep in the carrier) and then put him to bed. And that meant it was dinnertime for us!

   She recommended a couple of good Japanese restaurants she had tried before, and we settled on Daichan (the stuffed kabocha appetizer was what tipped me to try this place over another, and it certainly didn't disappoint!) Kelley ran out to pick up our food while I iced my ankle and listened for Sean to stir (he didn't). We had great Poki bowls (mine with chunks of raw tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and red snapper) that consisted of fish, seaweed, lettuce, green onion and a soy vinaigrette over rice. It tasted great with the kabocha and miso eggplant appetizers. Yum. I easily get spoiled every time I visit LA.

   By this time it was almost 9:00 (11:00 for me) and I was worn out from dragging the boot around, along with my luggage. So I retired to my own private guesthouse in their backyard, recently renovated. Perfect. (Even slept in 'til 5:00 am—7:00 for me, a luxury which Aki rarely lets me have!) Zzz...

Sunset Sushi

   Brett called to say he was driving to Clinton Lake to look for owls, and I was finally feeling better tonight, so he picked up me & the Shibas (with Sam in the front seat) and we headed out in time for sunset. Sunset was very pretty, but we saw no owls.

Great sushi at Wa almost made up for the owl-lessness:

Tres amigos, yellow dragon, Wa roll

SUSHI! SUSHI! SUSHI!

   Renee invited Joni and me to see "War Horse" with her and Joe tonight, and we met at Sushi House for dinner first. We were lucky to get one of the private rooms with the sliding doors, so we could laugh as hard as we wanted without disturbing the rest of the dining room. We put away teriyaki salmon, rare steak with yuzu, and several different delicious rolls. Oishii!

   We had some extra time, so we walked over to Picasso Aquatics to scare the fish with our fish breath. It's like a mini aquarium over there!
   After marveling over the fish, we walked back over to see the horse movie. It was good; I liked the battle scenes the best. The horse part was less realistic and had Spielberg's characteristic sentimentality, which didn't detract from the experience, but it did make it feel more like a movie for kids. And fortunately, we're all big kids. Thanks, guys!