Ebisu

I started finding reasons to try this restaurant after seeing photos of some of their sushi offerings on Foodspotting.com. One of the most astonishing photos was of a sea urchin served in its shell. That was it; I had to finally try Ebisu, a restaurant I have been passing and been curious about for years. I had shied away from uni for a long time, since a very bad experience at another sushi restaurant, where the sea urchin was so spoiled, I immediately had to spit it out or risk something far worse. As chance would have it, last year I ordered a Futomaki that had a bit of sea urchin in it and I really liked it. The first thing I did when opening the menu was to scour it for the uni. As it turns out, you have to special order it.

  

One of the most unusual elements of the menu was the selection of vegetables. I don’t think I have ever seen so many options for vegetables on a Japanese menu and the prices were very low. I put the photo of the wasabi and ginger as a reminder that it came to the table ahead of the sushi and I really liked the fact that there was plenty of it. The seaweed salad was very nice with a sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing that made it taste fresh and bright in flavor. It was actually too generous a portion for one and only cost $4.75. It was comparable in value to the Duo of Ohitashi (spinach) with bonito flakes that was priced at $5.50. My dining partner took half home even after sharing a good portion with me.

Agedashi Tofu was lightly fried and bathed in a lovely light broth. The texture was very silky so the contrast with the crisp exterior was quite nice; another good value for $5. I ordered the Tokyo Tower because I like Tempura Shrimp in sushi, but more importantly because the name conjured up a very architectural image. I’m afraid the only architecture in the order was the small bit of shrimp you see towering all of one inch above the piece of sushi on the right. It was a also a let down in the fact that the roll was only cut into 4 pieces; this was not good value for $6.95. In order to give a fair evaluation to my dining experiences at Japanese restaurants, I almost always order a spicy tuna roll for my point of comparison. The Poke Roll at Ebisu was not outstanding, in fact it was ordinary and cut too small into 8 pieces from a noticeably thin roll.

 

The Applewood Scallop Carpaccio was outstanding and worth every single one of the 900 pennies it cost. The smoked scallops were layered over a blood orange sauce that was slightly bitter like a marmalade; not the taste I was expecting, nor as sweet as I had hoped, but very good. The mustard micro greens and sesame seeds added a visual and textural contrast. Again, the build up was misleading. The menu lists “Sizzling blood orange vinaigrette”, yet mine was room temperature at best.

 

I admit, I was smitten with the idea of the uni, and it didn’t disappoint. The briny, creamy , rich taste was what I was seeking. If you want a taste of the sea, sea urchin is the ticket. I didn’t even bother with the lemon. As a child I watched my Italian grandfather eat sea urchins right out of the shell and wondered why he did it standing up in the kitchen, not sitting at the table. I think I now understand his urgency at eating it as fresh as possible. Then again, perhaps he didn’t want to share.

 

The Drunken Berries In Sake with Vanilla Ice Cream was refreshing and very well thought out. The sake and berries worked perfectly together, so perfectly, I now want to try more sake, since my experience has been limited. The mixed berries were a combination of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Fresh strawberries may have made it even better, but sometimes we have to settle for frozen fruit.

http://www.ebisusushi.com/ebisu-sushi-menu.php?location=1&menu=14