The FDA seems to disagree "Freezing and storing at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 7 days (total time), or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -31°F (-35°C) or below for 15 hours, or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 24 hours is sufficient to kill parasites. FDA's Food Code recommends these freezing conditions to retailers who provide fish intended for raw consumption." so anything labeled "sushi grade" (which is not really a grade, just a marketing term is guaranteed to be frozen. it's really better this way, since the fish is frozen at the boat and will be more fresh for consumption. which is why eating sushi at expensive places is dumb. its all frozen and comes from the same place
it's all frozen except for tuna (which isn't prone to parasites) 2 seconds of google searching will tell you this
If you think all the raw fish being served in Atlanta at Sushi restaurants is frozen you have lost your mind.
Direct from Starfishs Website. Most of our fish are wild-caught and delivered to us daily. They are packed with special care, most of which are never frozen from the moment they are caught, even from as far as Japan, until they are delivered to us, and our shellfish are still alive when they arrive.
here let me quote the new york times for you: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/n...&en=14403a1246cf158f&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND "Most would be even more surprised to learn that if the sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the United States. " "Food and Drug Administration regulations stipulate that fish to be eaten raw — whether as sushi, sashimi, seviche, or tartare — must be frozen first, to kill parasites. "I would desperately hope that all the sushi we eat is frozen," said George Hoskin, a director of the agency's Office of Seafood. Tuna, a deep-sea fish with exceptionally clean flesh, is the only exception to the rule" I think I'll listen to the FDA rather than some restaurant's marketing department.
haha easy buddy. it's not for all fish. tuna is the exception (among a few others), but eating unfrozen, raw salmon will mess you up with anisakid nematodes. they have to remove the parasites with an endoscope anything that has to be transported any distance will be frozen anyway. it will be fresher this way when it's time to consume. so if you're ordering japanese red snapper, unless it's overnighted from another country, it will be frozen. fatty fishes aren't really affected, and you can tell with certain species if they have been frozen or not (but around here you don't have much choice). a lot of the time the fish will be packed in ice, around 0F and can still be legally called "fresh" (although to me that is frozen, but not frozen by FDA standards to kill parasites)
I'm well aware of how it works. The thing is I only eat Sushi at the kind of places that fly their fish in. I refuse to argue with you about this any further, if you think that MF and Starfish and the other quality Sushi places in Atlanta are following the FDA guidelines then there is nothing I can do to help you.
There was a special on the I-team awhile back where they investigated sushi restaraunts in atlanta. I think the final verdict was none of them (if I remember correctly) served REAL red snapper, among others but I'm no sushi expert so don't recall the names. I know for sure Ru Sans was one of the places, and I think Starfish was another on the list (but don't quote me) among others. And why would you eat raw fish that hasn't been treated for parasites?
and eat it with chopsticks made of platinum, only buy snap on tools, and snort uncut cocaine off vida guerra's ass. I'm sure they buy their fish on the open market just like every other sushi joint in town. have fun paying for a marketing term if you makes you feel like a BALLER (did you see the double entendre I just did?)
You wouldn't happen to know where I can get platinum chopstick would you? Baller...thats clever I see what you did there with my last name\nick name....Clearly you adventures in higher education and your avid use of google have paid off... In short I would never snort China White off Vidas ass, her and I would both snort it off the worlds finest crystal.
I suspect some sushi places does fly their fish in but not all the shops nor all of the variety of fish. I am big fan of Sashimi and I can easily tell if the fish is fresh or not as most other sushi lovers can as well. When a fish is frozen and thawed it just tastes different, especially salmon. Then again I could be 100% wrong lol I mean c'mon, we are eating freaking raw fish here, if it is old then the best of wasabi cannot cover the nastiness. Just for the record I hardly ever eat sushi around Atlanta but rather enjoy more fully cooked entries from japanese restaurants with exception of Magic Fingers of downtown and Ichiban of Satellite (sometimes).
Looks like everyone is in Georgia and most from this thread are from Cobb County. In Georgia it is required that all fish be frozen before served. It is also required (in Cobb County) that food preparation gloves be worn during food preparations on all cold foods or ready serve foods. That being said... I do not know of any real Japanese sushi chefs that would freeze a perfectly good fish. I do not know of any that would use a glove either... except some of the guys at Benihana. They use some oil on the gloves and are so used to using gloves, I think they cannot make sushi without it.
"Many sushi bars, in Japan and elsewhere, routinely use frozen fish when fresh is unavailable or more expensive than the market will bear. ''In Japan,'' Mr. Kawauchi said, ''50 percent of the sushi and sashimi is frozen. Only my American customers are so concerned with fresh fish.'' huh. not to mention the japanese have a year long supply of tuna (a "strategic tuna reserve") stored away in the deep freeze.
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Ru Sans for the win...I love sushi, but to me (I'm no Tom Colicchio) it tastes the same whether I pay $1 for 3 rolls or $15 for one. The only place where I do not like sushi is grocery stores. Btw, sushi = best hangover food...in the world. I think it's topped the all you can eat super china buffet Now, back to fighting...JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!
:rofl: it all comes from ONE major distributor in Atlanta and is frozen before it arrives to that dist. it may arrive daily, but that doesn't mean it was caught that same morning...
Forgot to mention. A lot of places get their fish flown in from Japan. However, a lot of fish is flown to Japan from the East coast. Especially blue fin tuna. Normally what you see flown in are seasonal fishes. I can tell you where most of the fishes come from. Kanpachi: this is a tradmarked name in the US, flown in from Hawaii. It is an amberjack fish (specifically less than 18 inches long) that is farm raised in large pens in the warm Pacific waters. Usually warm water jack fishes that get larger than 18 inches are no longer "safe" to eat raw and should be cooked. Also, larger jack fishes do not taste that good. Blue Fin Tuna: World wide. East coast, Gulf of Mexico, the Med., off Spain's coast, Vietnam, Austrailia, Mexico, everywhere. Most are not frozen. Yellow Fin Tuna: mostly in the Pacific. This has a very light taste. It is translucent and a very light red. Most Japanese consider this type of tuna junk. Although, a friend of mine brought back a very good yellow fin. It was great. So, not all yellow fin are junk. Big Eye Tuna: World wide, but mostly in the Atlantic and in the Med. Hamachi: Only off the Northern half of the Japanese coast. This a specific sized Japanese Amber Jack. It is also known as Yellow Tail. Usually around 24 inches. It is usually farmed raised, cut in half and flash frozen. Salmon: The best salmon for sashimi comes from fish farms. Wild salmon might taste good, but WILL HAVE PARASITES. There are a lot of salmon farms out there. The best are in Norway. However, Scottish Farms is also very good. None are frozen prior to arrival to the restaurant. They also arrive whole (minus guts). Shiromi: Literal translation means, white meat fish. Usually talapia (most places call this red snapper, fricken liars). It is brought in frozen and already filleted. These are not fresh water, but salt water talapia from Taiwan. Flounder: This is served as a white meat fish, however, most Americans do not like it. Americans prefer Talapia, which they think is red snapper... heheheh. Japanese like flounder. Most of the flounder found in Atlanta are from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. These are brought in alive or just recently dead. Common Mackerel: The best place to get this fresh is in Japan. Whole frozen ones from Norway are good too. Fish flown directly from Tsukiji (Narita airport aka Tokyo, Japan) (Side note, Narita airport is not in the "state" of Tokyo, but in the Chiba prefecture. Tsukiji market is in Tokyo.) Aji: Japanese Mackerel. Similar to the Hard Tail in the Gulf of Mexico. Brought in unfrozen and whole (with guts). Cheap fish in Japan. However, with a plane ticket, it is about $15. Shima Aji: Aji, but larger and with a stripe. Kuro mutsu: black mutsu. I do not know what it is called in English. Ugly fish with sharp teeth. Isaki: I do not know what it is called in English. Sharo spins though. Kinki: Type of deep water rock fish. costs approx $60/lbs. Considered by many Japanese as the best tasting fish. Sanma: Japanese pike. Very short. less than a foot long. Brought in whole and unfrozen. Iwashi: Japanese sardine. This about six inches long. It is brought in whole and unfrozen. Mebaru: I do not know the English name. Brought in whole and unfrozen. Really sharp fins and spins. Kinme Dai: Golden eye snapper. Fricken expensive. about $50/lbs and come in at 5lbs. Brought in whole and unfrozen. Izumi Dai: Japanese red snapper. Brought in whole and unfrozen. Very expensive. about $30/lbs. Kawahagi: A type of trigger fish caught of Japan. This is brought in whole and unfrozen. This is also the closest thing in taste to fugu (blow fish). It is not poisonous. Fugu is not allowed to be served in Georgia. Ayu: Seasonal Japanese river fish. This is grilled. It is brought in whole and unfrozen. (So many others) If you want good fish flown in, the only place to buy from is Tsukiji market through a fish broker. State-side, the most popular broker is True World Foods. It is the largest broker and distributor in the USA. It is also Korean owned, but staffed mostly by Japanese. As far as I know, none of the Japanese chefs in Atlanta think MF is the best. They buy expensive fish, but is of no higher quality than that of some of the smaller places. Haru Ichiban used to be a place I went to too, but recently it was sold to a Korean company. Most of the Japanese business men that I talked to have told me that the best place in Atlanta is off of Buford Hwgy. It is called Sushi House. I have yet to go there, so I cannot confirm this. Also, it would take mutiple visits for me to confirm anything. Stuff from the Gulf of Mexico: Puffer: Similar to a Hari sen bon. Caught one off of the pier in Destin. Brought it back up and ate it. Not raw, but cooked. Hard Tail: These are the best small fish in the Gulf. These can be eaten a few minutes after catching them. No size limit. Snapper: Fricken awesome Gulf fish. However, the best are at 18 inches. The throwback size is also anything less than 18...
Like I said, "perfectly good fish." If the fish is good, why freeze it. If you cannot get a certain fish, then you have to use a frozen fish.
Ru-san's is not a place I would recommend for sashimi and sushi. However, if you like rolls. It is the only place I recommend.
totsubo, how much of the fish do you think is packed in ice when it is caught? and would you consider this to be frozen, although not frozen in the sense to kill parasites?
All fish is packed in ice. It is the best way to keep it. This would not be considered frozen. The fish will not freeze using this method.
Haru Ichiban I used to go there alot with my dad, the last couple of times that I went it wasn't so good. As for the best place in town, there are only a couple that I really like and MF is pretty much at the top of the list.
Sushi Yoko is pretty cheap. They also get some of the best Flounder, Tuna and Salmon in Atlanta. One of the best sakes is called Kubota Manju. It is a cold sake. They have it. In fact, I am going there to eat lunch today. Anyone want to join up around 1 PM?
I've found that most value places like Rusan's don't have the quality and frankly kinda gross me out. I love Ege Sushi in Marietta I used to eat alot at Sushi Huku but their best chef left and I haven't been happy with the service to try it in a while. I do love the Ege lunch and dinner specials; I used to eat there twice a week for lunch when I worked in Marrietta. Ege also has a nice black GTR sitting out front most nights too
If it is rolls, then yeah, Rusan's. Sushi Yoko has almost none. I think, Sushi House does not even make rolls (they are also expensive).
I've eaten at several places for sushi and Totsubo's place is good cause I think he puts extra special love into his sushi when he knows we're subaru ppl. Otherwise, I usually go to Umezono or Sushi Yoko for price/quality it's good and proximity. I've tried Nakata(o?) and while it was good, it didn't leave a lasting impression. Ru san's is asstastic! Sushi Yoko and Umezono were introduced to me by my ex (who is Japanese) and if it's good for a Nihonjin, it's good for me.
I don't know how anyone could eat the fish at sushi yoko, the stuff is horrible especially their lunch sushi or sashimi combo special, yuck. I used to go Every weekend four years ago but now the quality is long gone. I only eat the cooked stuff there now, highly recommend their curry with tonkatsu, fried pork filet covered in Curry over white rice. Ichihan off of satellite blvd has also some quality, maybe if is due to new management but it seesm it is the same people working there. I must give this Sushi House a try, anyone know which section of buford highway is it on? Thanks
whoa... what the hell happened to Ichiban and when?? that's were most japanese folks in gwinnett went to eat sushi/sashimi and just home cooked type food matt, i hope this was a fluke... because i'm gonna cry if i have to drive out west to get good sushi/sashimi
I've had Ru-sans once and will most likely never go back. Sushi was warm, with shitty fish, and the food sucked. Haru Ichiban ftw, haven't been there in a month or two but hopefully its still good next time i go. How is that Umezono by Boomers?
Umezono is decent, I go there once a week usually for lunch from work. I haven't been to Sushi Yoko in a while on Peachtree Industrial, but if Monk says it's gone downhill, then I believe him. I do usually jump around on the menu, so I don't always get sushi, but try a lot of things.
Blinfold, I do not go to Yoko for sushi. I forgot to mention that. Definitely not for the katsu curry. I go there for to eat lunch, because it is better than getting a McDonald's. hehehe I promise you this though (at least up until 2005): Yoko has the best tuna, salmon and flounder. However, I do not like their rice. That is why I do not order sushi their. Yoko is selling their flounder to other restaurants, but keeps the best for their use. Also, they were one of the places in Atlanta that could use a whole (15 to 20 lbs) salmon a day. Their salmon is brought in whole and they cut it up themselves. The place they get their tuna from will not send them bad tuna because of the head chef's reputation. If they do, the head chef refuses the entire delivery. About their overall quality going down. Yes, I have noticed that too. But, not on those three types of fish. Oh, their mirugai and uni good too. Haru Ichiban got sold off recently. Perhaps within the last couple of months. Umezono and Sushi Yoko are basically the same. The owner used to be the same. The previous owner gave yoko to the head chef at yoko. However, I heard that the food is better at yoko. I do not know if this true or not (since i never ate at umezono). All I know is that the food is inexpensive at both. Based on the price of the food, I would not expect much. Sushi House is outside the 285. It is close to where the railroad track starts to run next to Buford Hwgy.
Salmon was not served uncooked until salmon farming was in full swing because of parasites. This did not happen until the early 1980s. So, salmon sashimi and nigiri sushi is relatively new.
Tanaka Japanese Restaurant 11235 Alpharetta Hwy Roswell, GA 30076 This restaurant was good. Many Japanese go there according to my gf who's Japanese friend works there. I enjoyed it! Good Sushi/Good Udon.
My roommate works there (sushi chef) on Friday nights. hehehe I have only been there once. It was good, but it was in 2004.
I haven't been there in at least three months... sonofabitch!!! i was afraid something like this would happen when the old man retired... his sushi (rice) was amazing. never the same after he retired... i'm still trying to duplicate it. it coated the insides of my mouth
at Umezono, the same guy's been cutting there for almost 15 years. I try other places, but for value and consistency, I goto Umezono. They don't have super exotic fishes like a 4 star might, but over the years I have never been served anything close to 'unacceptable' at Umezono as i have at Ru-sans... -_- Sushi Oshi was another offender.
there is quite a spread of quality there dude.... 40-60$/bottle sake is quite enjoyable too. i don't even use 10$ sake to cook with.