motivation: dinner with regular sushi companion mm to rehash his first hosted chill-party the weekend before. and flirt, of course. in addition to our fascinating dinner conversation, this time we had the pleasure of meeting not one, not two, but all three head honchos of umi: shamus, russell, and stewart, the chef. russell, who is approximately thirteen years old, has also started a killer improvement over evite, called crush3r. it rocks. at thirty-something, my life is clearly a complete failure. correspondingly, we drowned our sorrows in junmai ginjo sake and shiro maguro nigiri. perhaps life isn't so bad.
quality: the fish at umi is superb. they note the source of the specials on the menu, which is a nice little touch. the hotate nigiri dissolved in my mouth. the hamachi had the most beautiful segmented lay ever. i wanted to try the butterfish but mm was paying so i restrained myself. the yaki nasu is authentic and perfect. the umekyu and ume hirame rolls packed just the right tart punch to balance the other ingredients. mm wasn't super impressed with the tiger maki or cherry blossom, saying they kinda tasted the same. we finished everything regardless. my belly was full.
price: expensive. i got a free ride on this one, lucky me, but the high cost makes me unlikely to come back too often. on the other hand, you want good fish? umi has good fish.
lastly, the flirtability was better than last time. shamus has got to be the friendliest restaurant owner ever. mm knew a few of the other patrons, of course, and the servers were enthusiastic and attentive. i still haven't checked it out on a friday or saturday, but i'd guess it gets busier than 1/3 full on a monday. drop me an invitation and i'll be back with you!
itadakimasu!
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