Gerry wrote on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:02:50 -0700:

??>> On Mar 12, 11:02 am, Gerry > wrote:
??>>> On 2007-03-10 22:44:07 -0800, "Art" >
said:
??>>>
??>>>> Nigiris:
??>>>
??>>>> Mackerel - Haven't had great saba since I left Boston.
??>>>> Everything down here tastes pickled. This wasn't great,
??>>>> either.
??>>>
??>>> Saba, when done well, is one of my very favorites. I
??>>> assume you know that saba is always lightly pickled?
??>>
??>> I know, but down here in NJ it tastes more like pickled
??>> herring.

G> I was just clarifying. I've bumped into highly pickled saba
G> occasionally that is horrid, and frequently (probably
G> related) overly firm. Stiff, actually. It is the only thing
G> I have ever "sent back". I do that for embarassment
G> purposes.

??>>>> Spanish mackerel - on the tough side. Wouldn't order
??>>>> again.
??>>>
??>>> Aji is whittled up fresh, and not pickled. So logically
??>>> if you had a bad aji, you can be sure you've diminished
??>>> the back log by one! You should have as good a shot as
??>>> any that the next will be okay.
??>>
??>> It was from a whole fresh piece of fish. The chef left the
??>> tough piece of skin on.. but aside from that, it just
??>> didn't have much flavor.

G> Better luck next time.

??>>> I don't like being in the same room with that stuff.
??>>
??>> Why not?

G> What fish is it, exactly? It's not tuna. This most
G> predominantly refers to escolar. Why not call it escolar,
G> then you might wonder. That would be handy, one would think.

G> Whenever a sushi chef I don't know offers it I snort or
G> laugh or joke about it ("I like dinner to STAY eaten"), and
G> they are quick to point out that "some people like it" but
G> that they too won't eat it. That's not exactly a sales job.

I have tried escolar ("white tuna" as the chef called it)
exactly once. It was absolutely delicious and I had the runs for
a day! The oil content does not affect everyone and Dan Logcher
is one of those lucky people but I think the customer should be
warned!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not