for the love of sushi

I’m on a roll lately (excuse the pun), so I thought I’d share some pictures of the last fantastic sushi I had at San Diego’s own Sushi Ota. It’s generally accepted knowledge that this is the sushi joint to go to in San Diego, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The Mister and I went here on my birthday last month, and I gorged myself accordingly.

Typical starters: miso and seaweed salad. I knew I’d be getting a lot of fish, but damn if I can’t resist a good seaweed salad.

Silly me, I didn’t think to sit at the bar and order the day’s specials from Chef Ota himself. Next time, next time.

What we did have: chirashi for the Mister, a nigiri sampler for me. The toro and blue tail tuna were magnificent, melt-in-your-mouth out of this world good. The salmon roe was literally bursting with flavor, and from the presentation to the preparation these dishes were perfection.

(Pardon the lighting in these pictures, it was quite dim inside!)

And the uni… where do I start with the uni? Another picture– ignore the rest of the washed-out photo, and take a look at that bright yellow gorgeousness:

I don’t think I’ve ever really enjoyed sea urchin before; there are just too many bad examples of it in most Japanese sushi joints, and most of the time I would never bother. But here, it was exactly right: full of that ocean taste without the briny-ness, with this pillowy texture and mouthfeel I can’t even begin to describe properly. Oh, I will dream of that uni for many days to come.

Best of all, the bill at Sushi Ota was incredibly reasonable for the quality– under $120 for the sushi, starters, and a bottle of Mukku sake (delicious and well balanced, by the way) including tax, before tip. It was hardly more than any other sushi restaurant here in San Diego though it is leagues ahead. And you know we would easily have spent twice or three times as much for far inferior product if we were still living in New York. Some days it really is good to live in Southern California.

Sushi Ota
4529 Mission Bay Drive
San Diego, CA 92109
858.270.5670