Men Who Like to Travel - David Latt

The video tour of Tsukiji found below is also on my YouTube Channel:  Secrets of Restaurant Chefs . Last fall I visited Tokyo and returned to Tsukiji. It wasn't same.  Half of one block had been demolished, a tall construction wooden fence installed where closely packed stalls used to vie for customers. Walking up the block, the feeling was just as before. A crowded sidewalk filled with hungry people, checking what was offered by the food vendors, deciding what taste treat they wanted that day.  Inside the market, vendors called out in Japanese, advertising their fresh tuna sashimi, grilled scallops, steamed clams and sea urchin (uni) sliders. The little kitchen supply store was still there, as were stalls selling ceramic tea cups and kettles.  But there was definitely a feeling that the end was coming, a feeling echoed by news that the market will be totally gone by the fall this year. So, if you are traveling to Japan and you have a stop ...

With only a few days in Tokyo and Kyoto, to take even a snapshot of the food scene takes eating at half a dozen restaurants each day. Starting early, we visited Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market to see the fresh catch of day being sold in the warren of stalls. While we were there, we ate at the dozens and dozens of food stalls that rim the outside and inside of the market.  Our first stop at 8:00 a.m. was Ryu Sushi   where we had a sashimi plate and a sushi sampler. The fish was what you would hope for, eating at a restaurant so close to the fish market, fresh, clean tasting and delicious. For me, there was a huge eye-opener: mackerel.   The few times I have eaten mackerel at home, it tasted fishy and oily. At Ryu Sushi the mackerel sashimi was mild tasting, sweet and buttery. Mark Bittman always writes about how much he likes mackerel. Now I understand why. In our short time at Tsukiji we ate sashimi, sushi, tamago, pork ramen and soba with shrim...