“One of the Great New York Nights”

Just wrapped up an amazing guided dinner for six at the sushi bar, and the chef and I received a phenomenal compliment from a British gentleman who was part of the group. “In my 20-plus years here,” he said, “this has been one of the great New York nights." 

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Sushi Like Jazz

Last night the historical sushi dinner I hosted in D.C. featured a cut-open nigiri of salt-cured king prawn, under which, between the prawn and the rice, the chef had tucked a dab of the prawn’s own tomalley, augmented with white miso. I love opening people’s eyes to the imagination and technique that a good sushi…

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Skeptic’s Birthday

When retired New York City businessman Jack Shaifer sat down at the sushi bar with me last night to celebrate his 70th birthday with his family, he was not impressed. “I was skeptical,” he later admitted. “What could this guy teach me about sushi that I didn’t already know?” Jack’s daughter-in-law, who’d arranged the dinner,…

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Last Supper

Undergoing an organ transplant can change everything; for one young man I met last year, the consequences of his upcoming lung transplant would include a restriction against eating raw fish for the rest of his life. With that in mind, his friends organized a historical sushi dinner for him last fall, and I had the…

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“Gastro Chic” Reviews New York Dinner Event

The blogger Gastro Chic showed up to attend one of my recent historical sushi dinners and has just posted a lovely, detailed review of the evening. She writes: Before you sharpen those chopsticks (a sushi bar no-no, by the way), settle down and have a sushi meal as it would have been eaten by a Japanese connoisseur…

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Why I Love Hosting Historical Sushi Dinners

Feeling happy this morning: Last night I hosted a private dinner at Jewel Bako for a gentleman named Eric and his wife Michelle, to celebrate her birthday. They were both pretty experienced sushi eaters, but Michelle in particular had been playing it safe over the years. To Eric’s great delight, Michelle ended up trying things…

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Small Perks

Being a sushi guidance counselor is hard work—last night I hosted a nearly 3-hour dinner for ten guests (okay, I admit they were delightful) at my Monday-night dinner class series at Jewel Bako restaurant. But there are some perks. I don’t get to eat during the meal, but the maître d’ wouldn’t let me leave without taking…

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