I had dinner with my friend Chris at Blowfish Sushi ("sushi to die for") last night. My no reservations policy worked again, but instead of getting a table, we ended up at the sushi bar. Unlike many sushi bars where you interact with the chefs, these guys looked intent on their work and for being so close, they still felt far away. Interestingly, last time Chris and I ate sushi it was Ebisu and we were at the sushi bar which was fun and entertaining. Here, it was a seran plastic wrap fest. Knives went flying as rice and seaweed were rolled together in plastic wrap and sliced up accordingly. Unlike Ebisu, with its careful attention to detail and relaxation, the Blowfish sushi chefs were quick, somewhat sloppy and high-volume.
Yet, it still took a long time before each round of sushi or rolls to come out. Unlike Ebisu's comfortable atmosphere and attention to subtle taste variation, Blowfish's emphasis is on atmosphere. In this case, women with bob-haircuts, darkly clad men who were scruffy, thudding and thumping music and orchids predominated the concrete-floor space infused with lots of manga comics.
The dark, heavy, almost brooding atmosphere pervaded into the rolls that we got. All of them, were essentially the same. Some fried variations of tempura bits, salmon, tuna and all kinds of other great-sounding fish were infused with wasabi and seaweed.
So, as my friend Chris likes to call people on their BS this was kind of apt, as Blowfish Sushi.... Anyway, a fun scene that, for a Tuesday night, was packed. The sushi tasted better than average sushi, but if it's subtle flavors your after, then take a pass here.
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