In previous years, a tradition for me is to eat at a regular haunt for Groundhog Day. But since the closing of italian joint Black Skirt, I've had trouble picking a new spot. This year, I decided to go more upscale and made reservations at Yasu. This popular sushi restaurant at Harbord and Spadina offers 2 seatings per night. Though on the pricey side, they are usually sold out every night.
I was at the later seating on Friday night at the sushi bar along with about 7 couples. There was another couple at a table, but part of the fun here is to watch the chefs. None were there on first dates, though I suppose that would be a way to impress, but to celebrate a special occasion: birthday or anniversary. Three sushi chefs stood behind the bar to prepare each dish and explained what they were.
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Oddly, the man next to me left after the first course and didn't return until the very end of the meal. At first, I thought it was an unexpectedly bad reaction at first but it was likely just a business phone call. In any case, that made things awkward for his companion and especially the chef for their section of the bar.
A woman at the far end was full about halfway through. The chef offered to continue but giving her portions to her date but the man demurred. Perhaps out of politeness but probably satiety as well; it was filling despite the deceptively small portions. But considering the price, I would have tried to make room for the extra pieces.
The chef's choice dinner was at $110, add a sashimi plate upgrade ($25), and some unfiltered sake ($15). So my evening came to $200 with tax and tip. This was the most expensive meal I've had in a while, but the sushi was divine. There were dishes I've had before but not of this quality including Spanish mackerel, grouper, sea urchin, and oysters. But the highlights were new experiences such as Shirako (cod milt), Ankimo (monkfish liver), and shima-aji (striped jack).
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