SHŌ Omakase with Nobuko and Laura

As you can tell from even the most cursory glance at this blog, dining out has been a very very big part of my life.  Of our lives.  We can go back decades to when I cooked at Don Diego's for a handful of years in between undergrad and grad school.  We can attribute things to my love for food and exploring it.  And we can credit the memories we've made that are set in restaurants and in dining situations.  For me and Conrad, the most seminal food and hospitality thing remains Sunday night at Yoshi's.

Yoshi's Cafe was a mainstay of Boystown in Chicago.  When I moved to Chicago in August 2000, I spent a handful of days staying with Medgar at his place across the street, not even suspecting that the fancy and (for me and him at the time) pricey restaurant would become a second home for me (and Conrad) within years.  It took at least a few months of dating Conrad for him to let me into his world there, and I was embraced.  We went to Yoshi's every Sunday night, or so it seemed.  We missed an occasional one, we sometimes showed up for Sunday brunch or a different night.  But Sunday at the bar was our regular thing, and we loved it.  We did all of our major and minor celebrations there.  And we got to know the other regulars as friends as well as Yoshi and Nobuko.

But 2013 happened.  Conrad and I moved away.  Oh, sure, we came back, but within a few years, Yoshi had passed away.  Nobuko kept the restaurant going, but it struggled through Covid, and in late 2021, she closed it and sold the business and property.  Yoshi's was no longer.  The friendships remained.

Conrad and I reached out to Nobuko and to Laura and Michael, friends who were regulars at the bar with us, and asked the to join us for dinner while we were in town at the end of last month.  They readily agreed and, even better, suggested that we go to SHŌ Omakase

where Nobuko's daughter, Mari, is the executive chef.  Heck yes, we said.  Mari has followed in her father's footsteps and, arguably, surpassed him, earning a Michelin star at a previous restaurant.  I was greatly looking forward to seeing our friends and to enjoy her food equally.

We all arrived at nearly the same time, and before heading to our table, we had a drink each at the bar in the front of the restaurant.  The staff all knew Nobuko well and greeted her warmly.  That was so nice to see.  We were taken back to the small dining room, seated, and the meal began.  Nobuko ordered wine for us - and, in fact, she treated us to the entire meal, for which we are grateful - and then, as we chatted and got caught up, the food came out.  And oh, what food it was!

A little cone with salmon roe, beautifully presented, fresh and light.

Small bites:  Okonomiyaki croquettes and milk bread teas sandwiches with Japanese egg salad.  Those sandwiches were such a delight.

Sea bream with fennel and strawberry.

Green pea chawanmushi with pancetta to be dunked in.  Oh, I loved this one.

Nigiri:  Alaskan king crab, sea trout, and chu-toro (tuna). 

There was also a raw oyster,

and the chu-toro and the raw oyster were a tribute to Yoshi's tuna tartare with oyster shooter.  Conrad cried at this point, he was so moved and enjoying it all so much. There was also some urchin served.

More nigiri:  sea eel and lamb. 

Lamb!!  What a surprise that was, and how very good.  Oh, and with all the nigiri, we each had a plate of citrus maple leaves to use as edible wraps,

and I was so very intrigued and delighted with those!

A small break in the service for some omelet, but not the rolled omelet we all know.  Silkier.  Excellent.

Somen

with caramelized soy milk broth. 

THIS!  Hands down the best thing I ate in Chicago, and I ate VERY well while I was there.  I loved that broth so much.

Strawberry soft serve with buttermilk shave ice, condensed milk, and lemon verbena. 

More fresh and light flavours to cap the meal.  But wait...

Mignardises. 

Mari has a background in pastry and breakfast, so we should have expected something so nice.

And then... compressed pineapple and (best of all!) carbonated cherries. 

Such a joyful end to the meal.

I really did eat so well in Chicago, but take a situation where we know the chef and we're dining with two such dear friends, and add in terrific food and drink, and, well...  How could this not be the best of our time in Chicago.  Oh, and it seems we might all be on vacation next spring at the same time in Japan.  The plotting is starting.

Mari is doing fantastic work, and I do wish her dad could be retired and coming to enjoy her food.  Not to be, alas.  But we kept the spirit of sharing great food and drink and conversation with friends alive that night, and I am so happy we got that.  An exceptional meal, and one to remember.

Thursday night sushi

Remember when Conrad and I used to regularly do Thursday night sushi?  Our habit hasn't been much in place lately.  Weird spring!  Ah well.  Anyway, this past Thursday, Conrad flew home from Chicago and then had to contend with World Cup traffic on the way home from LAX.  That ride took 1.75 hours.  Yikes.  A lot.  Because of that, I wanted him to have an easier evening of it (and the same for me).  We took ourselves to visit our friends at Mama M Sushi for dinner sitting outside there, watching the world go by.   And, as ever, it was good.  Agedashi tofu,

shishito peppers,

a sashimi assortment. 

Tasty!

It had been an odd week.  Van was ill most of the week, so we spent little time together.  I was at home alone more than I might usually be, eating simply, going to bed early.  Getting back to Mama M again was a nice little way to bring a short week to a close and welcome Conrad home. 

sushi night!

Another short entry in a series of short entries.  Blogging, what a life!

Anyway, Thursday night was sushi night out with Conrad. 

We actually haven't got sushi in a few weeks, so it was nice to do so, and even better to not do takeaway but go sit at the restaurant and have things come out at the right temperatures and freshly made.  We wandered over a while after I got home from work, sat outside to watch the world go by, and had a good meal at Mama M.

No shishito peppers to start with tonight.  Sitting at the restaurant meant we could have agedashi tofu fresh from the kitchen. 

Yum!  From there, we proceeded to some premium sashimi, and they delivered. 

It was especially good, which makes it seem as if there are times when it isn't, but no.  Maybe we were just in a mood and spirit to really enjoy slowly and appreciate.  Maybe the fish was better.  It was excellent, though.

And we had an avocado roll. 

It's not dessert, but the unctuous filling makes it feel that way.

A nice Thursday evening.  What a weird week - I was on campus every day this week.  Pre-pandemic, that was my life:  five days a week at work.  But nowadays?  Ah well.  Onward with the weekend!

Friday evening in

Conrad is off to LAX early tomorrow morning, which means (I'm writing this Friday night) that I should head to bed soon.  But hey, a quick post opportunity while I'm on a roll this week, right?  Sure, let's do it.

Normally we would be at Maestro on a Friday evening, but Conrad had to pack for his trip to Chicago.  He asked that we do takeaway sushi, and I'm totally down with that.  A little later for dinner than usual, but he got the packing done.  Then it was on to sushi (mmmm... shrimp heads!),

sitting out back. 

The jasmine is going wild, flowers starting to pop out,

and after dinner, I was getting little whiffs of their lovely perfume.

Conrad will be back Tuesday, but Van and I will enjoy some time until then.  More posts to come, and then in a week, it's the start of the New England trip! 

Amara/Mama M

I'll soon have to grab a small suitcase from the storage locker and get to packing for a couple of nights away.  Conrad and I have been for a short (2-mile) walk, and have had coffee, and it's still a while before Van picks us up to head to the desert, though.  So, let me post quickly from yesterday.  Warning:  it was a very mild day.

What did we do?  In no particular order, then.... A little laundry and dishes.  Some things online.  Fixed the blinds in the front room.  Read and listened to music.  Watched Rental Family during and after dinner.  Went for a walk and then another with Conrad.  Takeaway sushi from Mama M. 

Breakfast at Amara.

  

I'm delighted that Amara and her husband have said they'll come to our party in May.  Yay!  Meanwhile, I look forward to the next time I see Chef Jack and his wife, Joy, at Mama M so that we can share more of our Thailand planning with them.

Alright, Van has messaged.  He is awake!  Now to get things organized to head out of town until Tuesday. 

sushi date night

Thursday night is traditionally sushi night for me and Conrad.  We order the sushi from our favourite place, Mama M, pick it up, devour it at home.  But last night was such a lovely evening.  Warm but not too warm.  Well, too warm for the end of February, but my gosh, we'll take it.  I asked Conrad if he wanted to dine at home or out, and he (thank goodness!) opted for out.

So it was that we found ourselves at an outdoor table at Mama M,

chatting with the staff we have come to know, watching people walk by on the sidewalk on Holly.  A bottle of wine, a tasty meal.  It was a date night that he and I have needed - he's been dealing with shoulder pain for weeks, and that's put a damper on his enjoyment of life in general.  The shoulder is improving, though, and he had an appetite for raw fish, and away we went. 

Oh, and shishito peppers

and an avocado roll. 

Man, avocado rolls kick ass in California!

Can I just say that I love love love amaebi?  Raw sweet shrimp with fried shrimp heads.  SO GOOD!

OK, enough short entries.  I'll get Vancouver done by the end of the weekend.  I think! 

long weekend in January

And how did the past long weekend go otherwise, Peter?

Not too bad!

Friday night was at Maestro with Van.  I took just the one photo (queso fundido)

before deciding I wanted to simply eat my dinner.  We came back to the condo after that to watch some Drag Race.  A nice easy evening.

Saturday morning I got up for a walk, and the early light was tinting the buildings with pinks. 

Lovely.  Conrad eventually joined me, and we ended up at Amara (shocking, I know).  Nice start to the weekend. 

We actually got some things done at home in terms of sorting and discarding papers.  The mail had a nice little surprise from Courtney and Robert's recent trip to the UK. 

That was a delight to find in the mail.

Sunday!  Online drinks on Sunday, and really, there isn't much more to report.  After we finished the drinks we had a dinner of pasta and salad, and that's that!

Yesterday (because yesterday was the holiday), I set out in the morning for a short walk,

feeling a little lazy.  Most of the day I enjoyed doing some reading, but we went over to Maestro for a little while in the evening to pay our respects to a recently-passed staff member there before popping into Mama M for a very fast meal at the sushi bar,

chatting with Chef Jack about travel plans to Thailand later this year.  It was a quick dinner because we were expecting our friend and former neighbour Violet

and her two sisters

to come by for desserts and drinks.  They showed up shortly after 8, and we got caught up over Last Words and lovely little cakes. 

Violet's sister Nancy was celebrating her birthday, so we celebrated that as well.

Really terrific to see them.

A bit of a late night because of our visitors, but that's ok.  I'll go to bed earlier tonight if I can!

And now on with the week ahead, which should be relatively quiet again.