A Terrific Non-sushi Japanese Meal at Zōtō Sushi😊

 Twice in a couple of weeks, I’ve had a terrific meal at Zōtō Sushi. 

 at UTC – University Town Center Mall – in Lakewood Ranch. Having lived in Japan for four years, I have certain high hopes when I dine at a Japanese restaurant. Zōtō Sushi exceeded my hopes.

 I had miso soup, shrimp tempura, and maitake tempura. Maitake is a type of large mushroom.

 The shrimp tempura was so terrific the first time I was there that I had to return and have it again. It was equally delightful. It’s the most delicious I’ve ever had. It comes with a wonderful, mouth-watering sauce. The three shrimp were huge. I’d guess they were six to seven inches long. (There are only two in the pic because I had to devour one right away.) $18

 

 There were five very large maitake mushrooms. They came with three spice toppings that one could sprinkle on the mushrooms. I used two. The third was probably a bit fiery. (I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t remember the spice specifics.) I’ve never had maitake. They were incredibly scrumptious. The texture was such that I might have thought they were seafood if I’d been served them without being told what they were. (You will also notice that one mushroom is missing from the pic. Yum!) $16

  

 I normally enjoy miso soup, but I don’t get excited about it. This was WOW! It’s also the best I’ve ever had. $6

The first time I dined there, I had a fruit-flavored sake. It was nice, but I’m not a sake fan. This time, I had an Italian white wine – Allegrini Oasi Mantellini, Lugana DOC, made from Cortese and Turbiana grapes. It’s from the shores of Lake Garda on the Veneto side. It went very nicely with the dishes. (I not only recommend this one, but I love Allegrini’s red wines, such as their Palazzo della Torre Veronese red, which I’ve found at Total Wine, Costco & Norman’s.) $15

 My server was Ty. He was super professional.

While  Zōtō's main focus is sushi, it does offer a number of other dishes. Its menu can be found on its web site - https://www.zotosushi.com/

 I plan to return.

 The only things that could have improved the experience would have been if it had been in Japan with family and/or friends.

 ご馳走様でした (GOCHISÕ SAMA DESHITA = Thanks for the feast – what one says when leaving a Japanese restaurant after a nice meal.)

 I think “Zōtō” is probably “贈答,” which means, “exchange of gifts.”

Goichi - Great Authentic Japanese Ramen in Sarasota

One of the dishes we loved in Japan was the flavorful ramen, a fast food in large bowls that came in many varieties. The noodles and the ingredients are very different than those found in ramen cups sold in American supermarkets. Until recently, there were only two restaurants in the U.S. where I'd found a typical large assortment of delicious, authentic ramen - Katana-ya in San Francisco (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2011/10/delicious-japanese-ramen-katana-ya.html) and Matsuchan in Canton, MI. 

Now we've discovered one in Sarasota - Goichi Sushi Cafe, which is owned by Goichi Matsumoto, (http://www.goichisushicafe.com/), which offers 32 kinds of ramen (http://www.goichisushicafe.com/#!cashandcarryramen/c1qsl)

We recently had the Tokyo Ramen and the Sapporo Ramen. Both were delicious and authentic. The Tokyo Ramen has sliced pork, hard-boiled egg, spinach, scallions, fish cakes, and bamboo shoots in a soy broth. The Sapporo Ramen has sliced pork, fish cakes, corn kernels, butter, bean sprouts, and garlic in a spicy miso broth. (It was spicy.) 

The ramen noodles are made with an antique, pre-1938, Japanese ramen machine.

Normally, the ramen is only sold as take out, except on Monday nights, when it is offered in the restaurant. The ramen sells for $10 per order. We discovered that a single order can easily feed two people.

Goichi's web sit has a video about it's ramen-making.

There is another type of dish that I intend to try - donburi, which is a bowl of rice with other ingredients on top. Goichi has five of these, two of which are on our list to try - Gyu Don, which has beef, and Ten Don, which has shrimp, fish, and vegetables. These are described as, "Early Bird Rice Bowls," and they sell for $7.95.

The restaurant also offers many types of sushi and 19 types of interesting-sounding Asian salads. Among the sushi rolls are nine types created by their customers.

The restaurant is very small inside - with only about five tables and two chairs at the bar.

Goichi is only open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It does not accept reservations.

Goichi is located at 4563 Bee Ridge between Honore and McIntosh.

御馳走様でした。大変おいしかったです！

Tama's Sushi, Jacksonville-Neptune Beach, FL - Forget About It

I've eaten in lots and lots of Japanese restaurants - both during the 4 years we lived in Japan and in many areas of the U.S. since we returned from Japan. I usually enjoy the experience. However, Tama's Sushi in Neptune Beach, FL was an exception. My meal there last night ranks as one of the worst Japanese meals I've ever had. We went there with my niece and her husband to introduce them to some Japanese dishes other than sushi before their upcoming assignment to Japan. We were really disappointed.


I normally start with a favorable bias toward authentic Japanese restaurants, so it takes a bit of work for me to end up with a negative view. From what I had read about this restaurant before going, it sounded authentic. A look at the menu reinforced my view. However, in this case, authentic did not equal tasty.


One of our appetizers was shuumai, a type of pork dumplings that originated in China. This is the first time that I've ever had shuumai that I didn't like. We had them deep fried instead of steamed. That was probably a mistake.


Two of us had tonkatsu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkatsu), a dish which I usually love, as our entrée. Tonkatsu is a pork cutlet that is breaded and deep fried, then cut into slices. The cutlet is accompanied with a delicious sauce called bulldog sauce. Tonkatsu is normally served with rice and shredded cabbage. Normally, the cutlet is sliced after being fried. In this case, gnarled strips of pork were sliced first, then breaded and fried. The result was the worst tonkatsu I've ever had. The strips of pork were dry and flavorless. The rice was mediocre.


My niece and my wife had yakisoba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakisoba), a noodle dish which is often sold at Japanese festivals. It is of Chinese origin, but has been adapted to Japanese tastes. It uses ramen-style wheat noodles and includes vegetables and pork. It incorporates a yakisoba sauce and is usually garnished with ginger. Tama's offered versions with and without meat. My wife ordered a version without meat. She normally loves yakisoba. She considered last night's version tasteless.


We also had some sushi. It was mediocre at best.


Did I enjoy anything? Yes - my Kirin beer and the soup, which was a simple broth - not miso soup.

Delicious Japanese Ramen - Katana-Ya

One Japanese dish I love is ramen. These are not the tiny, short noodles found on U.S. supermarket shelves. Rather these are long noodles served in large bowls with a variety of ingredients. I had ramen in many small ramen shops throughout Japan during the 4 years I lived there. I always loved it. It was best in winter, when the hot soup warmed body and soul.

Ramen in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen) is served in different broths. The major types are miso, soy (shouyu), salt (shio), and tonkotsu (not tonkatsu).

Toppings in the ramen can include things like pork slices, seaweed, onions, corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, boiled eggs, etc.

There are many Japanese restaurants in San Francisco that serve Ramen. My wonderful niece, who lives in the area, recommended Katana-ya, which means something like, "Sword Shop."

The night before last, I followed her recommendation, and went to the restaurant at 430 Geary St., about a block and a half from Union Square. My wife, who was tired from our long trip to San Francisco, decided not to join me.

When I walked up to Katana-ya, there were a number of young people, mostly Asian-Americans, waiting outside for tables.

I walked up to a stand just outside the front door, where there was a waiting list. One of the people next to the stand said I should write my name on the list. I did that. Next to the names on the list was a column for the number of people in the party. All of the other names on the list had parties of two or more. That was fortunate for me, my name was the next one called.

I was put at the sushi bar. I ordered a bowl of Corn-butter Ramen for $9.50 and a 16 oz. Sapporo draft beer. The ramen was in a huge bowl as it is served in Japan. The ingredients included long ramen noodles, green onions, two slices of tender pork, corn, butter, greens, and several other ingredients. It was fantastic! The total cost came to $15.73.

At least three of the servers spoke Japanese, so when two of them asked me at different times how the ramen was, I told them in Japanese that it was wonderful.

ご馳走様でした大変おいしかったです！