Aoki
Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar
621 Broadway E.
Seattle, WA
When you travel all over the country for work, you tend to see two different environments — the hotel environment, and the work environment. They both can interrelate, and be distinctively different. But one thing tends to be the same; they’re anchored by generic chains of restaurants owned by someone or another in New York City.
However, once you find your way to Broadway across from downtown into the ’suburb’ defined by I-5, you enter a classical period made famous in the 1960s. Tight streets wind through the neighborhood, with tons of shops and restaurants, anchored by banks, which happens to be the largest ’store’ on those streets. Not only that, you rarely see chains, other than the usual fast food (and even then, they are clearly distinctive — the Taco Bell are clearly placed there by a franchise owner who might owns less than 10 stores altogether. A pair of tobacco shops, one targeting the cigar clientèle, another targeting the pipe clientèle, is seen along the way.
The area is known as Capital Hill.
It is an old fashioned neighborhood, inviting the use of a good pair of well beaten tennis shoes and a watch that slowly count the time into eons. Naturally, parking is a challenge that only a patient driver should tolerate. Fortunately, Seattle took the liberty to thread though the overhead electricity wires for the electric buses that zip you near and far through this neighborhood.
Wedged between a Thai restaurant, and other restaurants, including a nearby Greek restaurant, we have Aoki. It is a place with two long sushi bars, with one clearly traditional, and another that probably opens during highly busy days of the summer. With rain in the forecast, and always threatening, only the brave would venture out (which pretty much count none of the tourists, and every single one of the Seattlites) for a nigiri or two.
I was promptly seated, with a hand towel to wash, and unfortunately taken away by waitresses far more accustomed to Americans who stab at their sushi with their chopsticks instead gently caressing it with their fingers. The towel is important, as you can clean your fingers before grabbing a little ginger to refresh your palette between each of the diverse pieces of sea creatures.
For drinks, I asked one of the two sushi chefs on duty for his recommendation for good dry filtered sake, and his recommendation rang true in a very remarkable way. Now, the problem with sake is the same as the problem with wine – there are simply the good kinds, and the not quite as good kind. The house wines you have will never meet up to the standard placed forth by Kendall Jackson’s finest offerings. For people who just want to get drunk, the cheap sake would do the trick very quickly – as its alcohol content is generally slightly higher than most wines, and up to four times the percentage of a nice bottle of beer. Consider sake as lower proof liquor, and you will understand how it can be influenced by the processing. Just as Vodka can vary wildly in taste, so can Sake, despite their similar humble origin – rice compared to potatoes or grains.
This sake I had, is one of the finest sake I have the pleasure and the honor of tasting. As long as it is sipped carefully and slowly, the flavor can be easily observed, and highly appreciated. I regret to say that I forgot the name. It should be something like Yosibaru or something like that, and I strongly doubt I got the name correct except the first kana. Please let me know if you are aware of this particular brand, and especially of its history.
But that was not the surprise of the night. Without asking, the waitress was more than happy to provide me with loose leaf green tea served hot. Despite this free offering, it was far better than any other green teas I have ever appreciated. Highly distinctive, not too strong, not too timid, with a subtle and remarkable character that encouraged me to appreciate five separate fillings, something I have never done with tea, much less any liquid before. Honestly, I am speechless on this tea. Fortunately, I did get the name, Genmai-cha. It is actually green tea leaves combined with roasted brown rice grains. Very simple concept, and something that poor Japanese folks ‘make do with’ in the ancient times, and highly appreciated by the entire population today. I strongly recommend that anyone who appreciates tea try to make or purchase this blend, as it can provide a delicious kick for your meal.
I was compelled to ask the sushi chef, Aoki-san, for “omasake” – chef choice – he took the opportunity to give me a piece of nigiri each of everything he have, plus a salmon skin roll. It was a huge delight, by far. At one point, he actually served squid. If you have been following my blog, you know of my high praise of Yoshi for his ability to serve the sweetest, tenderest, and well prepared squid. Now, this place served the sweetest, tender, but not quite as well prepared squid. But that places the chef firmly in second place in my mind of the skills I have been able to appreciate in my entire life.
The qualities of the pieces are solid, with the mackerel absolutely amazing. The smoked salmon were one of the best I have been able to enjoy. Unagi is average – which makes me wonders whether it’s far too easy to hide the poor quality with a good sauce, or something like that. It’s probably too over-prepared to truly analyze. The entire meal of 19 pieces of sushi and a handroll set me back $30.
Yes, $30.
Add the traditional edamame, expensive sake, along with tips, and you’re looking at a $53 meal of bliss. This is far better prize for everyone than a $150 blissful meal at Yoshi in Sydney, Australia (on top of the thousand-dollar-plus airfare to get there). Avoid the sake, and focus on the tea for your drink of choice, and you’re looking at a sub $40 meal, a far better deal than that other sushi place I went to on Sunday.
If sushi is so good here, I wonder how delicious the other shops are. Alas, today is my last night here in Seattle, as I am working in Portland for the next few weeks. I feel sad. And wet.
God damn rain.
