DJ WAGYU
Let me explain to you why this place is a molestation of anything resembling quality and authenticity
When is the last time you were in Japan, went to an Izakaya, and they had a DJ. Answer...NEVER
When is the last time you were in Japan, and saw that the sushi chef was in his 20's. Answer...Never
A5 Wagyu- The steak you just paid an insane amount of money for, that you ordered from a 21 yr old Dundalk hipster, with low pants, right after you made a request to the DJ, is a joke. First off, NONE of the quality stuff in Japan get's shipped out. And that's even IF your steak came from Japan, which i'm sure it didn't. If by chance it did come from Japan, it came from the Kagoshima Prefecture. Why is that a big deal. KOBE. The best Wagyu cattle are raised, bred, slaughtered and have bloodline in Kobe. The Kagoshima Prefecture isn't even on the mainland of Japan. Kobe Wagyu is the Grand Cru Pinot Noir of Burgundy, France....only in meat version. I can go into Walgreens and get Pinot Noir that was made in France. It's not Burgundy and it's def not Grand Cru. There are also many other classifications related to Wagyu and it's quality. "A" and "5" aren't the only ones.
So break out the wallet, order you "Wagyu" steak, get it with sauce added and get it well done. You are the Walgreens/Pinot fool who hopefully isn't seen by anyone visiting from Japan, or they will take your picture so as to laugh about you later. Think of it as someone from Japan buying an autographed, game worn, Flacco jersey from a street vendor. They ones that are more blue than purple. And it was autographed and game worn. The vendor signed it and wore it for his annual family reunion game.
Sawagani Crabs: I'm not sure where to even start here. First off, they are the Japanese version of boardwalk hermit crabs. Pets. They are farm raised in disgusting condition because people aren't going to be eating them...like hermit crabs. The ones that are edible and caught in fresh water are pretty much the "chapulines" of Japan. Chapulines are fried crickets/grasshoppers. They are like beer nuts. Fried, chili powder, lime, salt. Meant to make you thirsty. They are probably 20x better than these crabs, and are much cleaner. Again, hopefully no Japanese tourist sees you paying $$ for 6 crabs that they get free by the handful, but usually choose not to eat
PRICES: Prices are high in Japan, BUT, THIS IS BALTIMORE EVERYONE !!!! The prices here are IN F_____ SANE.
Sauces: An American isn't happy unless they are dipping their dipping sauce in dipping sauce
Along with mixing their powdered, fake wasabi IN WITH their soy sauce buckets that they also drench their sushi in right next to the construction orange dyed "ginger". I don't want, and you shouldn't want, ponzu, mirin infused jalapeno cream sauce on my deep fried maki. The fish is what you should taste, or at least what you SHOULD want to taste. Not flower petals
Highest Quality Fish: Do me a favor. Ask them for 2 things. Since they are "breaking down the freshest of fish sev times a day", ask them to bring out a yellowfin and a mackerel either whole fish or just the head so you can look at the gills and eyes to see how fresh they are. Kinda like you ask to see a live #1 large crab before you buy a 1/2 bushel
Also tell them you would like to order some "Fish Chips", which are crispy fried tail fins of salmon, snapper, mackerel, etc. Salted with soy. They do it all the time in Japan. It's like asking for fried shrimp heads. They won't be able to do either because they are buying probably frozen, and def just filets or cleaned bodies with heads/tails removed. They will be able to fry you up some shrimp heads, but not the fish requests
Décor: This is so unimportant to me. I can sit on plastic chairs, with newspapers as tablecloth.
Give me a strong menu, a clean bathroom and kitchen, a cursing, obsessed chef with sharp knives. If the food is good, all else will fall into place. That being said, I felt like I was in a Vegas, Asian based DJ club that looked cool but def added to the price of all that matters. The food
I went with a group of 10. All good cooks and food obsessed. People who won't order out what we can make as good as/better at home. We all got about 3 items each and did round robin. So I tasted about 30 items. This place was a "One and Done" no doubt
A5 Wagyu beef with added sauce and a DJ. Give me a break
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