Sashimi Heaven in Lake O
January 15th, 2010
Image by SauceSupreme via Flickr; license CC BY 2.0
I really know squat about diddly. My occasional restatement of this fact is greeted by my teenage progeny with a frustrated (or bored), hands-outstretched, palms-turned-up, furrowed-brow little head-shake dance — like, “…and?”
Their implied agreement comforts me in times of distress.
Yet, despite the fact that I know diddly about squat, I suffer the nearly universal affliction of holding dear a strong opinion or two on certain topics. One of those topics is the relative tastiness of Japanese food available on the local scene. For reasons of little or no interest to you, I can say that I’m pretty particular on that score.
And I like Kurata in Lake Oswego.
Let’s just talk about the sashimi for now. On a recent Wednesday evening, my companions and I enjoyed a Chef’s Choice Sashimi Assortment plate, the sweetest-looking omakase course this side of Sendai ($18 and up … our generous two-person portion ran about $40). Many of the slices you have come to expect were present, but — with one small and somewhat surprising exception (all right, it was the tako … maybe just an off night for octopus) — the fish was uber fresh and yummy delicious. A delightful guest appearance was made by some smoked shake wrapped in ika: kind of a squiddy, salmony express ticket to the Western Paradise.
We tried several other wonderfully cooked fish and non-fish menu items, all equally as good, and most a fair deal less expensive. I’ll be going back for much more. Stay tuned.
