Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Ginko and the Sea (on our plate)




Recently, a friend had asked me if I ever ate at Ginko in Cleveland to which I responded that I hadn't.

He then proceeded to tell me about an incredible mackerel dish he had where they served the entire fish, you picked at the sushi cuts, and then they fried up the remaining fish for you to finish devouring.

A 2-phase dish?

"You would love it!" he told me.


So we made plans to go!

With a babysitter lined up and a reservation made, Julia and I went with our friends (Alberto/Denise) to Ginko and got a nice corner table that faced the bar.

Thanks to a Facebook foodie group, I was advised to get the Otsukuri Omakase (chef's daily selection).  On the car ride to the restaurant, Alberto was considering this as well.

So we sat at our table and discussed dinner strategies...


 ...ordering Pringles topped with spicy scallops and avocado in the meantime...


...and enjoying them immensely...

...and then learning that Alberto's coveted mackerel dish was ALSO being served that evening.

What to do?  What to do?

Waiter: "I can add the mackerel to your omakase dinners with a surcharge."

We agreed...


...and this arrived.

Included in this dish are scallop (flower on left with salmon roe), that crazy mackerel (see the fish head and tail?), prawn (with the sweetest meat), salmon, tuna, white tuna, sea urchin, clam (in the shell on right), freshly grated wasabi, fluke and other fine things...

...and it was incredible!

Fresh, flavorful, exciting and delicious.

It was all those things.


As Julia and Denise enjoyed some rolls...

...Alberto and I ate everything except the mackerel carcass and prawn heads...


...but they returned to us in a transformed state...

...and we greedily ate that as well.


jgh