Tuna has been on my mind this week. First, the most expensive fish ever sold at auction was dispensed at Tsukiji market on Friday (a 593 pound bluefin sold for $736,000). More tuna news followed yesterday, when Slow Food posted this awesome video of a chef at Del Posto filleting a 150 pound Bluefin (turn down the audio if you prefer a less dramatic fillet). [Note: we have seen masters like this in action, at the outlet mall, no less, and they really know their way around a tuna.] And finally, I had some of the best sushi I’ve ever eaten tonight, at none other than our local branch of Toriton.
Toriton is a popular kaiten zushi (otherwise known as conveyor belt sushi) chain in Sapporo and the location near our apartment is particularly good. I do not kid when I say that the conveyor belt sushi in Japan, horror as it often is in the USA, is better than most upmarket sushi back home. Toriton is so delicious, in fact, that it was worth the 30 minute trek on foot in subzero temperatures for an early dinner. It is a reliable, if not dazzling, choice and we’ve been there so often that I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned it until now. The premise is simple: take a seat at the counter, watch the plates go by, and when you see something you might like, pluck it from the conveyor and eat it. [Note: you actually get fresher fish by ordering with the chef, and more delicious selections by checking the specials board... rarely does the really good stuff make it all the way around the conveyer to your table.]
Before the sirens sound over the eating of bluefin, I should mention that I did not partake in any tonight. Also that a large portion of the coveted auction tuna was donated to local restaurants as a token of goodwill for those affected by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. And moreover, that Del Posto’s fish was raised sustainably through a new project underway at a Japanese university.
But I digress. Tuna, despite the controversy, is not only one of the great foods of Japanese cuisine but perhaps an even more important part of its national psyche. And while I am saddened by the havoc that overfishing (due to Japanese consumption) wreaks on tuna populations and ocean ecosystems, I do, on occasion really love eating it. So this week I tip my hat to the winning bidder, Mr. Kimura of Sushi-Zanmai, to Kinki University for its work to develop sustainable bluefin, and to the chefs of our local Toriton: You are part of what makes Japan Japanese. And my びんちゅとろ was delicious.
—
If you go: there are several branches of Toriton トリトン but we swear by the one nearest Minami-Hiragishi subway station on the Namboku line. You can also reach it from Sumikawa Station, about 15 minutes by foot. DO order the aburi samon (seared salmon), aburi saba (seared mackerel), ika no kara age (deep fried squid), ebi tempura maki (tempura shrimp roll), hotate (scallop), and, when available, the binchutoro (variety of fatty tuna), buri (snapper), toro saba (fatty mackerel), and anything with kani (crab). 北海道札幌市豊平区平岸２条１５丁目４−２３
