The Journal
From the Kitchen
Short reads on how the food is made, and on ordering well across a menu that runs from the sushi bar to the hot kitchen.
Combos and Plates: Ordering a Whole Meal
À la carte gives you control and hands you the quantity problem. A combo hands back a finished meal, with the sides already decided.
The Basic Rolls: The Part Nobody Reads
One filling, rice and seaweed. The only place on the menu where you can taste a single fish clearly, or judge the rice.
Alaskan, Philadelphia, 71 Freeway
Place names on a roll list are handles, not descriptions. Three of our rolls are the same roll with different fish on top.
The Collar and the Skin
Two of the best things on a Japanese menu are the parts a Western fishmonger throws away. There are only two collars per fish.
Ramune: The Bottle With a Marble In It
The marble was the bottle cap, patented in 1872 and obsolete by 1900. How to open one properly, and why the bottle outlived the technology.
Tonkotsu, Shoyu and Miso: Reading a Ramen Broth
Tonkotsu names what the broth is made from. Shoyu and miso name what it is seasoned with. They are different layers, not competing options.
Soft Shell Crab and the Spider Roll
Not a species but a stage. A crab caught in the hours after it sheds its shell, fried whole, legs and all — and why it is called a spider.
Sushi Without Rice: The No-Rice Rolls
A few rolls are built with no rice at all, and the fish becomes the wrapper. Why they come in fewer pieces and why they are not lighter.
The Fryer and the Sushi Roll
Golden usually means the whole roll went in the oil. But the fryer reaches a roll in three places, and the names do not always separate them.
Sushi Party Platters: Which One to Order
Pick the format before the size. Rolls for a standing room, sushi and sashimi for a seated one, and read what is actually on each tray.
Umami: Why Japanese Food Tastes the Way It Does
The fifth basic taste, named in Tokyo in 1908. Three compounds, why they multiply rather than add, and why so much of the pantry is dried.