Believe it or not, the last time we had a meal at Mitch's was way back in March of 2016 when I was still tryin' to sample all of the various sake from the Born label. We did sample a platter in the middle of the pandemic but it was take-out. And as usual, the sushi was still great! We started with a bottle of Watari Bune sake created from the Watari Bune strain of rice that almost went extinct as most growers didn't want to plant Watari Bune as the stalks grew taller than other rice strains so it was susceptible to wind damage. But it creates a luscious, viscous sake...
We then had our first mixed sampler plate with Unagi, Uni & Negitoro on the top row, Hamachi Roll & Salmon Skin Roll in the middle and Kani & Hamachi on the bottom... Of the three rolls, the Hamachi Roll was definitely the winner with the negi enhancing the flavor even better than the plain Hamachi Nigiri... Ms S felt the Unagi was the best sushi on the plate...
Our 2nd plate concsisted of Rainbow Trout (yes, it was a darker orange than the salmon) & Salmon (sake) on the top and Kinmedai & Saba on the bottom... While the Trout was darker, it couldn't compare to the silkiness and flavor of the sake... the Saba had the perfect balance of vinegar and fat...
We gave about a 1/4 bottle of the Watari Bune to the chefs and opened an Akagisan Daiginjo - the Sake Shop was trying to bring this in for about a year and finally received a supply... though it was leagues more concentrated than the Watari Bune, we still both loved the complexity of the Watari Bune...
Our third plate consisted of the Otoro, Sake & Hirame on the top and Tamago, Hotate & Aji on the bottom. They say you should always order Tamago first and if it's not good, pay your bill and leave as Tamago is a true test of a great sushi chef. The Aji or Horse Mackeral was great - because of the fattiness, mackeral usually gets oxidized with off-putting flavors if it's not really fresh when cured - Mitch's was great! And of couse, Otoro is well... fish flavored "buttah"...
Our final "dessert" plate was more Sake, Unagi and Hamachi Roll...
Our paucity of visits to Mitch's Fish Market and Sushi Bar has nothing to do with the quality of seafood, service (which has always been great) or price. It's likely because a great sushi bar - namely Tanuki - opened in Kaneohe sometime after our last Mitch's visit in 2016 and Tanuki is also BYOB and just a 10 minute drive - like the original Mitch's with its 14 seats, Tanuki is also just ~14 seats. But we'll likely be back at Mitch's sooner than later for one of their take-out platters...
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