A Jammin Life

My love for omakase is well known amongst the people around me – I even wrote blogs about it before!

It’s one of those things that make me happy to exist in this world. (Because 99% of things in the world make me want to jump in front of a train lol)

But sometimes, even an omakase is super disappointing! Something about it is just wrong, and it makes me so angry that I paid a fortune to have the time of my life, but I can’t even put my finger on why it was wasteful on so many levels.

I recently had beef omakase twice within a small time frame, and I finally figured it out. The first omakase was just fine and definitely not worth my money. The second one was absolutely amazing. And though both seem similar, there are subtle differences that take omakase to the next level. Check out the pictures and see if you can spot the difference yourself!

Okay, let‘s see if you were able to get it right from just the pictures!

What makes an omakase a good omakase?

1. They have sauces and sides.

If you look at the photo on the left, there is salt, mustard, and wasabi next to each piece of meat. This gets very tiring very fast. I can buy myself a great piece of meat, cook it, and eat it with these 3 things in the comfort of my own home while saving loads of money. I am paying the chef for an experience – not just the meat. Yes, the beef cuts are very tender and very well cooked. But for a beef omakase, that is the bare minimum. It’s a given that the meat will be good. But give me more than that!! Each bite tasted the same and I didn’t want more (shocking!!).

If you look at the photo on the right, each piece of meat has something more next to it. They also gave maldon sea salt, truffle salt, and wasabi on a plate – bare minimum. And then they gave cauliflower puree, carrot puree, mashed potatoes, and leeks in soy sauce. Anything to make each bite unique from each other and make it smooth going down. The beef should always be served with something that I wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of making at home.

2. The in-between foods are light and one-of-a-kind.

The place on the left served spinach curry ragu and a slider. They were both damn delicious. BUT in between the different cuts of fatty meat, you don’t want fatty foods. You want light, refreshing foods. An omakase shouldn’t make you feel greased up by the end of the night. It should be balanced as a whole.

The place on the right served a yuzu soba and short rib patties with a slice of baguette (bread not shown in photo). Though the patty is on the heavier side, they served it with caramelized onions that made it less beefy and more aromatic. And the soba? Light, unique, and goes well with the meat – a perfect palate cleansing dish.

What both places did right, however, was that they took something easy to find and made it completely their own. I can get ragu at any Italian place, but making it with spinach and curry? That was completely new and I wouldn’t be able to find it anywhere but here. Same with the yuzu soba. Soba is common, but from the yuzu to puffed quinoa – that was unforeseen!

3. A new take on beef tartare.

Beef tartare – in my humble opinion – is overplayed. They serve it as an appetizer in every beef omakase, sushi omakase, Michelin star, and course meal places. And they are always very similar – usually served in seaweed or with uni or both. A place that can do something special with beef tartare is a place that knows what it’s doing.

The first place in my photo replaced uni with ankimo, which is monkfish liver. It is savory, aromatic, and rare. I have only seen it in a couple omakase places out of the many I have been to. This place did well serving ankimo in place of uni, but the beef tartare itself was unmemorable.

The second place served beef tartare twice. The first time with soy sauce gelee and minced onion, served with fried seaweed. It was a step up in being creative, but the flavor profile didn’t stand out. The second time was with white kimchi, gochujang, and uni cream. This was much better because it took common ingredients and put them together in a way beef tartare isn’t usually made with.

So if an omakase place wants to stand out, they need to do something different with the beef tartare. Put some flavors and textures and ingredients that it hasn’t been paired with before!

4. A dessert with effort.

Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of omakase places focus so much on their beef (or seafood) that they neglect dessert. They put dessert on the menu because they feel like they have to, but it has no effort nor creativity in it. The first omakase restaurant served black sesame panna cotta. The second place served blueberry ice cream. These aren’t terrible, per se, but they aren’t memorable either. Some places just serve a few pieces of fruit!

If I am paying for an experience, the dessert also needs to be an experience. Give me a mini tart made with elderberries and a bavarian cream quenelle, or a mousse cake in the shape of a cow! Give me something that finishes the course with a bang! – not a dang >:(

5. Stylish plates

I never thought of this as particularly important until I experienced disappointing omakase. Each dish should be served on a new, high quality, ceramic plate that matches the food. It makes each dish look and feel more special. It also makes me feel like they are willing to do more dishes as long as I could have a good time.

The first place just kept serving the meat on the same, ugly plate. What a huge letdown. I wasn’t consciously thinking, “Give me a new plate!” each time, but it definitely felt lacking. The second place served each dish on a beautiful plate, and it wasn’t just the medium-rare beef that I was mesmerized by – it was the plate, too! Though it seems like a small detail, it makes a huge difference in a person’s subconscious psyche and even in the photos! Look at how unique each one looks in the second picture looks in comparison to the same, clear, boring plate in the first one.

These are the ways omakase restaurants can up their game. If you run an omakase restaurant, consider these and do yourself a service following it. If you are a customer looking for a place to eat, see if the photos and reviews reflect these 5 things. That way, you will get your money’s worth in food and in experience!