Sashimi

Many people have no taste for slices of plain raw fish. But they do enjoy fish cooked rare like steak. Sesame seared tuna sashimi was made for them.I sampled it at the Sound of the Falls, a resort hotel on Kaanapali Beach in Maui, Hawaii. Executive chef James Reaux, who conducts cooking lessons for guests, taught me how to make it.A little like sashimi, sushi and tempura in one, seared sashimi combines the best features of some traditional Japanesefavorites: fish, seaweed and batter-coated, deep-fried foods.

Walking into Yama Sushi in Ellicott City, the first thing we noticed were the polka dots. Posted behind a long bar, two busy-looking sushi chefs sliced fish and rolled rice with seaweed. Instead of the severe white coats usually favored by their brethren, both wore black jackets with big white polka dots. At Yama Sushi, the food is serious - it's made with precision and presented with care - but the atmosphere is lighthearted. Those cheeky jackets fit right in with the space, which is decorated to the hilt with Asian-inspired tchotchkes.

In a book titled "Japan in Transition," copyright 1899, Stafford Ransome, a reporter for the Morning Post in New York, remarked, "The best authorities agree generally that Japanese food is usually extremely clean, and is served artistically and most delicately; that some of it is rather eatable, but that most is extremely nasty to the taste; and I think that, with hardly one exception, they maintain that a European cannot live on it satisfactorily for...

Hardly anything at Pabu grabs you by the lapels. The last and latest restaurant to open at the new Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Pabu calls itself an "izakaya," the Japanese name for a drinking establishment that serves food. The izakaya craze has landed big-time in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, along with the inevitable squabbling about what defines a true izakaya. Essentially, an izakaya offers diners a menu of small plates from which they can order over a long, merry evening, and there's traditionally an emphasis on savory grilled and marinated items.

What makes sashimi tuna more special than tuna? I know it is eaten raw. Is it more susceptible to mercury contamination? Sashimi is a misunderstood term. The word "sashimi" is the Japanese term for "raw fish." But in America, "sashimi grade" has come to mean high-grade, very red cuts of tuna. However, the term "sashimi" on labels isn't regulated in the United States, so there is no guarantee attached to buying something called sashimi tuna. In this country, fish that is destined to be served raw must be frozen, except tuna, which loses quality if it's frozen.

Hardly anything at Pabu grabs you by the lapels. The last and latest restaurant to open at the new Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Pabu calls itself an "izakaya," the Japanese name for a drinking establishment that serves food. The izakaya craze has landed big-time in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, along with the inevitable squabbling about what defines a true izakaya. Essentially, an izakaya offers diners a menu of small plates from which they can order over a long, merry evening, and there's traditionally an emphasis on savory grilled and marinated items.

BusanWhere: 2101 Maryland Ave.Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.Credit Cards: AE.Features: Korean and Japanese dishes.Non-smoking section: yes.Call: 727-2929.*** Busan is an adventure for gourmet globe-trotters -- people who enjoy traveling to distant lands, if only through their taste buds. It's also a glutton's dream. If your idea of bliss is sitting at a restaurant table for hours, as dish after delectable dish is set before you, this is your place.

Walking into Yama Sushi in Ellicott City, the first thing we noticed were the polka dots. Posted behind a long bar, two busy-looking sushi chefs sliced fish and rolled rice with seaweed. Instead of the severe white coats usually favored by their brethren, both wore black jackets with big white polka dots. At Yama Sushi, the food is serious - it's made with precision and presented with care - but the atmosphere is lighthearted. Those cheeky jackets fit right in with the space, which is decorated to the hilt with Asian-inspired tchotchkes.

Ever the intrepid eater - uh, journalist - this Baltimore reporter "investigated" a few hot New York City eateries on a recent trip north. Though this column usually is limited to tidbits about Baltimore-area eateries, I thought it would be nice to share my experiences in the Big Apple. I found that - along with getting fabulous food - an observant diner can get a helping of celebrity in many restaurants. First night in town, I enjoyed grilled sardines and eggplant at Da Silvano, the Italian restaurant/Greenwich Village institution at Bleeker and Houston streets.

You want Thai food, he wants sushi. Let the battle begin! Or just head to Towson's newest restaurant, Jasmine Asian Bistro. It opened a couple of weeks ago on York Avenue, next to the Recher Theatre. The restaurant has a sushi bar ($3 and up for sushi/sashimi items) and several Thai menu items, such as red curry chicken with noodle cake ($12.95). But your choices don't end there. You'll also find other Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian choices, such as steak teriyaki ($15.95), kung pao shrimp ($11.

What makes sashimi tuna more special than tuna? I know it is eaten raw. Is it more susceptible to mercury contamination? Sashimi is a misunderstood term. The word "sashimi" is the Japanese term for "raw fish." But in America, "sashimi grade" has come to mean high-grade, very red cuts of tuna. However, the term "sashimi" on labels isn't regulated in the United States, so there is no guarantee attached to buying something called sashimi tuna. In this country, fish that is destined to be served raw must be frozen, except tuna, which loses quality if it's frozen.

You want Thai food, he wants sushi. Let the battle begin! Or just head to Towson's newest restaurant, Jasmine Asian Bistro. It opened a couple of weeks ago on York Avenue, next to the Recher Theatre. The restaurant has a sushi bar ($3 and up for sushi/sashimi items) and several Thai menu items, such as red curry chicken with noodle cake ($12.95). But your choices don't end there. You'll also find other Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian choices, such as steak teriyaki ($15.95), kung pao shrimp ($11.

Ever the intrepid eater - uh, journalist - this Baltimore reporter "investigated" a few hot New York City eateries on a recent trip north. Though this column usually is limited to tidbits about Baltimore-area eateries, I thought it would be nice to share my experiences in the Big Apple. I found that - along with getting fabulous food - an observant diner can get a helping of celebrity in many restaurants. First night in town, I enjoyed grilled sardines and eggplant at Da Silvano, the Italian restaurant/Greenwich Village institution at Bleeker and Houston streets.

Creativity leads to decoys; Andrea Shreiner: Sushi chef and 0) waterfowl artist says she has 'a decorative, interpretive style,' as opposed to realistic.Andrea Shreiner slices sushi at night and carves duck during the day.Sushi chef at John Stevens Ltd., the quintessential Fells Point bar-restaurant, for more than a decade, Ms. Shreiner is also one of the small but growing number of women who carve professional-quality waterfowl decoys.She's just placed second with a blue-tipped drake in the decoy painting category in a timed on-stage competition at the Eastern Sportman's Show in Harrisburg, Pa.Her strength has always been in painting the ducks and geese and swans the decoys are supposed to represent.

Many people have no taste for slices of plain raw fish. But they do enjoy fish cooked rare like steak. Sesame seared tuna sashimi was made for them.I sampled it at the Sound of the Falls, a resort hotel on Kaanapali Beach in Maui, Hawaii. Executive chef James Reaux, who conducts cooking lessons for guests, taught me how to make it.A little like sashimi, sushi and tempura in one, seared sashimi combines the best features of some traditional Japanesefavorites: fish, seaweed and batter-coated, deep-fried foods.

In a book titled "Japan in Transition," copyright 1899, Stafford Ransome, a reporter for the Morning Post in New York, remarked, "The best authorities agree generally that Japanese food is usually extremely clean, and is served artistically and most delicately; that some of it is rather eatable, but that most is extremely nasty to the taste; and I think that, with hardly one exception, they maintain that a European cannot live on it satisfactorily for...

Creativity leads to decoys; Andrea Shreiner: Sushi chef and 0) waterfowl artist says she has 'a decorative, interpretive style,' as opposed to realistic.Andrea Shreiner slices sushi at night and carves duck during the day.Sushi chef at John Stevens Ltd., the quintessential Fells Point bar-restaurant, for more than a decade, Ms. Shreiner is also one of the small but growing number of women who carve professional-quality waterfowl decoys.She's just placed second with a blue-tipped drake in the decoy painting category in a timed on-stage competition at the Eastern Sportman's Show in Harrisburg, Pa.Her strength has always been in painting the ducks and geese and swans the decoys are supposed to represent.

At the risk of sounding older than I really am, I remember the days before lime became chic, when fresh limes were hard to find and most cooks had to make do with the sour juice in a fruit-shaped squeeze bottle.That was before la nouvelle cuisine made lime the premier citrus fruit of the '80s. It was also before Perrier, with its inevitable wedge of lime, became the quaff of a nation. Few Northerners had ever tasted a Key lime. As for the perfumed kaffir lime from Thailand, it might as well have grown on the moon.

BusanWhere: 2101 Maryland Ave.Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.Credit Cards: AE.Features: Korean and Japanese dishes.Non-smoking section: yes.Call: 727-2929.*** Busan is an adventure for gourmet globe-trotters -- people who enjoy traveling to distant lands, if only through their taste buds. It's also a glutton's dream. If your idea of bliss is sitting at a restaurant table for hours, as dish after delectable dish is set before you, this is your place.