Sushi Tour KC

Here's the dirt on the 2016 sushi tour.  This time we went to KC.  We were supposed to fly, but the weather was poop and supposed to be poop for the entire weekend.  We drove out on Saturday to KC and the Ambassador Hotel.  I wanted a Ritz-Carlton, but there aren't any in KC anymore.  The Ambassador is supposed to be the best in KC, and I think it might be.  Everyone greeted us with a smile.  The staff were all friendly.  The rooms were similar to the high end hotels I've stayed in Europe and Asia.  The Reserve restaurant is excellent.  They will give you a ride from the hotel to anywhere important in KC.  They say five miles, but they took us to the Plaza and back as well as the Art Museum and the WWI Museum.  The Ambassador is middle priced but top end for amenities.  It really is a boutique hotel.

The first step on the sushi tour was Mr. Le's.  This comes up as the number two sushi spot in KC.  I'd say it is the number one for quality and price.  It's a hole in the wall on Parvin.  The service was good, the location isn't for any special occasion, but the sushi makes the trip worthwhile.  We had spicy tuna hand rolls, the combination of nigiri and shashimi, and their yellow tail carpaccio.  Hot sake of course.  The shashimi was in large chunks, and the nigiri was very nice with a classical but nice flavor to the rice.  Everything was tip top fresh.  Try it--it is likely the best sushi in KC.
 

We went to the WWI Museum in KC.  History buffs you gotta visit.  It is supposed to be the only WWI museum in the USA.  Really good bargain and museum.

Next on the Sushi tour was Nara NeoJapanese downtown.  The Ambassador gave us a ride to the restaurant.  The atmosphere is modern and the feel is metropolitan.  We had their vegetable rolls,  special roll, some Nigiri, and spicy tuna hand rolls.  The service was good but a little busy.  I made reservations with open table.  I recommend reservations.  They were busy and others had to wait--we didn't.  Nara didn't really have anything special that the Neo kind of promised. The sushi was excellent and fresh.  hey handled our requests.  The sushi rice wasn't standard.   wouldn't call it number one, but it i definitely a hopping place and a fun restaurant.  No negatives and the prices were good.  They have Saporo on tap.
   

We went to the Art Museum the next day.  Highly recommended.

For lunch, I had open table reservations for Kona Grill.  This is a chain, but we found it an excellent restaurant during our Dallas tour.  It didn't disappoint.  They have perfect sake bombs with the big Kirins, light or regular.  We ate the yellow tail carpaccio and the tuna tower.  The yellow tail is one of their signature small plates--you gotta try it.  It is wonderful.  The tuna tower is excellent and slightly neutral.  Kona Grill is a perfect lunch venue.  The service was excellent.  No disappointment and very flavorful.  The sushi quality was excellent.


Dinner was at Drunken Fish. This is also a chain.  We walked from the Ambassador.  Drunken Fish is in the Power and Light District of KC.  I had Open Table reservations and we came late, but got right in.  I had the Teriyaki Beef with fried rice.  The fried rice was my request. At first they balked, but the server made the restaurant a "yes" experience by figuring out how to make it happen.  We also had a spicy tuna hand roll and a Drunken Fish roll.  They threw in another spicy tuna roll--impressive.  They also have Sake bombs, but more like Irish bombs.  We had the Saporo, also on tap, and the Nama cold sake.  The place was metro and upscale but not fancy.  Food quality was good and the sushi was great.  I'd go again.  The server made the experience very good.

All in all, we had a great sushi tour.  All the places we visited had great to excellent sushi. No complaints.

By the way, shopping at the Plaza was fun--lots of guy and gal places to check out.  Oh, I should mention, we had drinks with some friends at Reserve--they make a mean martini.

Osaka and The Doughnut Hole, Destin, Florida

I'll give you two in one: Osaka and The Doughnut Hole.  I've been to Osaka many times.  Osaka is an outstanding Japanese restaurant on the Emerald Coast.  It has both a hibachi and a sushi area.  We ate in the sushi area on this visit.  Even if you don't like sushi, Osaka has Japanese food you will like.  Everything I've had there has been excellent and authentic.

Almost everyone drank hot saki, and we all reported that it was pleasant.  About half had sushi and half had a hot meal.  One of our group ordered the beef curry and reported that it was excellent.  Another ate the beef terriaki and gave that a thumbs up. 

I had the Chirashi sushi.  I've had it before, and it is consistently the best Chirashi I've had on the east coast.  A Chirashi is shashimi (raw fish) and other sushi toppings served over sushi rice.  Actually, the rice is the sushi.  The stuff on top is the topping on the sushi rice.  This Chirashi has always been excellent.  I've never been disappointed.  The prices at Osaka are at the higher end, but everything on this side of the bridges is more costly.

Visit Osaka, you will enjoy it.

For breakfast, we went to The Doughnut Hole.  This place was packed on the weekend.  It was packed this morning (Monday).  It is small but wonderfully decorated with real wood everywhere.  The coffee is freshly ground and excellent.  I had a doughnut and coffee.  Everyone else, except Bun had a real breakfast.  When I say a real breakfast, I mean a real breakfast.  Even the diet plate was heaped full.  Here is a photo proof of what a "real" breakfast pastry looks like.

The photo is Bun and the Apple Fritter, or Bun and the Very Large Bun.  My doughnut wasn't this large.  Still for a hearty breakfast, check out The Doughnut Hole.

Yamoto Fort Walton Beach

I'm going to lose track of all the places I've been eating, but I'll try to keep up and keep you apprised.  I've been going to Yamoto for 15 years or so.  It is a Sushi and Hibachi Japanese style restaurant on the Eglin Parkway in Fort Walton Beach.  The sushi is the best, but you won't go wrong with the Hibachi.  The prices are home town and not vacation subscription.

We ate at the Hibachi and had a great chef.  I had the Hibachi steak and a spicy tuna hand roll.  The Hibachi was less than $20 and the food was overwhelming.  It was good quality.  The spicy tuna hand roll was perfect with firm fresh tuna and a nice spicy sauce.  I want another one right now--that's how good it was.  I think I'll go for the sushi next time and tempura to check that out.

No one had a bad meal and the company was pleasant.  Even better, Yamotos is really trying hard to create some atmosphere, all their waitresses wore Yukatas with sashes--kind of fake Kimonos, but most Americas won't notice the difference.  The effect was nice.  Yamotos is a great restaurant.