Sushi

The elaborately sleek, wood-clad space remains largely untouched from its brief life as Maia. But memories of that short-lived Main Line star are bound for a quick-fade if its replacement, Azie on Main, continues to serve sushi as pristine as this. The raw seafood, emphasized here more than at its sister Azie in Media, is certainly a highlight of the fusion menu. And this hot oil "carpaccio" of kumamotos is a perfect example. Three delicate West Coast oysters are topped with a zippy mince of garlic, ginger and kelp, then drizzled just before leaving the kitchen with a smoking hot glaze of sesame and olive oil. The "searing" effect creates a beguiling contrast of hot and cold, tightening the surface of those oysters with just the right amount of heat and texture, while the rest of the mollusk is still snug and cool in its shell, lending a briny raw bar lusciousness to the finish of every bite.

It can't always be a big-ticket splurge at Morimoto when I get that sushi craving, which happens all too often. But Aki proves that sushi value doesn't always come in modest surroundings, either. Owner Tom Lau added a major decor upgrade when he took over (and renamed) the old Aoi space earlier this year, transforming it with a layered stone wall, velveteen booths, and the glowing tile of a sleek fusion lounge. The big draw, though, has been Aki's sushi deals - a pair of rolls (plus soup and salad)

Mr. Fuji takes 25 grams of cooked rice and gently squeezes it into a rectangular mound. A perfectionist, he gives the rice a second shaping, making sure it is the correct consistency for the sushi he is creating. Next, he tops the rice with dab of wasabi, the green horseradish condiment that gives much sushi its familiar kick. An assistant places a thin strip of raw fresh fish atop the preparation, and then Fuji takes over again, gently wrapping the piece in cellophane. Elapsed time . . . three seconds.

I confess. For years, I have had a secret passion. For reasons of self- protection, however, I have rarely revealed my love affair, not even to my closest friends. Now I'm coming out of the closet: I love sushi. Or at least, I did. In case you are not familiar with it, sushi is a meal of cold, neatly designed raw fish, often sculptured into beautiful packages containing white rice, sea weed, pickles and other tasty morsels. A few spicy sauces usually accompany the dish. Heaven!

I have often heard these tales of sushi nirvana, where the adventurous diner and master chef exchange a knowing nod, and a spontaneous feast of jewel-like dishes unfurls, bursting with stunning flavors and breathtaking surprise. Don't even look for them on the menu. They are not there. Just sit across that gleaming glass case of fish, announce your generous budget, and say, "Make me something special. " But alas, I had never experienced this scenario with any satisfaction until I walked into the new sushi and sake bar opened by the Genji chain in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where, in the ornate lobby lounge, chef Toku Naga was more than eager to oblige.

If you can land one of the prized 10 seats at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a tiny Tokyo restaurant located in a subway corridor, and if you're willing to pay a king's ransom, you can savor what may be the world's finest sushi. Jiro Ono, the octogenarian proprietor of this three-star Michelin operation, is the subject of David Gelb's delectable documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi. " It's the story of a man with an exquisite palate who has spent many decades seeking perfection in a very circumscribed field - sushi is all he serves.

Nobody likes a find more than a restaurant critic. So when you get a hot tip from a colleague, you check it out with all the fervor of the Miami Herald chasing down the rumors of Gary Hart's sexual escapades. Tiny Tokio is easy to miss. There is no sign. The "grand opening" banner had disappeared before my second visit. So, too, had the lone window dressing, a pale blue fish lantern. Inside, the two young Japanese owners, Hashimoto and Bruce, are turning out some excellent food.

I've enjoyed sushi since 1979, which was about when the Japanese delicacy first started turning up in Middle America. But it wasn't until the other day, when I had sushi with Sasha Issenberg, that I realized I had been happily chowing down all these years on an unsung symbol of global commerce. You may think of your tekka-maki as merely an exotic snack from Japan, something traditional to the Far East. But that's not the half of it. As Issenberg explained, passing the soy sauce, what you're getting with wasabi and pickled ginger is really the toothsome end of a worldwide supply chain, an intricate network of which Japan is only one part.

Gil Seagraves tackles sushi as if it were a construction project. Lay a strong foundation - in this case, a sheet of nori (dried seaweed), followed by a trowelful of properly sticky rice. And then build layer upon carefully thought-out layer of "mortar" - salmon, avocado, asparagus, carrots, sesame seeds. He can't stop! "I make things for a living," the Havertown resident offers by way of explanation for his skyscraper sushi. Must be a guy thing, 'cause across from Seagraves in the recent "Secrets of Sushi" class at the Learning Studio in Malvern is Mark Scafaria of Wayne, who is also building no-holds-barred sushi.

These sushi-style tea sandwiches might have shocked the Victorians, but they're a pick-me-up on a hot July afternoon on the Main Line. We found them at Philadelphia Lobster & Fish Co., where the sushi chef spikes sushi-grade ground tuna with chile-mayo, then stuffs it between rice triangles for a tuna sandwich that bites back. Not-too-sweet tea Finally, an iced tea for those of us who prefer the taste of tea to the taste of sugar. Snapple has busted out three new flavors of crisp black teas - Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Orange Pekoe - each with just a smidge of sugar, only 8 grams per 8-ounce serving.

Movies Opening This Week Bully See Steven Rea's preview on H2. The Cabin in the Woods When five friends visit a remote cabin, they suffer the fate that befalls most movie characters who visit remote cabins in the woods. What were they thinking? The Deep Blue Sea A distraught British woman who has been socially ostracized after leaving her husband, a highly respected judge, and entering a failed relationship with a Royal Air Force pilot, finds the will to live with the help of an outcast neighbor.

If you can land one of the prized 10 seats at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a tiny Tokyo restaurant located in a subway corridor, and if you're willing to pay a king's ransom, you can savor what may be the world's finest sushi. Jiro Ono, the octogenarian proprietor of this three-star Michelin operation, is the subject of David Gelb's delectable documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi. " It's the story of a man with an exquisite palate who has spent many decades seeking perfection in a very circumscribed field - sushi is all he serves.

At a recent lunch at Fuji in Haddonfield, we arrived to find master chef and owner Matt Ito poised behind the sushi bar. I turned away for a moment and he was gone through the kitchen curtain. Within seconds, though, another chef named Ito emerged and stood in his place - a virtual carbon copy, but 36 years younger. Long knife in hand, Jesse Ito evokes the image of his dad. And while his father still crafts the exquisitely creative kaiseki tasting meals that for three decades have made him one of the region's greatest chefs, Jesse has been Fuji's head sushi chef for nearly three years now. As he prepared us a spontaneous chef's choice of the freshest raw fish, it was clear he had inherited his father's magic touch.

TOKYO - Fishermen who lost their homes and boats in Japan's tsunami now fear that radioactive water that had been gushing into the Pacific Ocean from a crippled nuclear plant could cost them their livelihoods. The contaminated water raised concerns about the safety of seafood in the country that gave the world sushi, prompting the government to set limits for the first time on the amount of radiation permitted in fish. Authorities insisted that the radioactive water would dissipate and posed no immediate threat to sea creatures or people who might eat them.

What the experience meant for these local contestants. Age: 31 Local connection: Doylestown Show/result: American Idol, Season 1 (2002)/ Runner-up Occupation: Singer/entertainer. "It was really just a continuation of what I'd always been doing, and it allowed me to go to the next level - to be not just one of a million performers in America. It allowed me to be singled out and ultimately do what I love to do every single day, which is entertain people.

In Japan, the time around the blossoming of the country's ubiquitous cherry trees is sacred. Sakura, as this time is called, celebrates the ephemeral nature of spring. The cherry blossoms, a primordial pink, bloom and stay on the trees for such a short time, but are hallowed as indicators that life is being renewed after winter. During the 1860s, Philadelphians headed to Japan, whose doors had just opened to the West after feudal times, and they brought home cherry trees their hosts gave them.

Though he grew up near Tokyo, Hiroyuki "Zama" Tanaka never had the rigorous decade-long apprenticeship there that is the famed rite of passage for Japanese sushi chefs. Slinging burgers and pizza at Camp Zama, the American Army base in Kanagawa Prefecture that inspired his nickname, was about the limit of his culinary experience in his homeland. Rittenhouse Square, it turns out, is actually where Zama found his sushi muse and training. So when you see the tousle-haired chef these days working his art behind the smooth maple sushi bar of his stellar new self-named restaurant - slicing jewel-box-like bowls of chirashi, lightly torching buttery pads of albacore, or brilliantly reinventing the California roll without rice or fake crab - know that it all began just a block away nearly two decades ago. At the once-great Genji (now the uninspired Kin Gyo)

Buns of pork! Those who expected Doma (Korean for "cutting board") to be a clone of its sister restaurant, Shiroi Hana, the 15th Street sushi bar, have been a bit surprised - and not unpleasantly. Sushi still dominates the menu here, but there's a distinctive accent of chef-owner Robert Moon's native Korea as well, especially in the rice dishes, the (bulgogi) Bento Box, and appetizers. One of our favorites is the soft steamed buns with a touch of sweet hoisin sauce folded over generous slices of perfectly tender (but not overly fatty)

Toast the time Champagne flutes are a great last-minute Christmas gift, and, of course, we're just days away from welcoming 2010. We suggest these beauties from Crate & Barrel: The Adrienne flute ($8.95) is oval; the Edge ($11.95), rectangular; and the Paloma ($9.95), pointed. Sushi made easy The intimidating task of making sushi at home is surprisingly easy with this kit from Annie Chun - even kids can do it. It comes with microwaveable sticky white rice, 12 individual wraps, and soy sauce.

The elaborately sleek, wood-clad space remains largely untouched from its brief life as Maia. But memories of that short-lived Main Line star are bound for a quick-fade if its replacement, Azie on Main, continues to serve sushi as pristine as this. The raw seafood, emphasized here more than at its sister Azie in Media, is certainly a highlight of the fusion menu. And this hot oil "carpaccio" of kumamotos is a perfect example. Three delicate West Coast oysters are topped with a zippy mince of garlic, ginger and kelp, then drizzled just before leaving the kitchen with a smoking hot glaze of sesame and olive oil. The "searing" effect creates a beguiling contrast of hot and cold, tightening the surface of those oysters with just the right amount of heat and texture, while the rest of the mollusk is still snug and cool in its shell, lending a briny raw bar lusciousness to the finish of every bite.