JaBistro’s specialty is aburi sushi: fish that’s set over vinegared rice – as with nigiri sushi – but then brushed with sweet soy sauce and blowtorched, so the flesh turns caramelly and its fat renders down into the grains of rice. (Mr. Tashiro spent two years at Vancouver’s Miku sushi, which by many accounts was the first restaurant in Canada to specialize in aburi sushi.)JaBistro, considered to be one of the top 3 sushi restaurants in Toronto, Canada, bills itself as “a cozy hideaway for Toronto’s sophisticated crowd.”They accept reservations, take your coat, fold your napkin and deliver truffled chocolate mignardises after dinner. It’s Guu, but for grownups with expense accounts.JaBistro’s $100 showstopper of a sashimi platter features pristine Japanese mackerel, B.C. geoduck and fat, creamy slabs of bluefin tuna loin and belly, among several other aquatic species. For an extra $15, chef Koji Tashiro (ex-Guu SakaBar) will add the translucent ivory tail meat of a lobster that was whacked in half only seconds earlier. You can watch the other half twitch on the counter as you eat it.It’s clean-tasting, lightly sweet, with a texture that’s both crunchy and yielding, a little like lychee fruit. The $57 “ultimate fresh pieces” sushi selection is fairly well-made; its fresh sea urchin with salt and lemon is a standout.JaBistro video series:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtrZ0H--lQg&list=PLKyujEmp99Ilr_Ja_oSBe_Wm_bOAgGngJSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=JapaneseEatsJa Bistro
