Over the weekend I went up to Tallahassee to see an old friend, and I'm not talking about the bowl of fish you see here--although I could be. Kitcho is the Japanese restaurant where I worked when I lived in the state's capital, and it has to be one of the consistently best sushi restaurants I've been to. Sure, there are places in Sarasota that have better yellowtail, places in NYC that have a wider variety, and places in DC that have more atmosphere.
But if sashimi is your thing, nothing can beat Kitcho's chirashi for variety, freshness, and reasonable price. Chirashi, for those of you who typically eat rolls or avoid sushi altogether, is simply a bowl of sushi rice topped with a variety of sashimi. One of the great thing's about Kitcho's chirashi is that it comes with miso and a salad that most people choose to top with "Kitcho dressing," which is a creamy garlic dressing that induces many people to forgo propriety and literally drink the remaining dressing once the salad is eaten. The chirashi may have a variety of fish, but typically you get tuna, yellowtail, grouper, octopus, eel, conch, shrimp, and tomago (a japanese omelette-like egg piece made with sake and tamari). I'm not a huge fan of the 'pus--so I had mine substituted with ikura (salmon eggs). They were kind enough to top the ikura with a quail egg, which is a tiny orb of salty goodness. The side dish? Grouper with kimchi. Damn straight.
This is Yuichi Mori, the owner and head sushi chef. A good guy with a great restaurant. Please don't call him Luigi.
6 comments:
Closed on Mondays. I had forgotten. I also wanted to mention, if you ever go there for lunch, try the Curry Udon. Good stuff.
My wife and I are Tallahasseeans and we eat at Kitcho frequently. Sometimes once during the week, and then again on the weekends. Your appraisal is right on the mark.
This restaurant really has service, food quality and atmosphere all figured out. Diners would pay much, much more for this food in any major city and get less in return. I also highly recommend the Sushi/Sashimi platter combined with a nice large Asahi. But, don’t overlook the appetizer selection, many great items to choose from there as well. If you order an appetizer go light on your entrée, portions are large at Kitcho. Something you wouldn’t expect from such affordable dining. One of Tallahassee’s best dining experiences, and you can get it on the cheap.
also a Tallahasseean. Kitcho's is really good and like the last commentor noted, in any larger city you can look to pay close to double for the same quality and ambiance. loving the blog so far. keep it up.
I live a block from there and have for 20 years... I love sushi and have been all over the world to get it... my best friend works at Albert, right across the street... and this is the first I am hearing about Kitcho. I mean seriously. I will go when I get off and get me some!
omfg! why, why, i don't have anything like this where i live.
wah! just regular sushi.
:(
Kithco is the best of all the rest. They have been there for almost 20 years and are open 7 days a week. They used to be closed on Mondays. Also the lounge they have. Velvet Lounge , nice warm inviting atomsophere. I love it there.
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