Originally Posted by
od_sf
Having eaten at the Shinagawa branch of Uogashi Nihon Ichi as well as Bentenyama Miyako (a few times), we'll just have to agree to disagree. There's no comparison in my mind. Shari at Bentenyama is delicious, well-seasoned with a blend of akasu and gomesu. Neta are high quality and expertly prepared by a sushi legend following classic Edomae preparation techniques. The sushi at Uogashi Nihon Ichi is passable for Y1,500 sushi, but shari is poorly seasoned, on the cold side, neta is pre-sliced sometimes hours before being served... quality overall is slightly lower than what you'd get at Zanmai Honten or Umegaoka Sushinomidori (granted, it is also cheaper). It's passable for what it is (Y1,500 fast-food sushi from a chain) but to compare it favorably to Bentenyama or the best sushiya in the US is incomprehensible. Also, there is no "dual menu" and "dual quality" system at Bentenyama that favors Japanese customers over foreigners. There is a system that favors regulars over first time customers. This is the case at any sushiya, though. Bentenyama's reputation as an excellent sushi shop is very well established. As a matter for fact, Jiro Ono-san has said that it is his favorite sushiya to visit as a customer. Sorry you didn't enjoy your experience there. I've always loved it, and everyone I've sent there has loved it as well.
I wasn't comparing Uogashi with Bentenyama, but rather with the vast majority of mid to high end sushi in the USA, and while we may disagree, I still say the sushi at Uogashi runs circles around just about anything in the USA, and I was just there again tonight to reconfirm my assumption. Of course, it really depends on what you order, what was bought fresh, etc., but even some of the highest rated sushi restaurants in the USA pre-slice their fish, and yes, I think it's cheap and lazy to do so - even two well known restaurants in Seattle which were/are run by one of Jiro's former apprentices pre-slice their fish for a meal that could run well over $200. Is everything at Uogashi perfect? No - and tonight I had some pieces that were obviously lower quality and it was easy to tell, but a high-end restaurant in the USA could serve the same pieces to American customers who wouldn't know the difference.
As to Bentenyama, we can agree to disagree - I will never suggest it to anyone I know, and even if there is no "official" dual system there, the perception of one just killed the experience and it was obvious we were being served second-rate pieces compared to Japanese guests, and we were blocked from ordering anything that wasn't on the very limited foreigner's menu, which was a total turn-off.
I am looking forward to Sushidokoro Suzu tomorrow evening, because it might end up being the place I've been searching for, where high quality sushi is served at a more reasonable price, and I will report back on my experience.