Every place setting in the izakaya (a Japanese establishment where small plates of food are served to accompany drinks) featured a small bottle of schichimi togarashi, a chili-based seasoning comprised of precisely seven ingredients.
One of the key flavours of schichimi is provided by ground berries of the zanthoxylum piperitum, a shrub more commonly known as sansho.
I had stumbled upon this particular izakaya while wandering the streets of the Tokyo neighbourhood of Roppongi, having landed at Narita airport just three hours prior. The 17-hour time difference was distorting my temporal reality and I was fiercely hungry.
Inside the restaurant, I was greeted warmly, was asked to remove my shoes but was, regrettably, not permitted to sit, as all seats were occupied. I ordered a glass of shochu at the bar and picked a number of snacks to go with it.
Soon a plate of distinctly pink and glistening assorted meat parts arrived, accompanied by a mountain of course salt and a ramekin of ponzu dipping sauce.
This was chicken sashimi, served four ways (liver, thigh, breast, heart). I had indeed read the words correctly on the English menu that had been provided to me and my dare to myself (“go on, foodie, eat the raw chicken”) was becoming a reality.
Now, I need to be clear with you, dear reader, that the reason this memory was brought to the fore by my recent visit to Sansho Sushi on Queensbury Avenue in North Vancouver has absolutely nothing to do with eating raw chicken. Or, at least, not in the way you might think.
That Tokyo sashimi dish became palatable to me through the liberal application of the schichimi spice mixture, the highly fragrant, slightly bitter sansho powder in particular taking my mind off the particulars of what I was eating.
Further, Sansho, the restaurant, doesn’t just do sushi (although it does sushi very, very, well, as I will explain) but also features a creative and wonderfully diverse menu of izakaya favourites, from mussels to chicken, egg custard to dumplings.
Sansho represents the best of two worlds of Japanese dining, in my opinion. If your dinner companion does not appreciate raw fish the same way you do, the restaurant has them covered with deftly handled, thoroughly cooked dishes that pair very well with the draught beers, sakes and wines available on the menu.
At the helm of Sansho is chef and owner Hideki Yamamoto and his family. Yamamoto has been in the restaurant game for three decades, bringing expertly prepared sushi to Eastern Canadians before relocating to North Vancouver recently.
His experience shows in every morsel served in his new restaurant, a bright, clean space with vibrant green accents and, on the evening of my visit with my wife DJ, an energetic flamenco soundtrack.
I wish that burgeoning sushi chefs in Vancouver would follow Yamamoto’s lead when it comes to sushi preparation; nigiri (the small rectangles of rice with a prime morsel of seafood on top) and maki (nori-bound rolls) should not be cumbersome and haphazardly fashioned, spilling out of their wrapping or crumbling when picked up with chopsticks.
These items are meant to be elegant and bite-sized, providing the diner with manageable morsels to savour and appreciate for their freshness and the precision of their cuts.
The super-size approach to sushi, all roughly hewn and defiantly unwieldy, is becoming increasingly common, feels incongruous with the spirit of the cuisine and, happily, is anathema to Yamamoto’s approach.
DJ and I tucked into a broad assortment of dishes at Sansho, kicking things off with crispy marinated squid, great big, golden brown rings of it that had clearly benefitted from a slow, patient maceration in a deliciously tart, pleasingly salty and mildly sweet sauce.
Next up were panko-crusted fried oysters, served piping hot with a tangy dipping sauce. The oysters were sizable and meaty, squishy and moist on the inside and crunchy and well-seasoned on the outside. A final appetizer of Gomae was a revelation, the spinach retaining its fresh crunch under a restrained application of sesame dressing.
We transitioned from izakaya fare to sushi, DJ selecting two fantastic vegetarian maki, the highlight of which was the Veggie Dragon Roll, a substantial but eminently manageable cylinder of yam and asparagus tempura with miso mayonnaise, all beautifully wrapped in thin sheets of perfectly ripe avocado.
I tried Sansho’s Signature Roll, an ingenious combination of crispy avocado, eel, salmon, scallop and masago (smelt roe). The roll was bursting with harmonious flavours and textures and was a large dish for $11. I also attempted to tackle, but was ultimately bested by, Sansho’s Deluxe Sushi Combo, featuring 10 pieces of exceptionally fresh nigiri and a dynamite roll.
The specific constituents of the sushi combo change based on what is freshest from the kitchen, but from my meal, the delicate and buttery Hamachi (yellow fin tuna) was the top fish.
Our meal of three izakaya dishes and shameless loads of sushi was $58 before gratuity.
Sansho is located at 707 Queensbury Ave. 778-340-1189 sansho.ca
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
