tora tora!
While I am in between X-ray and heart scan, I’m making good use of the wireless network in this part of the hospital. Oooh, someone in medical imaging just gave me a meal voucher! I love this hospital, people are so friendly and upbeat. Unfortunately I can’t eat anything for the next 3 hours, but hopefully I won’t be feeling nauseous when I’m done so I might get myself a sammy.
This blog revolves around food and so does my life. I’m sure I think about food and what I’m going to prepare and eat much more than the average bear. Probably not too much more than the average food blogger :) One thing I wasn’t expecting over the next several months is that I would have to make a few adjustments to my diet. The main kicker: no sushi. *gasp* Honestly, I can forgo anything if necessary. I am not so inflexible.
What better reason to go and enjoy a nice sushi lunch with my sweetheart? There are a lot of places in Boulder to have sushi considering the landlocked status of the state. I haven’t lived here long enough to accept the prices for the quality compared to what I got in So Cal. Okay, but there is one place that has excellent quality and a price tag to match: Sushi Tora.
best sushi bet in boulder
We hadn’t eaten anything all day. We spent the morning taking our house apart and moving that brick of a treadmill upstairs. By 2 pm, we were famished. Let’s start with something from the kitchen:
seaweed salad
agedashi tofu
It’s a nice way to whet your appetite while perusing the menu. We sort of went nuts on the ordering because we were hungry and we knew it would be a while before we could enjoy this together (well, Jeremy is free to sushi on his own, but knowing him, he won’t).
sashimi assortment
toro (fatty tuna): gdddddgdgdgdgdgdg
I was satisfied after the toro. It was sooooooo good. One of those foods that transports you to Someplace Else. I think it’s on par with sex. I mean on par with good sex, not just any old sex. It’s the kind of toro you think about several times a day, for a couple of days after the meal. That kind of toro. I said I was satisfied, but… maki is so fun to eat.
spider roll
toro no maki: salmon, avocado, tobiko, unagi
The rolls were good. In hindsight I might have preferred ordering more toro sashimi instead, but I do love the subtle combination of sushi rice and seaweed and all of those lovely fishy things. And to top it all off – what I call dessert:
wasabi tobiko with quail egg
I think my love of tobiko with quail egg is based on 25% flavor and 75% texture. The creamy, buttery smoothness of the yolk oozing all over my mouth while the little tobiko crunch and pop their salty flavor pairs with the slight acidity of the seasoned sushi rice and the refreshing flavor of the nori. The rice lends a hefty chew and I won’t even get into the punch of the wasabi. I know most sushi chefs are mortified when Chinese come to dine on their fine creations, dousing them in wasabi as thick as paste and requesting, “more spicy” versions. We are, in their eyes, barbarians. Well, I’ve never been known for my subtlety.
After the meal, Jeremy had to roll me out the door. No worries though. That treadmill is in place and it rocks! The treadmill (when it’s running) scares the hell out of the poor dog. Check it.
to make up for those extra maki
January 14th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Mmm…sushi…
January 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
jen – sushi tora puts our best sushi restaurant here to shame. The fatty toro looks killer. I’ve never tried tobiko with quail egg – but I’ll remember to order that next time I’m home in california.
I’m happy you can blog while in the hospital! How cool is that?
January 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
oh my gosh, i know what i’m having for dinner…
January 14th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Well, I can’t have Sushi so I will live vicaroiusly through your pictures!
January 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
thanks for the recommendation, Jen. I will surely check it out if my SIL takes up the job in Boulder! I am a sucker for sashimis!
January 14th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
You’ve got my sushi craving kicked into gear again!
January 14th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
WiFi in a hospital, but they make you turn your cellphone off…
And that picture of “sashimi assortment”…I want to enlarge it, frame it, and hang it on my wall. Or eat it.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:41 am
I love the seaweed salad, couldn’t get me to try the egg dish though!
I’m thinking good thoughts for you Jen.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I am just getting caught up on your latest post and I just wanted to let you know you are in my thoughts.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
The new Gym setup looks great, Jen.
As for the Sushi, absolutely beautiful – I can’t stand Seafood, but if I was going to be converted, it’d be now. Stunning.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Bridget – my thoughts exactly… still!
Christine – it was a tad painful searching around for a good sushi joint because I feel we wasted a lot of $ on mediocre places in town. If you guys ever happen over to CO, we’ll keep that in mind (but I’d also love to take you guys to The Kitchen for Community Night which totally rocks! you would so dig it). The hospital is a huge medical center, so I wasn’t IN the hospital per se, but in the waiting room for the medical imaging center. Still, I like that they have wireless!
Katy – I think this is one food I could never tire of, ever.
Peabody – we both will have to live vicariously through the pics soon :)
Mandy – totally. If she winds up here, I completely recommend The Kitchen’s Community Night too (Monday nights).
Brilynn – woops! I hope you can satisfy that craving where you guys live.
Vicki – it was so good :)
Nicisme – thanks hon. Jeremy won’t touch the eggs either :)
Tartlette – ah, you are so sweet. xxoo
Graeme – I’m jazzed about the gym! I got a great run and ride in today. Don’t like seafood? Graeme, I don’t know if we can remain friends… nah, I’m just kidding ;) I’ll make an exception for a man who cooks as well as you do and takes such gorgeous photos! But I have to be careful of those film spoilers…
January 15th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Jen,
Have you tried , Sushi Den yet. Thats my favorite in denver. I have yet tried sushi tora thats my next stop
January 17th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I just stumbled upon your blog via blood sugar and I’m glad I did. Beautiful pics! As a novice photographer and food blogger I’m inspired by your blog. Great photography is what draws me to blogs. Do you take your tripod into restaurants? These pics appear to be taken from a tripod . . . such great indoor lighting . . . I imagine you needed to use a pretty slow shutter speed. I’m not particularly comfortable taking my tripod into restaurants unless I know the owners/managers . . . but I may need to get over this . . . or, perhaps, buy a little table-top tripod. What’s your secret?!?
January 17th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Lo – I rarely get my bum down to Denver, so I haven’t tried Sushi Den yet. However, I’ll keep your suggestion in mind once I’m able to eat sushi again! Thanks.
Food Rockz Man – Isn’t Graeme a hoot? I love his blog. I actually took all of those shots hand held. The light was fairly bright for a restaurant, but… still my shutter was 1/8 sec or thereabouts. If I had better glass, it would be less of an issue, but I don’t and won’t for a while. You can tell some of them have camera shake because I got slower than 1/8 sec. That’s my hand held limit which is actually pretty good – unless I’m all jacked up on Mountain Dew ;)
January 17th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Wow. That first photo of the sashimi looks jaw-droppingly awesome.
And I am also a recent stumbler upon your food blog, awesome work!
Thanks for sharing all your experiences :oD
In addition – best of luck and good wishes for your health!
Cheers!
January 17th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Emily – thanks, that’s really nice of you :)
January 21st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Your photos are beautiful! I love reading all your posts :)
January 25th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Sheri – thanks! I’m sorry you got stuffed into the spam filter, but I managed to fish you out :)