sushi tour: kasa
Plenty of good things to bandy about on the blog today. For one: sushi, which is always a plus for me. More on that in a moment.
I spied some incredible looking mammata as I left the cancer center this afternoon. I had my camera with me (it goes just about everywhere I go) and was able to take a few shots from the parking lot before it dissipated. We get a lot of these in the summertime down on the flats – all of that atmospheric instability makes for gorgeous cloud formations. It made me recall something Tom told me recently, “the best camera is the one you have with you.” So true (what I would have given to have had my camera in my lap instead of in the backseat of the car when a bobcat crossed our path a few weeks ago driving home).
ominous
After that neat sighting, I went and sat in my car and opened a package that had ridden down the canyon with me to my radiation appointment. I had been running late, so no time to open the package. It was from Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi!
so beautiful… whatever could it be?
wonderful wonderful things
A care package is like a hug from far away. I only “met” Bee recently, but what a sweetheart she is. Just look at all of the goodies! Of course, I can’t possibly let this go without a retaliation package. Just you wait, Bee and Jai. Just you guys wait… Thank you so much. xxoo
Jeremy and I resumed our sushi tour after a one week hiatus (just too much shit going down last week). This time we tried Kasa, a relative new-comer to the Boulder scene. It has been in business for a year and we happened across it one day after walking from the post office to Pearl Street pedestrian mall.
kasa means umbrella
The restaurant sits on a prime corner location and the interior is very bright because all external walls are windows onto Pearl and 15th. The restaurant has a hip and artsy black and white theme wrapped all around the sushi bar, sake bar, and table seating.
great natural lighting
We found the service to be a complete mishmash because it seemed that whoever was nearby would take our order, serve us food, refill drinks, give us our bill… Inconsistent in a strange way. There didn’t seem to be a clearcut sushi chef in the traditional sense either. But that was okay because the quality of the fish was superb. On par with the best of them. Here, have a looksee.
start with some light seaweed salad
sashimi deshoku (chef’s choice)
red dragon roll: spicy tuna with avocado and anago
#9 roll: shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, salmon and avocado
nigiri: tobiko with quail egg, scallop
The seaweed salad was a little less seasoned than I prefer, but it was still enjoyable. Everything else was terrific, awesome, delicious, fresh. The presentation was gorgeous, as you can see. The rolls were quite good, but they didn’t have that magic combination of flavor, texture, shazaam-in-your-mouth experience that we got with other sushi joints.
Here is my beef with Kasa: it is ass expensive. Okay, all sushi in Boulder is expensive, but for some reason Kasa’s sushi and sashimi run a few bucks more per item than other places on the tour. Add to that the fact that their selection isn’t as extensive as any of the other sushi bars (they were out of toro today). Jeremy noted that they must pay an arm and a leg for their rent. Perhaps, but Tora is also on Pearl Street, their chefs are the real deal, and their selection is unsurpassed.
I like Kasa. I mean, I didn’t even need my tripod to shoot because it’s so well lit! We both loved what we ate for dinner, but considering the financial damage I would rather walk the extra 5 blocks to Sushi Tora.
Kasa
1468 Pearl St.
Suite 110
Boulder, CO 80302
303.938.8888
July 1, 2008
Sushi
$71.60 (including tax, not tip) for two diners
Rating: 85/100 (B)
New rankings:
1) Sushi Tora
2) Amu Sake Bar and Restaurant
3) Ai Sushi and Steak
4) Kasa Sushi
Anyhoo, that’s another sushi bar under our belt. After getting home and feeding the pup her dry kibbles (oh shut up, she LOVES that stuff, she loves *anything* – she’s a lab for crying out loud), we went to survey the state of our local columbines. Ramping up and looking good. These are for you, Diane! See the rest on the photoblog.
blue columbines – the colorado state flower
I was going to poll you guys about what lens I should get next, but then I started researching online and basically found the lens that *I need to have* and ordered it just now. And I thought Kasa was expensive… We’ll see what kind of pretty I can wrangle with the new glass once it gets here.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 am
What fun treats you go in the mail!!!
I love that ceiling, very cool. And yes, great natural light.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:27 am
Hmm, based on your assessment you would not opt to go to Kasa over Tora even if you had money to burn… So under what circumstances would you go to Kasa? (Maybe if all the seats in the other 3 restaurants were full… Ouch.) From here, that dragon roll looks mighty tasty :)
That is one fanTAStic care package! I’ll be looking forward to the appearance that saffron makes ;)
Goodness Jen, if your pictures were any prettier, I would be able to smell the flowers from here and the bobcat would be skinning me alive :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 am
The food certainly looks beautiful – such gorgeous vibrant colours! Sucks when things are just that bit too expensive though. Lovely flowers too :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 am
Ah I love surprise treats like those you have! Seriously, it’s the thought that counts. Amazing sushi, I almost drool at the sashimi! And the looks of all the sushi, and I meal ALL are so appetizing. What a lucky girl!
Can’t wait to see the pretties you take with your new lens too. More amazing photos to ogle at. We (your avid readers) are blessed! As usual, take lots of care xxoo
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 am
What a lovely care package! And the food… if it tasted as great as the photos you took, then you had a terrific meal!
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:06 am
I’m loving the sushi tour, Jen, even though I’ve never even been to Boulder. And I can’t believe you manage to get good pictures even inside restaurants.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do with the new lens! What types of lenses do you have now?
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 am
WOW! Wild columbines, I always used to look through the seed catalogue and see the aqualega/columbine and want as many as I could grow!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:03 am
Hello, you take some really amazing photo’s! Glad I found you. I am late in game and read about chemo, I am sorry :( but it sounds like you are facing it with a great attitude. Good Luck!
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
beautiful, stunning photos jen!
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Your pictures are all so gorgeous! I love the one of the clouds.
What a sweet care package. How wonderful to have blogger friends that send you love in a box.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I didn’t mean to get drool on your keyboard, sorry!
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Your photos are gorgeous. I look forward to visiting your site again soon.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:08 pm
What a lovely gift box! I love getting stuff like that. I’ve made food gifts my go-to gift, too!
Your sushi tour makes me hot dog tour look so low-brow. ;)
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:59 am
Jen – I am now going out for sushi – once again, after reading your post. Your photos have such power, it’s unreal :)
I love the design of Kasa – so cool with umbrellas on the ceiling. I saw another restaurant put japanese umbrellas on their ceiling but it wasn’t done as artfully.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Nice mammatus! The mamma is my favorite cloud, and I even named my bicycle after it. For more awesome pictures of clouds, check out the Cloud Appreciation Society website: http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org
July 5th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Peabody – yup, Bee and Jai are awesome :)
Mark – I think Kasa has some good lunch deals which I might be tempted to try some day… but not right away. Yes, I’ll have to figure out what to make with saffron… it may have to wait until fall. I’m not terribly creative with it.
Laura – thanks!
Mrs. Ergul – yes, they are incredibly sweet and thoughtful! The sushi in this town is astounding considering the size and where we are located (far from the sea!). Thanks dear :)
Ann – thank you :)
Bridget – sometimes it’s easy to shoot indoors and other times it sucks (mostly it sucks). Right now I shoot with the 18-200mm Nikon VR zoom. It’s the kit lens that comes with the Nikon D200. I don’t have other lenses (except the one that UPS was supposed to deliver on Thursday, but didn’t) because I’m not made of money ;)
Jennywenny – yup, the wild ones are my favs! Some day I’ll get my act together and scatter the wildflower seeds in my yard… someday!
Cheryl – thank you so much and glad to have you visit!
Aran – thank you.
Lynn – Food bloggers are some of the best people around :)
Jessica – ha ha ha!
Dana – thanks!
Julie – don’t fret, dear. Hot dog tours are important too. And if it makes you feel better, I did some orange cream soda “research” a few years back ;)
Christine – ha ha, I think sushi has that kind of mind-control on all of us. If you posted sushi pics on your blog, I’d be making plans for sushi in Boulder shortly thereafter!
SV – thanks for the link :)
July 6th, 2008 at 7:02 am
I’m excited to see what type of lens you just ordered. I’m assuming you’ll have some fun photos up here soon after it arrives.
The only lens I have is a 50mm. I like it, but I’m finding some limitations, so I’m trying to figure out what I should get next (whenever that ends up being).