I was gliding along thinking I knew quite a bit about sushi, and then last night, at Sanraku Four Seasons on Sutter, I see they have "isaki" as a special. Isaki?
What is that? Well, the English translation is "threeline grunt." You know, I think I prefer the Japanese, "isaki," don't you? (BTW, the flesh is silvery and very firm, almost crunchy).
And, except for the length, I also prefer the latin: "Parapristipoma trilineatum." And then there is the French, "le Pristipome," and the German "das Isaki" (how German, right?).
Perhaps you are puzzled? So, I've never heard of isaki. Is that so bad? How many sushi places are going to have that? So the truth is, even though I had never heard of isaki before, I was still feeling pretty knowledgible until I saw this:
Now, be honest... have you heard of "kibinago" (Banded blue-sprat)? Or, how about "bu-dai" (Whitespotted parrotfish)? See what I mean?
P.S. I have blogged about the amazing sushi glossary before.... see Sushi Reference but it keeps getting better!
