Sushizanmai

I wish I hadn't eaten all three meals during the flight from New York, I thought as I walked into Sushizanmai with my companion and some friends. Sushizanmai, located in the famous Tsukiji Fish Market district, is a 24-hour, jam-packed "fish-and-nothing-but-the-fish" sushi bar. Giant sheets of striated pink tuna lie on a cutting board next to a fish tank, and all manner of delicious orange, pink and silver fish decorate bamboo trays.

We let our friends order for us, and the culinary onslaught began with the sashimi tray: slick yellowtail, gummy squid, head-on sweet shrimp, creamy sea urchin, and rich fatty tuna. "This squid is so tender," I remarked, thinking of the crunchy, inferior versions I've eaten.

A giant bowl of seaweed soup arrived next, as well as a bowl of something I didn't recognize: a gooey, brain-like mass accompanied by julienned cucumbers and seaweed. "What's this?" I asked. "Shiratako ponzu," said our friend, "or, monkfish sperm." My eyes bugged out of my head, but I figured I should try anything once. (The milky shiratako was not exactly to my liking!)

Sushi was next. Aburi-toro, or scallion-topped broiled fatty tuna, was a flavorful bite of heaven. We also ordered the jo-anago, a long, thin slice of white eel with a drop of sauce. By now, I was kicking myself for having eaten that slice of cheese pizza on American Airlines! (By the way, if you want the Japanese in-flight menu, you must order it in advance.)

As we blissfully stuffed ourselves, our friends told us that the Tsukiji Fish Market may be closing within a few years. "I wonder what will happen to this restaurant?" I asked. "I don't know," said our friends, "but there will always be the true spirit of Edo (Old Tokyo) around Tsukiji."

"Now I'm getting full," lamented my companion. But there was still more food, cooked this time... maitake mushroom tempura fried in the freshest oil imaginable, thin slices of gingered yellowtail, and a perfectly salted, moist, meaty yellowtail head and jaw (our friends ate the eye!).

Sushizanmai: 104-0045 Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, +81 (03) 5148-3737.