At sushi by Bou, the raw fish experience reaches its pinnacle
By James Broida
The Japanese phrase “omakase” literally means “I leave it up to you,” and refers to the dining experience where the customer leaves it up to the chef to select and serve the best he has to offer. In Miami’s Brickell financial district, that is the culinary adventure promised at Sushi by Bou.
If you are a fan of sushi, and think you know what great sushi is, think again. Indulging in the 12-course omakase experience at Sushi by Bou will take your tastebuds to new places and elevate your sense of what sushi is all about.
The restaurant itself is an intimate 650-square-foot space with lounge seating and a long bar with 12 seats. The room is decorated in black and gold: black tile walls with inlaid gold designs of octopi and starfish, a black arched ceiling with recessed lighting, and, behind the bar, a giant black fish head with golden horns, golden fins, and a golden mask, bracketed by shelves lined with bottles of Japanese whiskey.
The long bar is where patrons sit in groups of two, three, and four, each cluster served by its own chef. Our chef was from Japan, of course, with a thick accent that sometimes made the translation a little difficult. No matter. He executed his task with the precision of a surgeon, serving us with twelve exquisite selections.
Over the course of an hour, we experienced sushi tastes that ranged from stiped jack with a dab of ginger and chive puree to smoked Spanish mackerel topped by graded onions with ponzu sauce. Not all of the selections were enhanced. The botan ebi, or raw shrimp, “is better to serve by itself,” our chef told us, and he was correct. I have never tasted anything with a more profoundly shrimp flavor. The ikura, or salmon roe, was wrapped in seaweed and amplified with a lemon zest that made the flavor pop. I’ve never liked salmon eggs, but I am now a convert.
Each sampling was prepared by the chef with great precision and delicacy, and the add-ons – fermented garlic on the bluefin tuna, for example – were tiny, but explosive with flavor. The buttery hotate, or scallop, was brought to life with a miniscule amount of charcoal; other samplings were enhanced by a dab of Japanese chili paste or grated daikon radish.
With some selections, the chef merely brushes on extra flavor. Our favorite, the otoro, or fatty tuna, had a truffle sauce painted on, adding another dimension to tuna so soft it tasted like a delicious fish pudding. The chef also used a torch on a couple of the servings to make a tiny crust.
All the while, the music pressed us onward, with its upbeat dance mash of Madonna, Elton John, Michael Jackson, and Queen. Somehow it fit. And then our $60 journey into the finest sushi we’d ever tasted was over – until the next time. At which point, we might escalate to the 17-course, $125 experience.
