Ghetto Fabulous Sushi by the Seashore

Last month I was in Oahu to attend M's wedding. On my last day there we decided to go out to sushi, and she took me to a hidden sushi restaurant near the airport, Mitch's Fish Market & Sushi Restaurant. Mitch's is located in the random back-lot streets generally housing industrial or manufacturing tenants that service the airport.


Upon arrival, M was surprised and commented that they now seemed to have outdoor seating. Turns out outdoor seating meant they put out a few plastic tables and chairs in the garage and raised the garage door. The place must not be unknown to sushi devotees because when we walked in a little after 5:00 p.m., the waitress asked if we had a reservation. When we replied that we did not, she hesitated as she surveyed the completely empty restaurant. After assuring her that we wouldn't stay long, as I had a flight to catch, she finally acquiesced and allowed us to be seated. Indeed, by the time we were finished, every seat in the restaurant was filled and the group whose table we had taken were waiting by the door.

Mitch's is delicious. The fish is incredibly fresh, the flesh of the fish has a bite that suggests it has not been long out of the water. I ordered shako nigiri for the first time, or mantis shrimp (top left corner in picture below). I expected the meat to be sweet, but it actually bordered on mildly mealy. It was not a new favorite, but everything else was delicious.



We ordered some specials and a lot was recently flown in from Japan - and therein lies my gripe. Mitch's is not cheap and easily comparable in price to Kanoyama in the East Village. I understand that prices are high because the fish isn't necessarily coming from local waters but has instead traveled thousands of miles. But the ambiance in Mitch is so ghetto, and while endearing for the gimmick of it for a tourist such as myself, it seems to me that the locals are getting a raw deal.

I don't care how expensive living in Hawaii is. It can't possibly be worse than rent in Manhattan. It didn't seem justified to have to eat in such simple surroundings, when at home I could just walk a few blocks and get a similarly fantastic meal, in a lovelier setting (Though it does suck that Kanoyama doesn't take reservations for Friday and Saturday, and you have to wait around for awhile.), and for the same price.

Luckily, earlier in the week, M had recommended eating sat Sushi Izakaya Gaku, of which I have no complaints. The host and waitresses were very nice. The interior is nicely decorated, and the price comparable. (And let me pause here to protest some credentials, I am not a wannabe foodie that cares more about decor than taste. But as it gets harder and harder to be impressed, I have started to notice decor and service more, both aspects of dining I used to largely ignore, in order to distinguish truly all-around enjoyable dining experiences.) Most importantly, the fish seemed every bit as good as Mitch's or what I've had at Kanoyama or Sushi Yasuda.

Oh boy, nobody go after me please. I confess that I have not gone to either Kanoyama or Sushi Yasuda enough times to truly be able to hold the flavors and textures in my mind's tasting memory. Recently, I just got a list of five Japanese restaurants around town from this woman at work who is from Japan. She tantalizingly dangled one restaurant name before me before cruelly snatching it away by revealing that it was a membership only establishment. Who does that to a person? Anyways, I'll let you know how each of them are, as soon as I manage to hit them all up. Give me a few months at least.