昨日の夕方、散歩がてら街場の鮨屋に入った。近所の常連が座ると、オートマティックにいつもの酒が出てくるような、小さな鮨屋。
隣に、私よりは若いだろうがそれなりに大人のアベックが座っており、鮨についてあれこれ話していた。
「ここの雲丹はミョウバン使ってるからダメだな。今日は失敗しちゃったな」「グルメなAさんが珍しいわね」男は言い、女は同調する。
果たしてそうだろうか？
確かに、各地の港町には海の景色を刹那的に切り取った奇跡のような雲丹が存在し、その味を可能な限りキープすべく努力している塩水雲丹も流通しているが、それを小さな街場の鮨屋に求めるのはどうなのだろう？
子供の頃、たまに連れて行ってもらった鮨屋で食べた雲丹はミョウバンがバッチリと効いていたが、それでも我が家にとっては高級品だった。
この店の大将は87歳。
70年近くやってきた店の大将、そして客には、それなりの流儀がある。大将が握ったミョウバンの効いた雲丹は、わずかな苦味と刺激臭とともに、過ぎ去った年月を思い起こさせ、心を揺さぶる上物だった。
Last evening on my walk, I stopped into a sushi restaurant in town. It was a small sushi restaurant like where the regulars from around would automatically get their usual drinks by just sitting down.
There was a twosome next to me, who looked younger than me but still quite grown-up, talking all about “sushi”.
“The sea urchin here is not good, it uses alum. I failed today.” “That’s rare for a gourmet like you,” the man said, and the woman agreed.
Well is that so?
I don’t disagree that in port towns all over the country, they have those miraculous sea urchins that are like ocean scenery captured in an instant, and also there are saltwater sea urchins that are made to preserve the same flavor as much as possible. But expecting that from a small local sushi restaurant?
When I was a child, I was sometimes brought to a sushi restaurant where I ate sea urchin with a strong flavor of alum, but it was still a great luxury for my family.
The head chef of this restaurant is 87 years old.
Head chef of a restaurant with nearly 70 years of history, and the customers have their own style. The sushi here of sea urchin flavored with alum was slightly bitter and pungent smell, but still was the best, reminding me of those years gone by.