Sushi and Its Price Rise to the Occasion

choi

Pete Wells, Sushi and Its Price Rise to the Occasion; A rare, untheatrical mastery of seafood at $420 ahead. New York Times, Dec 1, 2021 at page D6 (D is Food section every Wednesday).
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/ ... view-sushi-nyc.html

Note:
(a) "Shion Uino began the New York City portion of his sushi-making career in 2017, in the basement of an apartment building just west of the United Nations. The restaurant he oversaw there [but did not own], Sushi Amane [which still operates without him]* * * Before moving to New York, Mr Uino had worked for more than eight years under Takashi Saito at Sushi Saito, a traditionalist sushi-ya in Tokyo that has attained near-mythic status * * * Michelin also dropped Sukiyabashi Jiro * * * In May, Mr Uino emerged at 69 Leonard Street in TriBeCa, an eight-seat sushi counter whose previous chef, Derek Wilcox, had decamped for California. Under Mr Wilcox, when the restaurant's full name was Shoji at 69 Leonard Street, its strength was the lovely seasonal opening courses that drew on Mr Wilcox's training in kaiseki cuisine. Now that Mr Uino has arrived and the restaurant has been renamed Shion 69 Leonard Street."
(i)
(A) Sushi Amane   寿司 あまね
(B) amane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amane

As a prefix (as in 天音 and 雨音), the two kanji 天 and 雨 shares the pronunciation ama-. In and of themselves, kanji 天 and 雨 share Japanese pronunciation ame.

The on and ne are among Chinese and Japanese pronunciations of kanji 音. In other words, 音 has one other Chinese pronunciation (in) and one other Japanese pronunciation. (You have to understand that Japanese scholars went to China all the times. They pick up capital sounds, even though Chinese capitals changed with time.)
(ii) Sushi Saitō  鮨さいとう (chef Takashi Saitō 斉藤 孝司)  (Kanji 藤 has tō as Chinese pronunciation and fuji as Japanese pronunciation. The "shi" is Chinese pronunciation of kanji 司.)
(iii) The ya in "sushi-ya" is Japanese pronunciation of kanji 屋.
(iv)
(A) Sukiyabashi Jirō  すきやばし次郎 (chef: Jirō Ono 小野 二郎 (yes, 二郎) )
(B) Sukiyabashi 数寄屋橋
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/数寄屋橋
was a stone bridge in Tokyo 1929-1958.
(C) 数寄屋 sukiya is 茶室, a stand-alone tea-ceremony arbor.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶室.
(v) Shōji at 69 Leonard Street  (I googled exhaustively and found just one hiragana whose corresponding would be Shōji. I fail to find the kanji name, considering it (restaurant) was closed. But there are just a handful of terms in Japanese that have this pronunciation, the most probable is 障子 (a sliding door with paper panels).

Wait, I at last find one:
Shoji at 69 Leonard Gets a New Chef and a New Name. Tribeca Citizen, Apr 2, 2021.
https://tribecacitizen.com/2021/ ... -chef-and-new-name/
, whose door said "時" for ji but I can not discern the first kanji character (it may look like 鯛, but pronunciation is wrong).

choi

(b) Mr Wino "spends the next several minutes quietly grating a pale-green shaft of wasabi [山葵, whose root is used].  When he has enough, he will set pinches of it on chilled plates for the sashimi course. He often opens with rosy-pink slices of kue, the firm and clean-tasting longtooth grouper * * * He may pair this [grouper] with chewy sections of tsubugai, a Japanese conch * * * or with wild kanpachi belly, the same cut as otoro, which quickly goes from firm to almost melting as you eat it."
(i) Japanese-English dictionary:
* ku-e クエ 《九絵》 【くえ】 (n): "longtooth grouper (Epinephelus bruneus)"
   ^ Epinephelus bruneus
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinephelus_bruneus
* tsubugai つぶ貝; ツブ貝; 螺貝  【ツブがい】 (n): "(See 螺・つぶ) whelk (esp. Neptunea and Buccinum spp [denoting species in plural form].)"
   ^ ツブ
   https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ツブ  
   ("ツブ（螺） * * * ツブ貝、つぶ貝とも言い")
   my translation: tsubu 螺 may also be called 螺貝.
* sushidane 鮨種 【すしだね】 (n): "(obsc[ure]) sushi topping"  (Pronounced tane (which is softened to dane, kanji 種 means seed.)
* 血合い or 血合 (both pronounced :chi-a-i): "(n) meat of a fish (eg tuna) that is dark red with blood, usu. coming from the parts close to the spine"
www.romajidesu.com/dictionary/meaning-of-血合い血合.html
(ii) The Japanese word kanpachi is Seriola dumerili. See kanpachi カンパチ
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/カンパチ
("成魚は全長1m前後である")
(iii)
(A) Tuna has red meat (赤身, whose pronunciation is akami), 中とろ (pronunciation: chūtoro) and 大トロ (ōtoro).

The ja.wikipedia.org for toro says the word to came from the sound this portion of tuna enters mouth.
(B) For anatomy, see
• 佳祐 小山, 大トロ、中トロ、赤身の違いとは？一言でまとめると？ Pinterst, date unknown
https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/426505027211511488/

血合い or 血合 is defined in (b)(i).
• 中とろ（ちゅうとろ） の意味: "マグロの背肉。腹肉の大とろより脂肪が少ない。刺身や、すしだねにする。→大とろ"
goo国語辞書, undated
https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/中とろ/
(view illustration; sushidane すしだね is defined in (b)(i) )

choi

(c) "This is reveille, a call to sit up and pay attention to the transporting series of appetizers about to appear. * * * Steamed managatsuo, a firm, lean Japanese butterfish that sits in a shallow bath of ponzu and is topped with an angry-red ball of spicy grated daikon, may be followed by sea urchin. In July, high season for Japanese urchin, Mr Uino served two varieties from Amakusa, his hometown, including big orange lobes of murasaki uni * * * One chilled appetizer has become a calling card for Mr Uino: a salad of crab mounded inside the deep bowl of its carapace. Except for a few weeks in late fall when he prefers snow crab, he uses kegani, known in English as hairy crab for the short bristles that make it look like a scrub brush with legs. The crab's flesh is stirred with the soft, mustard-colored hepatopancreas excavated from its innards. (In a lobster, this bit of anatomy goes by the name tomalley, which sounds less alarming.) Dipped in black vinegar with a liminal dose of ginger, the crab has a fleeting sweetness * * * .
(i)
(A) Japanese-English dictionary:
* managatsuo まながつお《真魚鰹; 鯧》 (n): "butterfish (any fish of family Stromateidae, esp. species Pampus punctatissimus)"
   ^ The ma is Japanese pronunciation of kanji 真. 鰹 has Japanese pronunciation katsuo.
   ^ Pampus (fish)
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampus_(fish)
   ^ Pampus punctatissimus is distributed from "southern Japan and the East China Sea." from the Web.
   ^ The English noun pomfret refers to fish in this family (used as a biological term; 鯧科 in Taiwan).
(B) John Pomfret was former Beijing bureau chief (which apparently ended when hina expelled him after the 1989 suppression) of Washington Post. See John Pomfret (journalist)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pomfret_(journalist)

The English surname Pomfret has nothing to do with the fish: "name from Pontefract in Yorkshire, formerly pronounced and sometimes spelled 'Pomfret.' The place name is from Latin [noun masculine] pons, pontis [which is genitive singular of pons; genitive is same as possessive in English grammar] bridge + [perfect passive participle of verb frangere break, shatter] fractus broken." Dictionary of American Family by Oxford University Press.
(ii) kegani 毛蟹 (Kanji 毛 and 蟹 has Japanese pronunciations ke and kani, respectively. The latter is softened to gani, when in the second position of the combined word.)
(iii) English dictionary:
* reveille (n; etymology)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reveille
* carapace (n; etymology)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carapace
(pronunciation)
* liminal (adj; etymology; a section with heading: Get in Between Liminal)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liminal
(iv) "is the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of lobsters, that fulfills the functions of both the liver and the pancreas"  en.wikipedia.org for tomalley.
• Shrimps, crayfish and lobsters all have a pair of tomalleys in each animal.  
• illustration:
File:FMIB 46391 Dissection of Male Lobster, from the Side.jpeg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wi ... ion_of_Male_Lobster,_from_the_Side.jpeg
(At the 12 o'clock are "Liver" and "Opening of Liver-duct."
• photo:
Crayfish Dissection. Springfield Public Schools District 186, Illinois, undated
https://www.sps186.org/downloads ... sh%20dissection.pdf
(Photo 5 showed "2 gills." Remove the gills, and photo 6 demonstrated "a pair of yellow "digestive glands")

Somehow each (public) school district is given a distinct number in Illinois. Four counties in Illinois have District 186 in each. A county in Illinois has school districts that are numbered  not consecutively but seemingly randomly and sporatically. See
list of school districts in Illinois.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_school_districts_in_Illinois
• photo:
Lobster Dissection. By The Oakland Toy Lab
https://www.instructables.com/Lobster-Dissection/   
(Midway down the Web page is "Step 7: Third Cut: the Tomalley" -- showing two glands with greenish hue)

•  In vivo (Latin for: in living organism), tomalley or hepatopancreas are wrapped in a membrane. Upon cooking, they become gooey and amorphous.
(A) In a crab, hepatopancreas may be yellow, hence the colloquial "crab mustard" or rarer, crab butter. In Chinese it is 蟹黃.
• View photo 2 in
Blue Crab Practice Dissection. ETEAMS, 2014
eteamscc.com/research-log/blue-crab-practice-dissection/
("Here is a picture of what the heptopancreas and gills actually look like. The heptopancreas is bright orange or green probably depending on how it was prepared (ours was green [not shown]). This makes the tissue samples really easy to locate:")
• ETEAMS Overview. ETEAMS, undated
eteamscc.com/2014/eteams-overview/
("Initially funded by a 3- year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Elementary Teachers Engaged in Authentic Math and Science is a partnership between Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi Independent School District")
• Callinectes sapidus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callinectes_sapidus  
(blue crab or regionally as the Chesapeake blue crab; "C sapidus is native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Argentina and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico")

Compare
Gallipoli Campaign that happened in Gallipoli, Turkey, that forced Winston Churchill to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty (akin to naval secretary in US).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli
("Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name Καλλίπολις (Kallípolis), meaning 'beautiful city', the original name of the modern town of Gelibolu [in Turkish spelling]")
• Blue Crab. NOAA Fisheries, undated
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-crab
(is the Maryland state crustacean; Each year, Maryland and Virginia conduct winter dredge surveys to track blue crab population numbers; mature females have red tips on their [blue] claws ]for both male and female blue crabs, the underside (including belly)  is white]; They have three pairs of walking legs and rear swimming legs that look like paddles; Blue crabs have an 'apron' that covers their abdomen [with different thicjbness and shape between male and females]; it can be difficult to determine the age of a crab [because it molts]; "Blue crabs can grow to about 9 inches across (from tip to tip) their hard shell (carapace). However, they are usually harvested before they reach that size"; While a blue crab usually weighs about ⅓ pound, the edible portion is much lower; Blue crabs eat almost anything, including clams, oysters, mussels)

National Marine Fisheries Service
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Marine_Fisheries_Service
(under National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US Department of Commerce)
• When a blue crab is cooked, it also turns red.
• Does Everyone Else Know That Crabs Can Swim This Fast?  Twistedsifter.com, July 30, 2021
https://twistedsifter.com/videos ... -believe-i-can-fly/
("Some crabs swim. Most crabs, like stone crabs and spider crabs, walk or run across the bottom. However, crabs in the family Portunidae [of which a blue crab is] have specially modified back legs called swimmerettes. These paddle-shaped legs rotate at 20 to 40 revolutions per minute, allowing the crab to quickly swim through the water [The Web page identified its source as from Blue Crab FAQ. Florida Fish and Conservation Commission, undated]")
(B) Frederick SB Kibenge and Richard J Strange, Chapter 1 Introduction to the Anatomy and Physiology of the Major Aquatic Animal Species in Aquaculture. In Aquaculture Pharmacology. Academic Press, 2021.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/bo ... ulture-pharmacology
(section "1.3.6.1 Hepatopancreas or midgut gland[:] The hepatopancreas, which occurs as two large midgut glands on either side of the stomach, is a major organ in decapods")

choi

(d) "His style of sushi is called Edomae. It emulates the salt-cured, vinegar-marinated sushi of Tokyo in the days before refrigeration. * * * When kombu-curing and marination are used, they rarely draw attention to themselves. Everything is calibrated to bring out the inherent flavor of the seafood, most of which Mr Uino imports from Amakusa with the help of a friend who kills, bleeds and prepares fish using a method called shinkei-jime.  Mr Uino's interventions are all but invisible, apart from hairline scores [score = cut] left by his knife. A few deep slashes help otoro — the prized, ultrafatty cut of tuna belly that is the color of milk with a few drops of blood in it — melt as soon as it touches your tongue."
(i) All other NYC restaurants in (g) are all Edomae-style.
(A) sushi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi
("It was not until the Edo period (1603–1868) that fresh fish was served over vinegared rice and nori. The particular style of today's nigirizushi became popular in Edo (contemporary Tokyo) in the 1820s or 1830s. One common story of nigirizushi's origins is of the chef HANAYA Yohei [華屋 与兵衛 or 花屋 與兵衛 (both kanji, 華 and 花, share the same pronunciations and meanings] (1799–1858), who invented or perfected the technique in 1824 at his shop in Ryōgoku.[7] The dish was originally termed Edomae zushi as it used freshly caught fish from the Edo-mae (Edo or Tokyo Bay); the term Edomae nigirizushi is still used today as a by-word for quality sushi, regardless of its ingredients' origins")
(B) Edomae-zushi  江戸前寿司
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/江戸前寿司
Quote:

introduction: "江戸前寿司（えどまえずし、江戸前ずし、江戸前鮨、江戸前鮓）は、握り寿司を中心とした、江戸の郷土料理である。* * * 江戸前の豊富で新鮮な魚介類を材料とした、寿司屋の寿司職人が作る寿司である。"  (my rough translation: Edomae-zushi centers on nigirizushi * * * uterilizing the bountiful and fresh seafood of Edo Bay [now Tokyo Bay])

section 1 概要: "狭義に「江戸前ずし」を「東京湾の魚介（江戸前）を使用したすし」、あるいは「明治の始めくらいまでの技法を中心としたすし」とすることもあるが、広義には、食材の産地や調理技法などに関わらず、東京で特に多く見られる「握りずしを中心とした寿司屋で提供されるすし」全般を「江戸前ずし」という（本稿では広義の「江戸前ずし」を対象とする）。"
(my translation: Edomae-zushi is narrowly defined as sushi utilizing the seafood from Tokyo Bay or the technique starting in Meiji period, or broadly defined as those (sushi) that centers on nigirizushi 握りずし irrespective of origin of seafood and technique. This page adopts the broad definition.

(ii) kombu-curing
(iii) What Is Kombu-Jime? Chef Epic, undated
https://chefepic.com/curing-fish-with-seaweed/
("Kombu-jime [昆布締め] is a Japanese technique used for curing or pickling meat and fish, vegetables, and other ingredients. Kombu-jime involves simply laying the meat (or veggies) between two kombu leaves and refrigerating between twelve and twenty-four hours. In that time, the kombu will do two things. First, it will remove moisture from the meat which will concentrate and strengthen its flavor. Second, it will impart some of the flavor from the kombu onto the meat.  Kombu * * * grows mostly off the coast of Hokkaido – the northern most island in Japan. Kombu can also be grown and harvested off the Korean Peninsula * * * , as well as in China * * * After being cut and pulled out of the sea, kombu is laid out in the sun to dry. As the water evaporates, the salt from the sea water remains embedded within the kelp as well as in a thin coat around its outer layer, which gives the kombu a naturally rich, salty, umami flavor")
Japanese-English dictionary:
* shimeru 締める 【しめる】 (v): "(1) to tie; to fasten; to tighten; * * * (6) to salt; to marinate; to pickle; to make sushi adding a mixture of vinegar and salt; (7) to kill (fish, poultry, etc)"
   ^ The shime is the noun form of the verb shimeru.
* 神経締め 【しんけいじめ】 (n) (See 活け締め・いけじめ・1) destroying a fish's spinal cord (to keep the flesh fresh)
   ^ 活け締め 【いけじめ】 (n): "(1) draining blood from a live fish (from above the gills and at the base of the tail) to keep it fresh"
(iv) Amakusa Islands 天草諸島 are on the west coast of Kyushu Island.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/天草諸島
(maps)

choi

(e) "Dozens of precise, shallow incisions tenderize thick white bands of aori ika, the sweet and creamy big-fin reef squid. Just before placing it on your plate, he finishes it with sea salt and a few sour drops of the Japanese citrus fruit sudachi.* * * He is in the zone now. Soon he will carve a deep slit from the stem to the stern of sliced aji, the horse mackerel, then press a dot of minced green onions into the cut. Avid nigiri spotters will recognize this as the mark of a chef whose mentor, or mentor's mentor, apprenticed under the sushi master Shinji Kanesaka, as Mr Uino's old boss, Mr Saito, did."
(i) Japanese-English dictionary"
* aori ika 障泥烏賊 【あおりいか】 (n): "bigfin reef squid; oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana)"
   ^ aori 障泥 【あおり】 (n): "saddle flap" (Search images.google with 障泥 AND saddle flap, and you will see they are different (Apparently in ancient China, cloth is used on either flank of horse -- but not in the West.)
   ^ The ika is Japanese pronunciation of 烏賊.
   ^ bigfin reef squid
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfin_reef_squid
   ("Bigfin reef squids are characterised by a large oval fin that extends throughout the margins of its mantle * * * They are small to medium-sized squids, averaging 3.8 to 33 centimetres (1.5 to 13.0 in) in length * * * They are commonly found near the shoreline, near rocks, and coral reefs")
* sudachi すだち; スダチ 《酸橘; 醋橘; 酢橘》 (n): "sudachi (species of Japanese citrus, Citrus sudachi)"
   ^ sudachi
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudachi
(ii) For "in the zonm" see zone (n): "7: a temporary state of heightened concentration experienced by a performing athlete that enables peak performance   <players in the zone>"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zone
(iii) stem (n): "2b: the bow or prow of a ship — compare STERN"https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stem
(iv) ahi  アジ
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アジ
(photo)
(v) Shinji KANESAKA  金坂真次

choi

(f) "Near the end, a steaming plate of simmered sea eels is carried in from the wings. Mr. Uino handles your eel carefully because it is on the verge of falling apart. It won't, though, until you have lifted your portion to your mouth. Brushed with a thin syrup, it is almost sweet enough to be dessert, but there is another course to come.  The egg sushi called tamago can be airy as a cake or thick as custard; at Shion 69 Leonard it is dense, supremely smooth, glossy, the color of butterscotch, as confounding as a magic trick and as fun to eat as pudding, if you could pick up pudding with your fingers. It is a confection * * * "
(i) "eel * * * Brushed with a thin syrup"
(A) kabayaki  蒲焼
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabayaki  
(section 2 Etymology)
(B) Both 蒲 (plant: cattail) and 樺 (birch, whose skin tends to be whitish and mottled) share the Japanese pronunciation kaba.
(C) The ja.wikipedia.org on 蒲焼 says
that it is a kind of teriyaki ("照り焼きの1種" -- 照る teru is (sun) shines);
that 語源 has two theories: 蒲の穂 and 樺の木 (the latter is a minor theory); and
that the current 蒲焼 started in 徳川家康時代 (in office as shogun 1603-1605).
• The ja.wikipedia.org under 蒲の穂 explained that in the beginning, gutted eels (but not butterflied) were skewered lengthwise in their entirety (not cut into pieces) like 蒲の穂.
• The common cattail is Typha latifolia. The genus is Typha (where the y is pronounced like eye)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typha
(section 1 Description: "The numerous male flowers form a narrow spike at the top of the vertical stem. Each male (staminate) flower is reduced to a pair of stamens and hairs, and withers once the pollen is shed. Large numbers of tiny female flowers form a dense, sausage-shaped spike on the stem below the male spike. In larger species this ]lower part of female flowers] can be up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 1 to 4 centimetres (0.4 to 2 in) thick")
• Search images.google.com with (Typha flowers) and you will understand.
(ii) "egg sushi called tamago"
(A) Search images.google.com with (egg sushi) -- no quotation marks -- and you will see what it looks like.
(B) But how to make the Japanese omelet?

First of all, in Japanese egg is tamago, whose kanji are 卵 (P[rincipal]) or 玉子 (the latter because tama is Japanese pronunciatiomn of jade 玉, and ko, of 子).

tamagoyaki    (called tamago for short)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagoyaki  
(section 1 Preparation: Further information: Makiyakinabe § uses)

Lotus Rock Makiyakinabe Test. Uploaded by Lotus Rock Makiyakinabe pan, July 20, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMQqUrd_Lfw
Sometimes, in between layers of egg, one might need to add a BIT of vegetable oil to the pan.

choi

(g) "Shion 69 Leonard Street now charges $420 a person, tip included. Prices at the most elite sushi counters, including Masa, Sushi Noz, Nakaji and Yoshino, are now higher by $100 or more than those at almost all other New York restaurants [including those offering French or Italian cuisines]."
(i) Masa (NYC)  雅
https://www.masanyc.com
(chef Masayoshi "Masa" TAKAYAMA 高山 雅氏 (1954- ); Michelin 3 stars; address: 10 Columbus Circle, Manhattan)
(ii) Sushi Noz
https://www.sushinoz.com
(chef Nozomu ABE 安倍 望; address: 2020 Michelin 1 star; 181 E 78th Street, Manhattan)

Japanese-English dictionary:
* nozomu 望む 【のぞむ】 (v): "(1) to desire; (2) to wish for; to expect; (3) to see; to command (a view of)   <私の望むのは安らぎと静けさだけです。 All I want is peace and quiet>"
(iii) Nakaji
https://www.nakajinyc.com/
("Third-generation [his forebears operated in Tokyo] sushi chef Kunihide 'Nakaji' NAKAJIMA 中嶋 邦英 [in Japan, 嶋 is a variant of 島] brings his legacy to 48 Bowery" Street)
(iv)
(A) Yoshino New York  吉乃[ニューヨーク]
https://www.yoshinonewyork.com/

The "no" is Japanese pronunciation of kanji 乃. Recall that for the sound of "no" in 五十音, the hiragana の and katakana ノ both are simplified from 乃.
(B) Kat Odell, One of Japan's Most Respected Sushi Masters Is Launching His Second Act in NYC. Eater (New York), Sept 20. 2021  
https://ny.eater.com/2021/9/20/2 ... shi-yoshida-omakase
("Tadashi Yoshida [吉田 大将 (his parents made up the kanji in his given name; there is no way Tadashi means 大将; Tadashi as a given name actually means little], one of Japan's most respected sushi masters and owner of Nagoya's now-shuttered Sushi No Yoshino [寿しの吉乃], will open Yoshino at 342 Bowery in Noho on September 23. * * * which [plan] has been in the works for three years and was delayed because of the pandemic * * * the first time ever that a sushi master has closed his introduction-only counter in Japan to launch in the Big Apple. The 10-seat, 20-course omakase sushi experience is priced at $400 per customer.  'In New York, I am competing on the world stage,' says Yoshida, who passed on opportunities to relocate his sushiya to Tokyo * * * Yoshida's Edomae omakase with subtle French influences")

About the writer. Kat or Cat is a nickname for Katherine or Kathryn (both of which can start with a capital C). Odell is identical to O'Dell (from which the surname Dell, exemplified by Michael Dell, comes).
(C) NoHo, Manhattan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoHo,_Manhattan   
("NoHo, short for North of Houston Street (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential upper-class neighborhood")


(h) Hallelujah, I finally come up the kanji of chef Shion UINO.
NYで開店後3ヶ月でミシュラン獲得！天才鮨職人宇井野詩音とは. Sushi Times, May 17, 2021
https://sushitimes.co/2021/05/17/shion_uino/
("ミシュラン三ツ星 [Michelin 3 stars] * * * 宇井野詩音（ういのしおん）さん")
(i) An online weekly in Japanese, sushitimes.co belongs to Amazon.com. Yes, the one founded by Jeff Bezos.
(ii) Japanese-English dictionary:
* shoku-nin 職人 【しょくにん】 (n): "craftsman; artisan; tradesman"
(iii) The u, shi and on are Chinese pronunciations of respective kanji, whereas i and no are Japanese pronunciations.