Why Omakase Counters Serve Wagyu Raw, Seared or Not at All

Beef on a sushi menu is newer than you think. Three chefs on whether it belongs. It sounds like a small thing until you have sat at the counter a few times, and then it is most of what you remember.

Trust the order

An omakase menu runs from light to rich for a reason. Delicate white fish come first, while the palate is clean; the oily, fatty cuts arrive later, when they will not drown out anything after them. Asking to skip ahead usually means tasting less.

The season on the board

A counter that buys from the market every morning changes its menu with the water temperature. Spring brings sakura-dai and firefly squid, summer the oily aji and hamo, winter buri and the richest tuna of the year.

If there is a counter you think we should sit at next, write and tell us -- the best suggestions become the next visit.