To skip the prices and throngs of everyone else on a date, we simply _moved_ Valentine's Day a few days before. I reject needing an arbitrarily designated day to show appreciation for someone. That said, it's a great excuse to get prettied up for an indulgence.
We went to Tojo's for sushi. This isn't your party-tray-from-the-grocery-store sushi, this is finely crafted gourmet creations from a world famous pioneer of sushi; Tojo invented the 'inside out' rolls, with the rice on the outside surrounding a core of seaweed-bound flavours, for North American tastes that don't favour the taste or texture of too much seaweed. As well he features seafood not traditionally found in Japan, including albacore tuna, sablefish, and salmon. Pictured here is the last morsel of the Great Canadian Roll which pairs two of my favorite yummy critters: lobster and salmon. Suffice to say it didn't last long enough to start fussing with cameras. We had to get a photo of the splendid presentation of the Celebration 2010 Roll: that little candle lantern is made of what appears to be thinly sliced vegetable of some sort with stamped little stars cut out, and has a single birthday candle that lasts roughly as long as it takes to finish the roll. That writing is a blueberry drizzle - who else would think to pair blueberry with sushi? - that complimented the pineapple and salmon in the roll, which held a myriad of flavors I was curious about from the menu description, and all came together to be my favorite. We enjoyed the baked oysters and got a second round of marinated Tojo's Tuna.We ordered some fun cocktails here, the Ginger-tini (I love ginger, always feel so energized), and the Lychee Orchid. They also offer one of the most impressive lists of sake I've seen, both hot or cold. Sometimes heating alcohol is a way of concealing flaws and loses some of the subtleties - I'm reminded of our spirited competitions to find the cheapest bottle 'o red for making mulled wine at Christmas - so today we tried a cold one. Presented in frosted shot glasses in small wooden box-trays so the server's hands don't warm it, the sake was quite melon and citrus and just went with the light+clean sense of the whole meal.
We saw Tojo himself working behind the counter, where along with his crew they compose these precise arrangements with an air of steady focus and ease. The wait staff were very attentive and the ambiance was very tranquil. My compliments to everyone there, I would revisit in an instant.
