The Fork has family who lived in Japan for a very long time, so sushi has just been a part of our lives for as far back as we can remember. Of course, a lot has changed in the world of ocean food since The Fork was a kid, but there's something so wonderfully fresh and fantastic about fish 'n' rice. It's good for you, it tastes good, you can act like you're an expert even though everyone's been eating the stuff forever. Here's our top three excellent local options.
Located on Marcy Street (right by The Fork's office at SFR), Izmi may be small, but it makes up for it with great service, affordable lunch boxes and delicious sushi options. No joke, The Fork once had the best salmon toro (that's the fatty underbelly, if you didn't know) of our lives at Izmi. Don't let their super-'90s website fool you—they know what they're doing.
It's a little more hoity-toity here, from the sign advising guests to not wear fragrances to the way they don't like people to talk on their phones while they dine (though we agree we both of those things), but Shohko is so kickass it's a little nuts. One summer, back when The Fork had money and still ate fish, we'd pop in a lot, and the chef liked this so much he started surprising us with little treats during the meal. One such time found The Fork on the receiving end of some little octopus heads, which we weren't thrilled about, but when a sushi chef gives you a gift, you accept.
Setting aside the disturbing Nickelback photo in the window (wish we were joking), Kohnami is an excellent middle ground in terms of offerings, prices and accessibility. The dining room is small but comfortable and the sushi itself is fresh and delicious. They're also particularly nice here and don't over-salt the edamame (that's soybeans in case you're new). First date spot? You bet.
Of course, everyone has their own favorites, and we just wouldn't be living if we didn't have people emailing us to tell us we liked the wrong places. Where do you go and why? Drop us a line and say hey.
P.S.
Oh! And by the way, if you're really in the mood to celebrate Japanese culture, check out Santa Fe Jin's Japanese Cultural Festival this Saturday May 19 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. From 9:30 am to 5 pm, you can check the food, music and culture of the island nation, and it's only $5—unless your'e 12 and under, at which point the whole dang thing is free. Say what?!
Also
-If you didn't hear, local art mega-corp Meow Wolf has put together a huge music and camping and arts fest in Taos this August. But what's that got to do with food? Well, it turns out the folks from Dig & Serve might just be cooking up some special surprises. Are you not on their mailing list? You should be.
-Think of it like a PSA. Think of it however. Just know that Cleopatra (the downtown one, anyway) has the best fries we've had in ages. Dipping them in the hummus just the other day, we thought to ourselves, "Holy moly, these are the best fries we've had in ages!"
-It's looking like construction on the La Choza expansion is going well. I mean, when we drove by the other day, it just looks like it's coming along nicely. When The Fork was young, people would always tell us The Shed was better, but it looks like we proved them wrong.
-As another PSA, The Fork's partner discovered that Virgil's root beer (the best root beer) is substantially cheaper at Trader Joe's than at Whole Foods. We know this isn't surprising, we just wanted to mention it.
-Also, did you catch the news in SFR's most recent food coverage? There's a new place in town called Hervé Wine Bar in the old Skylight space, and it looks amazing. Oenophiles? Hit it up and report back. We hear they have snacks, too.
OH YEAH!
Did you hang with your mom if you have a mom and a good relationship with said mom? The Fork did, and we argued about how good the new Childish Gambino video/song is with her—an argument we won.
More Tidbits
-We Googled "Best Restaurant in the World" the other day, and it was a veritable super-tour of the world's best eateries. We recommend doing this because it's fun and funny and the people of Denmark make great food. Know that.
-Over at Eater.com, notable chefs talk about how they eat well (or OK, anyway) in airports. The sad news? The food's gonna suck. The good news? We've agreed as a society to lower our expectations when it comes to airport food. I mean … just … OK?!
-Also at Eater, Google made a reservation robot with a "human" voice, and it's apparently horrifying. This should surprise no one as movies have been teaching us about how robots are scary basically always.
-Food & Wine delves into what the hell Manuka honey is (it's from New Zealand, just like Peter Jackson) and why it's so good for you. The Fork loves bees.
-Speaking of bees, Fafard.com has 10 recs for flowers to plant if you wanna lend bees a hand, which you should since our entire fragile existence relies pretty heavily on them. Also, they're cute.
-If you're looking for ice cream that's also booze, Popsugar.com suggests these handy mixes to use at home from The Curious Creamery. With five flavors including piña colada, mojito and more, you can win that potluck you're going to sooooo hard.
-Lastly, it sounds like Swedish meatballs aren't so Swedish after all (spoiler, they might be Turkish). In related news, going to IKEA still sucks.
Finally
From the reader who reminded us how Santacafé has a killer patio (and a great happy hour, at least for the time being) to celebrated Forkefean Jilian, whose website has recipes sans refined sugar, gluten, etc., we might be getting closer to helping out Tony, who is still on the lookout for suitable sugar-free desserts. We won’t quit, Tony! WE WON’T EVER QUIT!
A TOTALLY SCIENTIFIC BREAKDOWN OF THIS WEEK’S LETTERS
Number of letters received
22
Number of those we cared about
Like, seven or eight
Most helpful tip of the week (not edited for content)
“Vicki doesn’t work here no more, please stop sending The Fork. PLEASE.”
Actually helpful tip of the week
The one about how we could make our own stuffed-crust pizza at home.
Number of times y’all ALMOST made The Fork Cry
Once, but it was because it seems like y’all love each other.
Don’t forget to keep it tuned to SFReporter.com (or pick it up in real life) for upcoming food writing, our annual restaurant guide, some nifty food truck recommendations and more. And don’t forget to write us and ask us stuff you want to know about. It’s why we’re here.
Oh! And don’t forget to vote in the Best of Santa Fe 2018 (link below, too … see the little banner?). You don’t have to vote all at once, you don’t have to vote in every category and you can always go back and change your mind if you want.
Fork you later,
The Fork
