Is there a 'hidden' menu as sushi restaurants?

My Wife and I frequent a fantastic sushi restaurant nearly weekly. The
place has a very high ratio of Japanese clientele and I have noticed
that there seem to be quite a few non-sushi dishes that are being
ordered by the Japanese folks that doesn't seem to be on the menu.
Usually small dishes or bowls with interesting veggies and such. How
would one possibly know what can be ordered? Yesterday a young trio of
Japanese 20 somethings ordered 'Sea Snails'. Little marble sized snails
that were pried out of their shells with a toothpick. Definitely not on
the menu.

So, for those in the know, what can be ordered that's usually not on the menu??

--

thepixelfreak

thepixelfreak wrote:

Some chefs will often hold special items aside for special customers.
If the sushi bar doesn't have a specials board listing these items, ask
the chef if he has anything special. I've done this in a few places and
was rewarded with some goodies.

--
Dan

"thepixelfreak" <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:2009051809030316807-not@dotcom...

No such dish as "sea snails" as you described in mainstream Japanese
cusinine.
Sazae (whelks) are served cooked n their shell but they are hardly the size
of
marbles.

Musashi

On 2009-05-18 11:21:12 -0700, "Musashi" <[Only registered users can see links. ].jp> said:


That may be the case, but these snails were very small. About the size
of a marble. Totally black. When asked the chef said sea snails.

Searching the web I find.

[Only registered users can see links. ]

but these look different than the ones our chef served.

--

thepixelfreak

"thepixelfreak" <[Only registered users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:2009051811350075249-not@dotcom...


Yes, those are pictures of whelks. The only time I've ever seen "sea snails"
of the size and type you described is in a Chinese restaurant (forgot which
one)
in New York's Chinatown. Small sea snails , called Tanishi in Japan are
probably eaten locally in the fishing villages and may have a small market
domestically
but they are so far removed from mainstream Japanese cuisine that I
seriously doubt
you'd ever see them in a "Japanese" restaurant outside of Japan.

Musashi

Whelks, BTW, are what Italians call scungilli.

Musashi

On Mon, 18 May 2009 15:22:11 -0400, "Musashi"
<[Only registered users can see links. ].jp> wrote:


You (almost) took the words of out my mouth. I was about to post much
the same thing. But note that "scungilli" is something you are likely
to find in American-Italian restaurants, rather than real Italian
ones. I've never seen them in Italy, and as far as I know, aren't
eaten there.

--
Ken Blake
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On 2009-05-18 11:21:12 -0700, "Musashi" <[Only registered users can see links. ].jp> said:


I've had them out here (SoCal) on a few occasions. Sometimes they are
called "sea slugs", That's just their size, and they are only edible
with a toothpick. They have this funny little disc, a sort of seal on
the outside the had to be knocked off to get to the tiny snail. I don't
know what they are called.

To get to this kind of stuff I began ordering "omakase" from the chef.
I have so few limits on my tastes that for my wife and I it was always
great surprises. On one occasion they brought the snails described
upstream. This is perhaps the only thing my wife has drawn the line
on. But we also want to encourage and be enthusiastic with the chefs
for fear they will start bringing us spicy tuna hand rolls and such.

I've never been more proud of her as when she smiled pleasantly and
dutifully ate 3 or 4. That's enough, she said. What a gal!

Anyway getting to these kinds of things is pretty easy with sushi
chefs. If you like you can simplly say jockingly that you want whatever
"that table" is ordering. Or ask for anything special, particularly if
it is not on the printed menu. Hell, I haven't looked at a menu in
years. The most interesting and freshest stuff is rarely on there
anyway.
--
Dogmatism kills jazz. Iconoclasm kills rock. Rock dulls scissors.

On 2009-05-18 12:20:21 -0700, "Musashi" <[Only registered users can see links. ].jp> said:


For the record, the places I've had these are totaly uniquivocally Japanese.
--
Dogmatism kills jazz. Iconoclasm kills rock. Rock dulls scissors.

sometime in the recent past thepixelfreak posted this:
Take a look at periwinkles - we harvest them here in Maine and they run as
big as a quarter and I used to occasionally find one the size of a
half-dollar. Steamed, there is a small shell piece that is discarded (acts
as a 'door' to close the snail in, then once skewered on the toothpick, one
dips it in whatever. Locals here stick to butter and/or vinegar and they are
very tasty and easily located on the sides of rocks exposed by the tide.

This time, Wikipedia has as good a picture as any I found. Don't know if
this is what you saw, but it sounds like it.

--
Wilson N44º39" W67º12"