I moved to Scottsdale from the SF Bay Area for work relocation.
I was very worried I would not able to find good sushi; since well... we are in a desert.
I tried several other places in and around Scottsdale area that were the "hip" type of sushi places like Sapporo and Sushi Brokers. Yeah they were entertaining, and expensive and not authentic. Yeah they had full bars and very hot looking women and men at those "fashion-ney" places. A sushi bar is not for me to sit at a "bar' and then have a piece of paper stuck in my face and ask me to order by ticking off little square boxes. When I want a drink; I will go to a bar... but when I want sushi... those are places are not the places to goto. If you know what the hell you are eating... steer clear of these fake sushi places... besides you don't want to eat those ridiculous rolls with too much fish and sauce and... my god someone kill me.
But I want an authentic sushi bar... a sushi bar where I can talk to a real Japanese sushi master; where I can say the word "omakase" and he will know what to do... where the maguro looks like its fresh and not from the ice box; and when they have aji, and toro, and none of those hyped up rolls with too much crap in them... simple; clean; no gimmick sushi.
Price was really what tipped me over for the final five stars...(give them six if I can) I had ordered the Omakse that night; which is chef special; I end up having... 2 pieces each order.
good maguro (pink ending; close to the toro part)
crisp mirugai
fresh scallops
new Zealand salmon
large sweet ama ebi
Aji with ponzu and ginger/ green onions (the way to really eat it)
Suzuki with ponzu
Kampachi
and a Large Kirin..
my bill come out to be 65 dollars with tax and tip... for a chef menu @ 16 pieces and beer... not to mention a kick ass chef and good conversations; while watching USC raping Wash on TV that night.
People who really know sushi will realize that 65 dollars for this kind of meal is absolute steal. Even from where I am from the best; Sushi Sams @ san mateo... appetizer; 10pc nigiri; small desert comes to 50 dollars a head... no drink. So the price range is right, if not a bit of cost savings.
Finding Toyama has really really saved me from self destruction!
The place is ran and owned by Japanese folks.... they are very nice and very humble... I have to say; the fish was beyond my expectation; and I dare compare this place to many of the BEST SF Bay Area sushi places. Sushi Sam of San Mateo is still the best on my list; but this place takes the cake for PHX area hands down... and is besides from creativity; a relatively close second to Sams.
note... if you love wasabi... as them to bring you the chopped wasabi.. its not paste; and its awesome.
Yelpers... thanks for steering me to this one; my chances of survival in the desert just hit up a couple more notches.