Field notes from the pass, the market, and the season.
A standing record of what is arriving at the door, what is leaving the kitchen, and the people behind both. Seasonal updates, chef's notes, supplier stories, and the occasional announcement from the neighbourhood.
New entry every other week·Updated 14 March·14 stories in print
This week's reading
From the editor's bench
Seasonal14 March·7 min read
The first proper spring catch: hirame, kinmedai, and the arrival of haru
The market has shifted. After a long winter of fatty cuts, the boats are bringing us flatter fish, leaner flesh, and the first hints of the season we cook toward all year. Chef Ken walks through the five fish that will define the next six weeks at the pass — and the four that quietly leave the menu tonight.
We also visit the Tsukiji-adjacent wholesaler who has been calling us every other Tuesday for nineteen years, and share the supplier list behind the new spring omakase.
We drove north to Niigata to walk the paddies that supply our koshihikari. A short film, a long conversation, and what we learned about this year's crop.
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