Copper River Salmon: Sushi Sam’s
My friends have been telling me about Sushi Sam’s Edomata in San Mateo for a few years. I like fresh sushi and will even drive to Rohnert Park (Hana) to get it. What finally sold me to go to Sam’s was Copper River Salmon. This is a seasonal salmon and it wasn’t going to be offered too much longer. Copper River Salmon is from Alaska and are strong fish with a healthy store of natural oils and body fat which make the salmon taste so good.
A group of four of us decided to have a very early dinner last Saturday. We took the five o’clock reservation for a couple of reasons. 1) A later reservation doesn’t mean you don’t have to wait. 2) Fish runs out.
We arrived at about 5:15pm and the restaurant was already getting full. We decided to order the eight piece omakase sushi. Two different pieces of fish came out at once.
Amber Jack and Seared sea bass
Horse mackerel and Copper river salmon
Red snapper and Baby lobster
Seared fatty tuna and Barracuda
I actually enjoyed them all and took the liberty to rate them. Here’s how they fared:
8. Barracuda
7. Red snapper
6. Horse mackerel
5. Amber jack
4. Seared sea bass
3. Baby lobster
2. Copper river salmon
1. Seared fatty tuna
After eating our eight pieces, we ordered even more items including a “do over” of my top two. With only two more weeks left for Copper River Salmon (now at time of writing only one week), I had to have another piece of this. Fatty tuna or Toro is probably my ultimate favorite fish, so this time I would see how I would like it without the sear. Surprising, the seared version was slightly better. I think searing it really brought out the flavors and oil of the fish.
We ate a lot more, but I won’t go into all the details. All in all, I think Sam’s has really good fresh fish. I definitely have no desire to wait for a table. I think by 5:45pm, the restaurant was full and the long waits began. I also think Sam’s is extremely noisy and chaotic leaving it a little difficult to really enjoy the fresh and delicious food.