Unlike the last meal, when I felt like Rachel Ray getting advice from the host at Salt (see below); this time, I felt like Anthony Bourdain, eating more food than one would think possible in a single sitting, while drinking my fair share of sake and simply taking in all the craziness around me for two solid hours.
When you first walk in to Guu, the first thing you notice is the noise. I literally felt dizzy after 5 minutes while waiting for a seat and had to step outside for a bit. It's loud.
Every single order is yelled out by every member of the staff from one corner of the dining area to the back of the kitchen. Actually it's not just the orders... every time someone enters or leaves the room, sits, gets up or is brought a dish - it's announced by the entire staff. To be perfectly honest, this actually cut my appetite at first. You really have to experience it to understand how loud it can get. However, after a few shots of sake, this all becomes very enjoyable.Anyways, on to the food.
After I sat down at the end of the bar, my appetite quickly returned. I started off with an order of Ocha-Zuke (a Japanese rice porridge of sorts) and an order of Ton-Tore (salt cooked pork cheeks with a ponzu sauce and daikon). Both were excellent. The Ocha-Zuke was topped with Salmon and seaweed while the pork cheeks were very tender and extremely flavorful - kindda like the best pork chop you could imagine and then maybe a bit better than that.
When I'd made my way through those, I quickly ordered the Kaki-Mayo-Yaki (baked oysters with spicy cod roe, corn, and mayonnaise served in the shell) which were amazing. The oysters themselves were good, but the dish as a whole really puts any other baked oyster dish to shame. Really, really, good.Before I was done with the two oysters, I had the courage to order Agedashi-Dofu (deep fried tofu in a soy based broth topped with spicy cod roe, green onions, and dried seaweed).
Now anyone who knows me realizes this is very uncharacteristic. The reason I opted to go with the dofu was simple: the chowhound post that had directed me to Guu in the first place had described this dish as a highlight despite the diner's ambivalence towards tofu. As it turns out - they were right. This was great. I didn't think it was possible, but I really, really enjoyed the tofu. The broth was very salty and the fried tofu was a perfect contrast. Really great.I was on a roll now and couldn't give up just yet. I had room for one more dish. And so in came the sweet shrimp sashimi.
Fantastic. Actually, better than fantastic. These were ridiculously fresh and whatever it was that I sucked out of the heads was so sweet and briny I could have easily eaten ten more. There's no way I can do these justice so I'll just say that contrary to what others may have written once upon a day, you can have great seafood on Mondays.So there it is - a truly tremendous meal. Memorable, simple, inspired and inspiring. Everything a meal should be.
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