I am thinking of planning a japanese dinner GTG in portland for one saturday evening in september. I am very good friends with an owner of a resteraunt in Beaverton. I dined there 3-4 times a week for 4 years. Depending on the interest I can probably convince him to do omakase for the entire party. (depending on size) . I have at least 4 people already. As i get closer and pick a saturday (13th does not work for me) along with estimated numbers of patrons and guests I will assemble costs, maps, and all other details.
"Omakase" is short for "omakase shimasu", which means roughly, "I trust you [the chef]." In its American food usage, it's mistakenly interpreted as a tasting menu at a sushi restaurant, but it's deeper than that.
It means you're placing what courses come out to the chef's judgment, based on 1. what he's got that day that's really good and 2. his rapport with you and your preferences on what you find delicious or not. Your prior relationship with the chef (if any), his ESP-like ability to read your reactions to his food, are all part of his skill in delivering an outstanding (or not) experience. The chef can adjust which courses he serves based on that immediate feedback, which is different from the Western notion of a tasting menu, where the chef can't watch your reactions.
The omakase style of dining happens not only at sushi restaurants, but also other Japanese types of cookery, like kushiyaki (grilled skewers) or kushiage (fried skewers) to name but two. In these cases, a course of two or three skewers are served as a set, and you can say when you've had enough. If you keep going, the chef will serve the couple dozen items he thinks you'll enjoy, and the menu will repeat until you explode.
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