Sushi, sakes, and Real Ice Cream

Dinner tonight at Kitso in Cupertino was superb. We started with broiled hamachi cheeks - wow! It was served on the bone, the crispy skin hiding firm nuggets of fish that melted in our mouths. Of the sushi, the salmon was particlarly delicious -- incredibly, meltingly tender, the best I've ever had. The filefish, alas, was disappointing. The last time we were there, we had really liked it, but this time, it was unimpressive, though the liver on top was still nice. People rave about the rare offerings like the filefish and kinmedai (golden big eye snapper), but honestly, we enjoyed the superb versions of common sushi offerings like salmon, hamachi, and unagi more than the rare ones which didn't seem to be of quite the same quality.

They have an interesting sake list, so we tried two each. My favorite was the Arabashiri from Masumi, essentially sake nouveau. It was very fresh and full flavored without being heavy. Very easy to keep sip, sip, sipping. magscanner was partial to Dewazakura Namagenshu which had a full, rich flavor, almost buttery like a chardonnay.

Afterwards, we went to Real Ice Cream in Santa Clara, an Indian ice cream and chaat shop. I think they call themselves 'Real' ice cream because they're on El Camino Real, but maybe it's a touch of bragging as well. We compared three rose flavors (rose petal, falooda, and gulkund) plus almond pista safron. Gulkund was the hands down winner. For one, it wasn't colored bubble gum pink like the other two, plus it had real pieces of rose petals in it with more rose flavor and less sweetness. The saffron ice cream was very odd. I kept thinking that I didn't like it, that the almost bitter flavor of saffron was wrong, yet I kept eating another bite and another bite. Anyhow, if you're local and have never been, you really should check this place out. The cardamom ice cream is scrumptious.