Javier Salas
We've seen flamboyant California rolls, Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese-Peruvian tiraditos, even Brazilian "frushi." Now a new, gentler wave of raw fusion is washing over Spanish and Italian shores: sashimi and sushi mediterraneo, which reinterprets Japanese classics with regional flourishes such as olive oil, lemon, and herbs. The trend was inevitable, considering Spain's and Italy's recent obsession with Japanese food, and their resources of glorious fish.
At Madrid's Nodo (150 Calle Velazquez; 34-91/564-4044; dinner for two $60), models pose over plates of sashimi de mojama (Andalusian cured tuna) and smoked tuna-and-olive oil sushi. In Rome, the owner of seafood cathedral La Rosetta has opened the hip Riccioli Caffè (10A Piazza delle Copelle; 39-06/6821-0310; dinner for two $50), where pristine sashimi is dressed with anything from mango to balsamic vinegar. And in Milan, La Terrazza di Via Palestro (2 Via Palestro; 39-02/7600-2186; dinner for two $50) is rocking the boat with sushi and sashimi based on anchovies, orzo, and pesto.
So what's next — paella handrolls?
— Anya von Bremzen
