I know from reading this blog that Japanese food is a long way from Jeff’s area of expertise, but a good sushi chef knows how to make a customer feel like a member of the family. After a small amount amount of time, he or she will know what you like to eat, and even customize the menu for you to account for your tastes. Even when they are busy, they will usually make time to chat, and do everything they can to assure that your meal is as good as it can be.

There is no better feeling than sitting down for dinner, and a chef telling you that while he was at the market that day, he saw something he thought you would like, so he bought it to put on the menu that night. Or, that they knew you were comin in, so they put a few pieces of what you like on the side for when you got there.

I’ll share a story with you guys. I moved here from NY about 10 years ago. I recently went back to visit, and we decided to back to our old sushi rstaurant where we used to eat once or twice a week. As soon as we walked in, the chef behind the bar recognized us and immediately sent over an appetizer for us. It was the same appetizer that we used to order when we ate there almost 10 years ago.

That my friends is how to treat a customer. I don’t know of anyplace down here that would do something like that, but since we had our children, we obviously don’t eat sushi 1 or 2 times a week anymore either…