At Omakase @ Barracks Row, the fusion of culinary art and traditional Japanese practices is embodied in the restaurant's unique approach to sushi. The service director, Gabriel Enjamio, applies gyotaku—an art form involving fish ink impressions—to create prints of fresh fish like madai before they are prepared by chef Ricky Wang for an elaborate 20-course omakase. Enjamio delicately balances the technique to ensure quality impressions without compromising the fish itself, crafting a gallery of prints that reflects the restaurant's vibrant seafood selection and artistic philosophy.
"You start to get diminishing returns, and at the end of the day, the fish is here for sushi," he says, adding that he wouldn't want to compromise the carefully sourced fish for the sake of being able to play middle-school art teacher."
"Not to get morbid, but I want it to look like an edible Baltimore Aquarium," he says. One of his most prized artworks is of a 200-pound tuna."
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