Omakase at Sasabune

On Monday night, a fellow sushi epicurean and I finally found time in our busy schedules to dine at Sasabune, Santa Monica: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-sasabune-west-los-angeles

Upon entering, we were instantly urged to go omakase. Yes, obviously omakase is the only prudent action when dining at one of the most revered sushi establishments in the world.

Here are our thoughts as we tasted: pure, unadulterated.

Sake: Akita Daiginjo


1st course: baby tuna sashimi 2 ways.

Home-made soy sauce on one, light teriyaki glaze on the other. In addition to the the fact that there were 9 pieces for each preparation, the fresh taste was absolutely sublime.

2nd course: Maguro- homemade Sasabune sauce & Toro (both Nigiri)

3rd course: Halibut- perfect temperature while the sauce was also the "perfect compliment" to the taste of the fish & Spicy halibut

4th course: Hamachi nigiri & Sake nigiri topped with sesame seeds

SIDE NOTE: The ginger was so thinly sliced; it provided a good palette cleanser between courses

5th course: Scallop & golden eye nigiri

6th course: Seared butterfish topped with sesame seeds & halibut fin (tasted similar to hamachi kama)

7th course: Albacore & Kampachi

-The albacore was a stunningly perfect piece of fresh fish; unfortunately, the taste and texture of the Kampachi (very tough and tasted more like Ika than anything) left us with an oddly disappointed feeling.

8th course: Crab Roll & Toro

-After a little bite of the crab roll, we opted to leave it on the plate, as it had too much mayonnaise. Alternatively, the toro was absolutely perfect from the moment it entered our mouths.

**A word of warning: if you are an uni lover, be warned. There was no uni on the omakase menu and, as these two diners often frequent sushi establishments to simply indulge in their fresh Santa Barbara uni, we were disappointed**
…once we did order the uni, the fresh ocean taste took us back to days of yesteryear and, in fact, created the desire within us to open up our own uni farm in Santa Barbara.

Overall, we gave Sasabune Santa Monica an 8 out of 10. A very pleasurable dining experience. Food came fast, amazingly fresh fish, disappointed that we were treated like second grade sushi diners. But, they did allow us to take our bottle of sake... Next time: 10 pieces of uni sushi and miso soup will do.

Another pearl of wisdom from Charles Ellis

STOP ALLOWING CNBC TO GUIDE YOUR INVESTMENT DECISIONS!
We all hear short term and long term distinctions, as well as short term and long term goals. Today, the long term goals are probably what they always were. The short term, on the other hand, are probably changing every day, moving away from sticking to a strategy and moving towards not losing all of your money. Understandable, but, remember for one moment your thought process when you made one of your biggest investments to date: Your Home. Before 2007-2008, you probably felt pretty good about this decision. And, part of your equation undoubtedly had to do with the weather. But, were you looking at the daily weather? Did you say, well, it's raining today, so it will therefore rain every day and you couldn't move there, even if you loved the house? Or, did you think more of the climate and the existence of the seasons, smoothing out the day to day extremes? Thinking of the market is like thinking of where you want to move. The weather on a given day, in a given week, or for a given month means little. The long term trends, like the typical number of seasons are what is important. Most times when you invest, you don't actually NEED the money for a number of years. Remember back to that fact.

The death of "buy and hold"?

I want to mention an idea from Charles Ellis because it bears repeating. A lot of people are talking today about the death of the buy and hold approach or the death of modern portfolio theory. Either one used at the expense of all other thought processes was most likely never a good idea, and it certainly did not help you in 2008. But, you could also argue that nothing besides a very successful, and lucky, case of market timing would have helped you in 2008. There were incredible and extreme moves, both to the upside and the downside, depending on the asset class in question. Going forward, it is easy to think that everything will be different. But, before buying and selling stocks to fullfill a new mandate or strategy and pounce on a variety of what you think are new, quality ideas, remember these two points. Any time you buy or sell a stock, 50% of the time you are buying or selling from one of the 50 largest institutional money managers. Any time you buy or sell a stock, 75% of the time you are buying or selling from one of the 100 largest institutional money managers. These huge entities with all of their resources and analysts are reading, able, and willing to do the exact opposite of what you're doing. Is what you're doing still as smart as you thought it was?

Excess

While pondering life late on a Sunday evening, across the country from each other, the writers of this blog came upon a resounding theme for American Society today. When thinking about the troubles human beings get themselves into, it maybe be possible that problems are all in some way tied to an "overuse" of whatever feels/looks/sounds/tastes good at that given time while at the same time neglecting to be aware of the repercussions of what excess will bring.
The lack of a "psychological lever" that allows an individual to continue eating a Big Mac, large fries and large Diet Coke (or whatever derivation of American fast food you prefer) is the same thing that permitted an individual who went to a bank and obtained (and accepted) a loan for 800k when they knew they could only afford a loan of 200k.

What is "too much?" It's such a funny concept drilled into a person from an early age, most likely by some type of parental influence. One of our father's is a dentist...I got it from him early on. I used to watch ghostbusters cartoons. There was something that they did with the word "ecto", "ecto" this and "ecto" that. There was a commerical for this "ecto cooler"; just a normal, sugary drink but to me it appeared as this divine ambrosia and I couldn't rest until the sweet elixir found its way down my throat. But, it simply was not to be, as the drink contained "too much" sugar. That was my earliest formative experience with the term too much. I guess, knock on wood, I haven't had any cavities, so it worked. "Too much" stemmed from an idea of prevention...prevention of cavities. Does "too much" always stem from a stance of prevention? Is there always a repercussion, or can there be too much of a good thing?

It's interesting to ask the question today, in the face of a 1 trillion dollar stimulus. Can an economy have too much money circulating through it? Where does one draw the line between beneficial forces of something like "inflation" and when it starts becoming detrimental? I have a feeling that we will find out, and maybe sooner than we might like to. Right now it appears that the goal is the prevention of "too much" deflation, but that tide might soon dissipate on a dime. That 10 cents may not be worth quite as much tomorrow.

The truth is, it feels good. Action. Spending. Speaking out. Getting angry. Reprimanding. But, I implore you to step back and think for one second here. Maybe sometimes there is a time for inaction. Maybe there is a time to step back and think. Maybe one must admit a lack of understanding and recognize that sometimes letting things play out of their own volition is better than risking too much action that is useless.

Bourdain is a badass

I want to acknowledge how great this paragraph is. A friend recently lent me Anthony Bourdain's new book The Nasty Bits. Bourdain is a badass.
What would our world be like if our government, the SEC, our biggest banks, or any large corporation for that matter was run as efficiently as Bourdain describes his kitchen?

"But if you're lucky enough to have a well-oiled machine working for you- a bunch of hardcore, ass-kicking, name-taking debrouillards on the payroll- the chances of a catastrophe are slim in the extreme. Old-school cholos, assasinos, vato locos, veterans of many kitchens like my cooks, they know what to do when there's no space left on the stove for another saute pan. They know how to bump closed a broiler or shut a refrigerator door when their hands are full. They know when to step into another cook's station- and, more importantly, how to do it- without that station becoming a rugby match of crushed toes and sharp elbows. They know how to sling dirty pots twenty-five feet across the kitchen so that they drop neatly into the pot sink without disfiguring the dishwasher."

Define "Ridiculous"

I don't know, a man signing the mortgage to a house he can't afford, and then sitting in that house cursing the main street/wall street distinction, completely blind to the fact that wall street with its fancy SECURITIZATONS and TOXIC ASSETS is the only reason he has his house to begin with. Main street/wall street = nice house/cardboard box on the street. You ever think he asks why the assets are toxic? Leave it to the pros, chief, all you need to do is get a job and make your payments.
The funniest part of it all though, is this stimulus package. We have the government catering to the people and a populace listening to the government. Does anyone understand though? I mean, isn't it true that the politicians want credit from the people who don't understand the economy at all for fixing it? But, isn't it also obvious that they're just taking shots throwing darts at a board? I don't know, if we throw enough darts, I mean money, at the problem it's bound to get fixed....That's how I would define RIDICULOUS...

Paying for Greatness

Today the Barron's ranking of the "Top 100 Financial Advisors" in the United States was published. Especially in today's market, when some of the smartest business people are looking for renewed guidance on the assets they have seen dwindle in the past year, making it onto this list is crucial. My rules for this list are as follows: PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE!



1. Isn't it interesting that "Merrill Lynch has the most financial advisers in the Top 1,000" when they've had some of the biggest defections in the past year?
http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/REG/916983728/1077/TOC

2. I remember last year, the team mentioned in the article above left Merrill to start their own firm. After continuing to do the same things they have done with their former parent firm on their own as an RIA, the two individuals who were tops on the list last year have somehow disappeared.

...I find it circumspect that the big wirehouses (the same now connected to the big banks) are the only ones that top these charts. The RIAs, those who have stayed out of the headlines and, in many cases, control much more in client assets, generate more in revenues, and run their practice more efficiently than their bretheren in the wirehouses- are devoid.

Pay to Play?