Baumgartner generations: Janie

"Good to know." Josh grinned as he held out a chair for me. I sat, surprised we had passed up all of the tables to sit at the bar, which was lit from above and glowed, luminous, like a stage. There were men, all with shaved heads, working behind the bar, some pouring drinks but most preparing sushi and other entrees with knives so sharp they could have been samurai swords. I watched these sushi-monks, fascinated, as Josh ordered sake.

The bar itself was made of the softest wood I'd ever felt and just putting my hands on it was a sensual experience. I leaned over to whisper to Josh, "I've never had sake, either."

"Well, good," he said as it was put before us in a clear green bottle in a bowl on a bed of crushed ice. "Let's make this a night of firsts, shall we?"

After one sake, I was flying. "This is strong stuff," I gulped as Josh poured me more.

"Lightweight," he teased, downing another and nodding to one of the sushi-monks as he placed a small plate of food in front of each of us.

"What is it?" I asked, watching Josh bite into one of the delicately decorated squares.

"An adventure in my mouth." He swallowed. "Try it."

I picked it up, taking a tentative bite, my eyes widening in surprise. "That's good!"

He watched me finish it all, even dabbing my fingers on the plate to get the last little bits of snow crab touched with vinegar. "That was raw tuna," he informed me as one of the monks took away our empty plates. "Nobu-style with caviar."

"Mmm." I drank the rest of my second sake, feeling like I was floating. "Never had caviar either. That was spectacular."

"Do we have a sushi virgin over here?" I looked up to see a pleasant-looking, round-faced man leaning over the bar, watching us.

Josh held out his hand and the man shook it. "Masa! Good to see you."

He nodded in agreement. "And who is your friend?"

"Janie," I replied, holding my hand out, surprised Josh knew the owner, but now I knew how he must have managed to get a spot tonight at a restaurant that required reservations weeks in advance. "Nice to meet you."

"You never had sushi before, Janie?" Masa bowed over my hand, squeezing it between two of his.

"No, never." I nodded toward where his sushi-monks were working. "But I like it!

And they're all so talented!"

Masa chuckled, turning to Josh. "You brought her to impress, hm?" Josh just smiled, pouring more sake. Masa nodded and winked at me. "I bring you something special."

"So, are you impressed?" Josh asked when Masa turned and went to talk to one of his chefs.

"Who wouldn't be?" I took another drink of sake, shivering at the taste and the effect. "I guess being J.K. Rowling's agent is lucrative?"

"Ah." Josh raised his eyebrows. "Did you Google me?"

I shook my head. "My employer knew who you were."

"To tell you the truth, what I make is a drop in the bucket next to Catherine's money."

"Really?" I looked at him, surprised. "She told me she was a model?"

"She is." Josh nodded at one of the monks as he put two plates in front of us.

"But just for the hell of it. Catherine is old money."

"What's this?" I inquired, already digging in.

"Aji mackerel sashimi tossed in shiso blossoms," Masa informed us, watching me devour it.

"Yummy." I looked up at him, smiling my approval. "And this?"

"Uni risotto," Masa told me. "With sea urchin and truffles."

"Ooo truffles." The stuff was like sex on a plate. "Never had those, either."

"Try the truffle butter." Josh fed me something from his plate and I moaned softly as the stuff melted on my tongue.

"Ah, and this is our Kobe-beef sukiyaki." Masa stood aside as the chefs took our empty plates and served us again. "And shabu-shabu."

"Is this lobster?" I dipped a spoon into the beautiful little pot and tasted the delicate stuff.

Masa smiled, nodding. "And foie gras."

I swallowed, making a happy noise and looking at Josh. "That's heaven."

"Just when you thought it couldn't get any better?" He took a bit of the meat from my pot and dipped it in a sauce. As he fed it to me, I groaned.

Eagerly, I began to dip and eat more, Josh’s gaze on me the whole while. When the meat and vegetables were gone, Josh took the rest of my dipping sauce and poured it into the gorgeous bowl of broth, adding the leftover risotto.

Masa nodded, smiling. " Now try."

I dipped a spoon into the mixture. It was like a tangy, delicious soup. "You make transformer meals!"

"Ha! Yes!" Masa laughed, slapping the bar. "Transformer meals!"

He went away, still chuckling, leaving us with another course.

"Now, this is really sushi," Josh explained as each plate was presented to us like works of art. The sushi-monks moved like silent, fluid jellyfish behind the illuminated bar, so many plates coming and going I could have sworn they had tentacles.

I couldn't keep track of the names-thinks like o-toro, tai, saba and kohada.

Masa said one of them was flown in that day from Spain. The ika, which Josh told me was squid, was particularly good, and there were these delectable shrimp-aba ebi-I couldn't get enough of.