Solo Sushi Ya

News flash! We have found a really good restaurant in Newmarket, Ontario! It's actually better than good - it was sublime. After living in this area for more than six years, I had pretty much given up hope of ever having a stand-out restaurant close to home... until now!

I found out about this place from reading the restaurant reviews in "Toronto Life" magazine. I was shocked that there was a restaurant in our neck of the woods that had garnered three stars. I had never heard of the place before. I made up my mind that we had to go, and what a great reason for a special dinner... our anniversary is today.

"Solo Sushi Ya" isn't in the nicest or most noticeable of spots in Newmarket. However, from the minute we walked through the door, I knew we had found the right place. More traditional than many Canadian-style Japanese restaurants that have popped up all over the place, this place has the feeling of authenticity. Alan & I both ordered the "Omikase" menu or the chef's choice menu, with one or both of us saying, "let's just go for it!". As it turned out, IT was dreamy. IT was mouthwatering goodness. IT was only 15 minutes from home!

I wish I had taken paper and a pen for documenting what we were served, but I will try to remember the highlights. Alan ordered a Sapporo beer and it was served with a really frosty beer glass. I must say, it's little details like this that make me very happy! Then we started with a piece of warm smoked mackerel that was perfectly smoked, tender, and a delightful way to get our taste buds going. There was a piece of very rich salmon (belly, perhaps) on top of some mushrooms in a delicious sauce in an oyster shell. Almost reminded me of Oysters Rockefeller - Japanese-style. On that same plate, a little vegetarian morsel that I couldn't really identify, but was tasty. The coolest thing about it was it's garnish. Two fir tree needles were stuck in the veggie creation, still joined at the top, as nature intended.

Next, bowls of hot broth with clams and seaweed, and a knotted little bunch of glass noodles. Had to eat the whole knot of noodles in one bite. Great texture. The clams tasted like they had just been taken out of the ocean. Keeping in mind that Newmarket isn't exactly known for it's coastline, this was almost like a little bit of magic. There was a dish of "butter fish" in a sweet sauce that was pale in comparison to the sashimi that followed. Oh my, oh my. The soy sauce was so rich & thick; the wasabi was very soft and fresh. The fish was simple, but exquisite. Ahi tuna, white tuna, salmon, prawn. Everything was presented beautifully. Alan was doing most of the talking at this point, and I was able to convince him to give me a piece of his fish, after I had already finished my own. It is those little things that make me so happy that I married him!

I really cannot remember at least two of the courses that we had, although I do remember that the last course before dessert was sushi (on rice with wasabi). Again, perfection. Everything was at the right temperature. The barbecued eel was almost like candy, with just the right amount of smoke. For dessert, I had the ginger ice cream and Alan had the green tea ice cream. The candied ginger chunks in the ice cream couldn't make me forget my disappointment that such a meal had to end. I wish we could have ended the meal up with a cappuccino and the warm, flourless chocolate cake from "Terroni" in Toronto, but maybe I am getting greedy now?

As we were leaving, we went to thank the chef/owner. He was more than happy to tell us that he has many VIP's who dine at his restaurant, including Adrienne Clarkson, the former Governor General of Canada. He even said that "Hollywood" comes north to Newmarket when they are in town. Who would have imagined that??? Don't pinch me; I don't want to wake up yet!

Check it out and read some reviews at www.solosushiya.com