Coach Sushi in Oakland, CA was where Mr Sweetie and I had our last Saturday date night before shelter in place was put into effect. Little did we know that it will be a while before we get to go out to eat again.
Coach Sushi is a good place to celebrate the end of an era — dining out pre-pandemic era, that is. Sounds discouraging but I am posting this meal as a reminder that pretty soon, we will find ourselves sharing a lovely meal with our loved ones once again, and toasting to everyone’s health and happiness.
Coach Sushi is known for its masu-sake ritual which involved endless sake on a masu (wooden) cup. Mr Sweetie and I went here years ago. The line was out the door back then and the restaurant was packed with loud college kids getting drunk on unlimited cheap sake.
When we walked in this time, there were no loud, fun-loving college kids, but just regular patrons. The restaurant was half-way full. I kind of missed the rowdiness because that was what I expected to find.
For old time’s sake, I ordered a masu-sake. I forgot that it involved a ritual of the host pouring the sake for me, then I had drink from the tip of the masu cup with my hands behind my back. Mr Sweetie had a fun time recording me on video. Oh, well, good times!
We had a wonderful spread of sushi rolls, sashimi and appetizers. I ordered a sashimi dinner which came with salmon, yellow tail, shrimp, tuna as well California rolls. Mr Sweetie ordered an assortment of sushi. We also had potstickers as our appetizers. Agedashi tofu with tempura sauce was mistakenly put on our table. I asked the server to just leave it there and include on our tab. It was delicious!
Coach Sushi is a comfort neighbhorhood sushi joint that is consistently reliable. It has been around for at least 10 years when Mr Sweetie and I started dating. I am glad that it is still around. I hope that Coach Sushi survives this crisis and be able to once again provide a venue for fun-loving sushi and sake lovers.
As we were leaving I saw masu-sake adorning the wall of Coach Sushi. Those are the sake cups of regular patrons which they artfully designed and left at the restaurant for safekeeping and future visits.
And it was a lovely evening by the lake.
Here is a nice article on How to Drink Sake From a Masu Cup.
02.29.2020
12 responses to “Oakland | coach sushi”
Looks so pretty. While I’m familiar with SF, I only started checking out Oakland, Berkeley etc. recently. Oakland is so pretty with old buildings, and I loved the Museum of California there. Will check out this sushi place. Wonderful snaps.
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Hi, Oakland and Berkeley are definitely cool, more laid-back cities. Many restaurants from SF also expand to Oakland such as Brenda’s, Kitchen Story, etc. When the crisis is over, definitely check out Oakland and Berkeley. Jack London Square is fun, too. You can just take the ferry from Embarcadero. ๐
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If I had known it would be the last time I was eating out, I hope to think I would have forged myself although I kind of do that normally
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I think people have eaten as if it had been their last meal on earth if we have known we would not be eating out for a long time. ๐
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Your pictures are amazing- I’m now craving sushi and potstickers from admiring the delicious selections you’ve shared! I don’t normally enjoy tofu but yours looks delicious ๐ Those personalized sake cups are so awesome! The best sushi I’ve had is in Brisbane, Australia. Sushi in Singapore is different and isn’t as wonderful (to my taste buds) but some sushi rolls are not bad here. I’m looking forward to getting some when malls and shops reopen ๐ Take care!
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I refrain from ordering sushi nowadays because it is recommended for food to be cook thoroughly and even reheated at home to kill the virus. Hope you get your cravings for good sushi satisfied soon. Somehow we have so many sushi restaurants in the Bay Area. The best ones are so expensive but we have good ones that are affordable. As long as they are fresh, I am happy. ๐
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Seems like drinking out of a square wooden cup would be hard! What is that roll with the seaweed on the outside that looks like it has eel sauce on top?
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It was fun to do the masu sake. I prefer regular sake cups though. The roll we had was spider roll which is deep fried soft shell crab. You must have good spider rolls in New Orleans since you have plenty of seafood over there.
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Ah! Oh yes. Love those. Love soft shelled crabs period!
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Me, too! I love soft-shell crab or any kind of crabs! I grew up eating really fresh ones when I was kid in the Philippines.
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Growing up the only seafood Po-boy sandwiches Iโd eat weโre shrimp or oyster. But then, when i was maybe 14, we went to this place (link below) which was still a seafood market back then, that also did sandwiches. My older brother bought me a soft shelled crab po-boy. Tell you what. It changed my life. ๐
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I haven’t tried soft shelled crab po boy. I definitely have to try that next time I come across one.
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