San Mateo, a 30-minute ride down south of San Francisco, is well known to be where you go for authentic and not overly expensive Japanese food. When my friend, Sam, told me about Sushi Sam's Edomata (jokingly at first because it matches his first name), I made the torturous drive to stop over San Mateo during peak weekday hours from further down South before making my way back to the city. For $40, a 6-course chef's sashimi omakase plus 2 desserts made my trip all worth it. Sam was still hungry after all of it though so don't come very hungry. 

The fatty tuna glistening with a LOT of fat was the star of the show. It melted in my mouth as well as the raw blue shrimp. I was in sushi heaven! All the sashimi didn't need any extra soy sauce, ginger or wasabi. Everything had a kick to it- refreshingly spicy, sweetly charred or simply divine. 

Sushi Sam's should not rest on its laurels yet now that two San Francisco sushi restaurants, Maruya and Kusakabe, which I'll be blogging in the next few days, were recently awarded a one-star Michelin. Bring on the fatty tuna war!