This Week's Fish — Bafun Uni, Murasaki Uni, Hotate, Salmon
A solid week. Bafun Uni, Murasaki Uni, Hotate (Hokkaido Scallops), and Fujisan White Salmon are all available. Nagasaki Bluefin Tuna in all cuts as always. We have a limited number of Uni this week — reserve online before coming in.
Octopus Roe — Ready Thursday
Something unusual this week: octopus roe will be ready on Thursday. We are processing it in-house, and the result will be available at the storefront only, in limited quantity.
Octopus roe is rare in the sense that it is almost never sold separately — the eggs are typically discarded during processing or ignored in favor of the more commercially obvious parts of the animal. Roe-bearing octopus arrives unpredictably, whenever the catch includes gravid females, and the availability is entirely dependent on what comes through on a given week.
The texture is distinctive: thick and slightly crisp, with an immediate snap that Keita compares loosely to Ikura but firmer and less yielding — closer in mouthfeel to a lightly cooked roe than to raw fish eggs. The flavor is oceanic and savory with a mineral quality specific to cephalopod. There is no direct comparison because nothing else quite resembles it. When it's gone, the next availability is unknown — it depends entirely on what arrives in future weeks.
Available Thursday onward at the storefront, priced by weight. Ask at the counter.
Wine Imports — Finalizing Logistics
An update on the wine side: we are in the final stages of arranging transport for bottles from Shiba Wichern Cellars and Six Cloves Wines. The plan when they arrive is to use them for Wine & Fish Pairing events and sell bottles at Rice Market. We are also in early discussion about a May meet-the-producers event where both winemakers would come to DC — a rare opportunity to taste the wines with the people who made them alongside the fish they were chosen to pair with. More details to follow as the logistics firm up.
In the meantime, for context on both producers:
- Shiba Wichern Cellars (Oregon) — founded by Akiko Shiba, who studied viticulture and enology at Geisenheim University in Germany. Every step from pruning to picking is done by hand, not for efficiency but to stay connected to each vine and vintage. Own-rooted plantings, white field blends, regenerative farming.
- Six Cloves Wines (California) — founded by Sonoe Hirabayashi, drawing on Japanese fermentation traditions and experience in Napa, Sonoma, and beyond. The philosophy is balance and harmony — precision without rigidity.
On octopus roe: If you have been buying from us for a while and consider yourself adventurous with Japanese seafood, Thursday's octopus roe is worth making a specific trip for. It appears rarely and disappears quickly. This is the kind of thing that a fish counter can offer that no restaurant menu can — an ingredient available for two days, known to the people who ask.