Sushi Dreams

<p> Tucked into a Tokyo subway station, Sukiyabashi Jiro may have begun as a lunch counter for commuters. But for the last several decades it has been Mecca for sushi connoisseurs. Reservations are requiredat least one month in advanceso forget about getting a quick bite on the way home from the office. </p> <p>The light and airy sushi bar is a neatly framed mirror of its owner. Eighty-five-year-old Jiro Ono has been preparing sushi for 75 years and has run his own place for much of that time with his two sons and a handful of apprentices. Everything in the restaurant is clean, precise and exactly in place. Like the meals served there, Jiro is an elegant composition in minimalism where less is truly more. </p> <p>David Gelb\'s documentary <em>Jiro Dreams of Sushi</em> (out on Blu-ray and DVD) takes its name from an offhand remark by Ono, who actually dreams of sushi. Gelb follows the old man through a routine that seldom varies. Mostly, the director observes as luscious creations emerge from the kitchen and listens as Ono describes his philosophy. When a man finds his profession, the old man says, he should fall in love with his work and improve in a tireless dance of repetition with his natural gifts. Making sushi is Ono\'s dharma, and he will not deviate from the path, always striving forward toward a horizon ever receding. </p> <p>Ono has received many awards and his sushi has been deemed the best by leading food critics. A customer could be in and out of Jiro in 15 minutes, yet one dares not call his preparations fast food. Ono goes to market every day for the fresh catch, and there his observations are in a minor key. The seas are being over-fished. Tuna takes time to mature, but nowadays, young fish are being swept up in the nets of industrial-size trawlers before they have time to mature. Environmental degradation threatens his legacy, but in the face of a world he can\'t control, Ono will continue to follow his calling and make the most perfect sushi in Tokyo. </p>