Shiro's | Seattle's sushi king still raising the sushi bar

He's the granddaddy of sushi chefs, the mentor of many, an entertainer, piscatorial encyclopedia and, to legions of fans, the undisputed king of the local sushi scene. He's Shiro Kashiba, and he's been teaching Seattle about sushi for more than 40 years.

"Oh, here's a future sushi eater," said Shiro-san, nodding as my son and I took a seat at his sushi bar last summer.

When a regular ("Irashaiiiii , Gary-san!") took a seat nearby, I watched the chef brighten visibly at the sight of a familiar face, pulling a wriggling Hood Canal shrimp from a boxful. "Sayonara!" he said with a dramatic flourish before snapping off its head and using it as garnish for the parade of sushi that would become that favored patron's dinner.

With eyes bulging as emphatically as the shrimp's, my boy looked on for a full minute as the antenna continued to dance. Then he ordered a California roll (dubbed "the best I've ever had") and a pair of ama ebi (the sweetest raw shrimp his mother has ever eaten). Our shrimp arrived minus the object of his affection — the heads — which were served minutes later, fried-up clean and crisp. The crunchy antenna, by the way, were delicious.

Shiro's Sushi

2401 Second Ave., Seattle

206-443-9844

www.shiros.com

$$$

Japanese/sushi

Reservations: Recommended (no reservations at sushi bar)

Prices: soups/salads/small plates $3-$12, dinner combinations $20.75-$23.50, sashimi $12-$18 (seasonal specialties higher), sushi nigiri ($1.75-$3.95 per piece), sushi rolls ($4.50-$13.50), desserts $3.75-$5

Hours: 5:30-9:45 p.m.

Drinks: Brief list of beer and sake, liquor available (no bar)

Parking: Metered parking and expensive lots

Sound: Moderate

Who should go: Shiro's fans, sushi purists, local-seafood afishionados.

Credit cards: AE, MC, V

Accessibility: Tight quarters.

Special note: Small private dining room available.

Tow-headed grade-school kids eating shrimp heads in sushi bars was hardly the norm when Shiro, schooled in the art of sushi-making in Tokyo, arrived in Seattle to ply his trade in 1966.

Soon thereafter, he opened tiny Nikko on the outskirts of Chinatown and swiftly became a local legend. Twenty years later he sold the name — and briefly, his professional services — to the Westin hotel. And after a short stint in "retirement" opened Shiro's in Belltown.

A dozen years later, Belltown offers a bonanza of sushi bars, but few hold the historic allure of Shiro's, where it's still a good idea to arrive when the doors open if you expect to secure a seat in front of the master. And that's exactly where you need to be, because table service at his compact corner shop can be exasperating.

One night, we took turns hailing servers who would have ignored us entirely if we hadn't begged for our beverages and the fabulous food we were eventually served. Tableside, as at the sushi bar, you're given a list and asked to pencil in your sushi order. (We did, and the paper came in handy for flagging down servers as we sat, unattended.)

That meal began with a generous assortment of pristine sashimi. "We like the good stuff," I'd told our waitress, hoping to receive something more exciting than the dull salmon, maguro and albacore I'd sampled at the height of the tourist season. "You eat everything?" she asked. "Yes," I assured her.

Boy, did we ever: chewy, sea-scented slices of Puget Sound geoduck; a trio of translucent spot prawns and another of nori-wrapped Hokkaido scallops; firm slices of yellowtail, glistening scarlet maguro and slivers of shiny Spanish mackerel. The flavors? Priceless. Sashimi for three? $75.

We tried many small plates that night, including blackcod kasuzuke, its skin broiled to an edible crisp, its flesh oily and sweet, whole-fried peppers and fried lotus root upping the ante. And uni ika somen, raw squid, soft as jelly, sliced to resemble somen noodles and meant for tossing with golden sea-urchin roe and a raw quail's-egg yolk. (Note for novices: Stick with the excellent shrimp and veggie tempura.)

Spotty service isn't only relegated to tables. Ordering another round of beer at the sushi bar, where the boss works with two busy accomplices, can also be a chore. But that is easily forgiven when you have the kind of meal I recently enjoyed — one that, at $60 a head (including sake and beer) was a steal.

"Omakase!" said the couples seated to our left and right, leaving their decisions in Shiro's hands. Impressed with the extent of the fishified bling in the case, disappointed the last time I ordered omakase, and knowing my husband is a surf-clam-and-spider-roll guy, we opted for a la carte.

"Any albacore belly?" I asked the chef. "No, but this is very fatty, very good," he said, slicing the alabaster fish, chilled more vigorously than elsewhere and almost as tender as the bluefin toro that followed it.

"Why do they call it 'Spanish mackerel' when it comes from Japan?" joked Shiro, handing over aji nigiri perched on expertly seasoned rice and a set of red snapper, its flesh pretty in pink.

Personal attention is part of the joy of eating at the sushi bar, but so is ogling your neighbors' food. And when Shiro served our counter-mates yet another off-the-menu eyeful — salmon wrapped with a fence of nori to hold a splash of ponzu — I threw in the oshibori. "All right!" I said, "Put us on the omakase wagon."

Soon we were at Shiro's mercy, enjoying vibrant tuna poke, tempura-fried unagi, lemon-spritzed scallops and marinated mackerel wrapped with ginger and shiso leaf, presented as a refreshing hand roll.

When everyone else called it quits, Shiro-san raised his eyebrow in my direction. And proving he's still the king, he presented me with the dreamiest of desserts: a pair of monkfish liver sushi.

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com. More reviews at www.seattletimes.com/restaurants

Sample menu

Belltown poke $10

Tsukemono moriawase (pickled vegetables) $4.50/$8.50

Assorted sashimi (small) $12

Spider roll $10

Uni ika somen $11

Blackcod kasuzuke $10.95

Shrimp and vegetable tempura $8.25