I have a new food addiction. Collar. I’ve long been flirting with collar, but only in the past two weeks has it blown out into a full-fledged obsession. It started with a really excellent Sea Bass at Iccho, my favourite izakaya, in Torrance, and last night, followed by Yellowtail, also at Iccho, and last night moved from flirtation to hard core passion with Salmon at Tampopo in Tokai Plaza in Gardena. I just can’t get enough of that succulent, hard-to-get flesh. I can’t decide which of the three collars I’ve eaten recently I like the best - the Yellowtail was solid and fishy, the Sea Bass, flaky and delicious when dipped in a little soy and the Salmon (seen above, which I had with a decent Chirashi) was fatty with just enough broil on the skin to make things interesting.
Eating collar re-invigorates my discovery in the past year that the head of most animals is where the real treats are. Sure, I’ve been sucking the heads and brains out of defenseless shellfish for years, but only recently have I discovered something my grandmother knew all along - the head of the fish is the best and most fun part to eat. When I was a kid, over at her apartment, she would always be making lunch from the head of some whitefish while we ate the plain old fillet. That crafty lady wasn’t just being thrifty by eating the head, she was keeping the best part to herself!
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