Fenton Restaurateur Has Sushi Savvy

Ask Eric Heckman to describe himself and he’ll say, “ I’m just a guy living in Fenton who works in Clayton.”

True, but what Fenton may not realize is that it has a culinary star to claim as its own. Heckman is an award-winning restaurateur and owner of Tani Sushi Bristro - chosen as the best sushi restaurant in Missouri by the Travel Channel.

Heckman along with his wife, Jenny, who serves as Tani’s chef and sushi master, earned the Travel Channel's prestigious honor as a result of Tani’s menu that uses both traditional recipes and fusion applications to create sushi that's flavorful and fun. Yep, sushi can be fun. Just order the Oh My God Roll.

“ Oh my God is what people say when they first see the OMG roll because it’s brought out of the kitchen on fire,” said Heckman, who first developed the flaming roll in Springfield, MO before moving to St. Louis.  “That’s how the OMG roll got its name. We’ve also had fun creating sushi rolls named for athletes as The Interceptor (Aeneas Williams) that's made with rock shrimp tempura and our homemade creamy sweet sauce. These rolls are popular especially with people new to eating sushi because they’re cooked, not raw.”

Heckman’s success reflects the growing popularity of sushi and Asian cuisine. In fact, sushi-making classes are among the hottest cooking classes offered at local cooking schools and adult education enrichment programs.

While sushi isn’t impossible to master, Heckman admits sushi making takes practice. And what makes the best sushi begins with the rice and seaweed (nori). It has to be top quality.

“ You can tell if you have good sushi by the seaweed and rice used by the sushi maker,” Heckman said. “ The seaweed (nori) should be crisp – the crispier the nori the higher the quality. And the rice used should have a light, silk like texture that’s fluffy. The rice should never be hard.”

According to Heckman, beginners making California Rolls (imitation crab, cucumber and avocado) have a pretty easy time getting those filling ingredients. However, the challenge begins when more complicated rolls are being made, demanding higher-end ingredients and seafood. Today, sushi grade seafood is caught and processed using the latest in food technology techniques to insure that the product used is safe and healthy.

“ The quality of the fish must be sushi grade, especially the tuna,” Heckman said. “The quailty of the seafood can make or brake your sushi.”

Tuna is the most popular fish used in sushi. When selecting tuna Heckman explained that a tuna’s color can be deceptive. Tuna isn't always red. Tuna cut close to the belly of the fish will be pink. And while Ahi and Yellow Fin tuna varieties get the PR for being the best for sushi Eric recommends using the Blue Fin and Big Eye Tuna.

“Yellow Fin and Ahi are actually lower grades of tuna. The highest grade is Blue Fin followed by Big Eye.”

Sushi vendor demonstrations are a favorite at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival held this weekend, September 3 – 5 and where one can sample a variety of Japanse foods including okonomiyaki pancakes, green tea ice cream and yakisoba (buckwheat noodles). If the Garden’s festival isn’t in your plans consider grabbing sushi to-go from Tani to create an Asian inspired picnic. To complete the menu include one of Tani Bistro's asian recipes, courtesy of  Chef Jenny.

For information on Tani Sushi Bistro visit www.tanisushi.com