At the giant Marche des Capucins, the owner and chef at Sushi Tom spends his days hand crafting little masterpieces of sushi.We visiting him regularly in 2014 and again when we were in Bordeaux in 2015. When we saw him last week he was in his familiar spot behind the counter. A French guy, born in the Caribbean, and now making Asian inspired cuisine like sushi and his giant Japan burger.After ordering a bottle of crisp, citrusy Entre Deux Mers, my wife asked for a “un petit bol” of Franck’s seafood soup which comes with shrimp, noodles and lots of chicken in a miso broth. She asked for the small portion because a regular bowl is enormous. I ordered the chirashi sushi and Franck was immediately back with two spears of light green vegetable that were crisp and sweet to the taste. What was it? “Asparagus sauvage” or wild asparagus. Would I like it as a garnish for my chirashi sushi? Certainement. Chirashi is, in this case, an assortment of sushi and garnishes of the chef’s choice served over a bed of sushi rice. As the photo shows, this was as delightful to look at as it was to eat.There were generous portions of steamed shrimp, raw tuna, raw salmon and avocado as well as the wild asparagus. Beneath was the sushi rice, served warm and laced with a house made teriyaki sauce and spices.More teriyaki sauce, wasabi powder, and pickled ginger finished out the dish. To say the fish was fresh is an understatement. It was delightful and filling. After we finished our dishes, we had small glasses of a smooth dark rum from the island of Martinique. My wife’s was flavored with pineapple and mine with ginger. We reluctantly refused servings of chocolate mousse. We finished with a black coffee for my bride and a cafe noisette for me. A cafe noisette is a shot of espresso with just enough frothy cream to turn it the brown color of a hazelnut, a noisette in French.
