re: Watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi last night

Without being able to taste it, it is kind of hard to judge exactly what he does in the documentay to make him the best of the best.

From what I gathered, it's the overall process from beginning to end that comes together in a simple piece of sushi placed in front of you.

Using different vendors for shrimp, tuna, octopus, etc. that are experts in their specific catch. The way the nori is toasted. Or the rice vendor who turns down selling to the Hyatt because Jiro is the only person that can cook it properly. The technique to keep the rice at body temp to be served. My favorite was the apprentice that had been working for 10 years and was given the task to prepare the egg. It only took him 200 tries to get Jiro's approval.

I wish there was a more quantitative way to explain it but that's the cool thing about food and its unlimited possibilities. Without tasting it, we have no way of telling what really separates it from the rest of the pack. With the sheer volume of sushi being prepared worldwide and this guy consistently is given awards and noted as the best sushi, he's got to be doing something right.