Go Fish, Denver

Don’t know what’s gotten in to me lately. Maybe it's the oppressive heat and forgoing sweaty cardio in favor of A/C (because to quote the funniest movie of the summer, steam from the undercarriage gets caught up in second skin black Lycra); I haven't burnt off crazy energy. Or has the summer solstice sent a froggy monkey wrench into the gears of my circadian rhythms, throwing off natural flows and cycles? Because more than exercise or sex or Bono wailing emotive, it's food that's turning me on. I think of my next meal while eating my current one, fantasizing about sizzling, thick-cut steaks and corn dripping butter. Artichokes oozing molten Maytag blue cheese mixed with real cream, dunking and tearing each wet leaf over tongue and teeth.

I need sushi. I need it bad.

Sushi is sensuous. The act of eating raw protein feels somewhat forbidden and naughty, like no-no sex or tasting a tongue in your mouth. Sushi is salty and sweet, spicy and surprising, meant to be shared in big chewy mouthfuls and eaten with sticks and hands. 

And I get it at Go Fish.

Ask about kitchen secrets, intricate and inventive hand rolls not found on the regular menu. Like The Hawaiian, a huge tuna roll topped with fresh crab and shredded toasted coconut. Give each meaty tower a swim through the white plum salty sauce (dusted with macadamia nuts) surrounding it.

The Triple S (Spicy, Sweet, Sour) delivers each flavor in a love tap of a light punch; but don’t dip into wasabi soy – you’ll miss a layer. Wrapped up in seared spicy tuna and topped with perfectly cubed and vibrant Crayola-colored mango and papaya for sweet, raw asparagus inside for slightly sour.

Presentation is playful and edible; eight pieces  surrounding a flashing neon cube light nestled under a pile of thinly shaved, julienned radish.

For a lighter palate, the "low carb" rolls like the Spicy Tuna Naruto Roll (spicy tuna, crunch and avocado wrapped in cucumber, no rice) offer a clean finish and nice crunch.

The black caviar sprinkled over  sweet and plump shrimp crack and pop in your teeth. Watch out for the spicy tuna hiding inside.

I’ve chronicled my ongoing quest for the best Smoked Salmon Nigiri, and Go Fish is the current and reigning champion. The delicate and happy pink salmon is subtle at first but with a lingering and sweet smoke finish.

If you're not doing it in the raw, the menu at Go Fish is full of Asian eats and a full bar.

The Pineapple Saketini–sake infused with fresh pineapple, stirred with top shelf vodka and served with a potent and long-soaked piece of the fresh fruit–is worth a stop alone. Ended the meal with not just one complimentary pineapple sake shot (always ice cold, always on the house and always delicious) but also a second infusion made that day of cucumber and pineapple.

I asked if I could get a bottle to go.

For after no-no time.