Ume

Diners at Ume sit on cushions instead of chairs, assembling their own sushi from about a dozen kinds of fish set out with rice, nori and a rotating lineup of salts, among them charcoal salt from Reykjavik and sea kelp salt from Hakodate. A small garden sits out back of what the owners describe as a concept with 'its own artistic and culinary direction,' not a stand-in for any regional style. The one menu option is a fixed, build-it-yourself set, served across two seatings a day, from 1 to 4pm and 5 to 10pm. Results depend on the diner's own hand as much as the kitchen's.