🍣 From Philly to Toyosu before dawn | Morning Newsletter

Good morning.

Forecasts for Philly and its suburbs call for 16 to 22 inches or more of snow beginning Sunday. Find the latest updates at Inquirer.com.

In today’s main read: We join restaurant critic Craig LaBan in Japan with superstar chef Jesse Ito and his father, Matt. They touch on a challenging family history, balancing success, and the culture and cuisine that inspired their craft at Philadelphia’s Royal Sushi & Izakaya.

Further on, an analysis of new census data shows changes in relative wealth in the eight-county Philadelphia region.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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A family journey

🎤 Let’s turn the mic over to Craig LaBan for this father-son trip dispatch.

You have to wake up early in the morning to catch the world’s largest fish market at its peak. You also need to keep your head on a swivel.

“Careful here! These drivers can be crazy!” said our market escort, yanking me back from a warehouse lane wet with fish blood and water as several electric forklifts zoomed past. Piled high with styrofoam boxes bearing some of the most coveted seafood on the planet, these silent-but-speedy carts were designed for Toyosu Fish Market, a state-of-the-art facility built in 2018 on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay.

The massive refrigerated halls were already humming with activity before dawn on a November morning as Philadelphia chefs Jesse Ito and his father, Masaharu “Matt” Ito, walked through vast aisles of whole fish on ice toward the live-seafood hall, where an acre of ocean creatures bobbed in gurgling tanks flanked by an ike jime station. Thrashing madai red snappers there were deftly dispatched with two strokes of a knife and a wire spike to the brain — a swift death considered both humane and, from a culinary perspective, optimal.

“It instantly disables the nervous system from producing chemicals that degrade the fish and keeps the meat fresh,” said Jesse, of Royal Sushi & Izakaya, whose industry contacts had lent us official hats and white rubber boots to accompany them to areas of this seafood paradise where tourists are not permitted.

One of the most respected sushi chefs in the U.S., Jesse was not buying tuna on this day in November, but taking in this time-honored ritual alongside his father.

“I’m so glad we got a chance to experience that together,” Jesse said.

Matt, 72 and Japanese-born, taught a teenage Jesse the fundamentals of making sushi at Fuji, the family’s long-running restaurant in South Jersey. He and Jesse sold it before opening Royal Sushi & Izakaya in Queen Village together with partners in 2016, when Jesse was 26. — Craig LaBan

Follow along for this especially personal excursion, detours and discoveries included.

‘Big Bucks’

According to recently released census data, Chester County towns are among the wealthiest in the Philadelphia area, but Bucks County has made gains over the last decade.

Here are some key findings:

💰 Six of the 10 wealthiest municipalities are in Chester County. Overall, the county has the highest median income in the state of Pennsylvania.

💰 Incomes in other counties in the region have grown. The bulk of higher incomes were west of the Delaware River.

💰 Bucks County has been gaining star power. Some of its towns may merit the label “Big Bucks County,” with seven of its municipalities making the top 20, more than any other county.

Not all the gainers were wealthy towns. Dive into the data with Tony Wood and John Duchneskie.

What you should know today

• Montgomery County health officials on Saturday warned residents of a possible measles exposure at two locations in the county, after confirming another case of the highly contagious disease. Another potential exposure was reported this week at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington.
• The Bucks County district attorney is investigating the Quakertown Borough Police Department’s response to a high school student protest against federal immigration enforcement.
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Donald Trump at the White House for a breakfast on Friday, following weeks of uncertainty and strife over whether any Democrats would attend the traditionally bipartisan annual event.
• Chester County will soon inspect and plan repairs to the century-old Downingtown Trestle Bridge as part of a multiyear project to extend the Chester Valley Trail.
• Parkway West High School is among the last of the Philly area’s small, specialty schools. Its size is also a reason the school district wants to close it. The Samuel Pennypacker School also faces the threat of extinction after anchoring the West Oak Lane neighborhood of Northwest Philly for nearly a century.
• Philip Korshak, the poet-baker who left town after closing his cult favorite Korshak Bagels 2½ years ago, plans to return to South Philadelphia in the spring. This time, bagels aren’t on the menu.
• Croft Farm was once a stop for Black people seeking freedom from slavery. Now, a fresh archaeological expedition seeks to learn more about its role in that era.
• Four years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Philly area has become a hub for veterans and refugees seeking medical care and community. They express gratitude for support, and wariness of the future.
• A deteriorating, privately owned house in West Goshen is at the center of a fight to spotlight under-told history and preserve open land in the county.

❓Pop quiz

Basketball legend and all-time 76ers great Julius Erving turned 76 years old Sunday.

How much did the Sixers pay to acquire Erving from the New York Nets at the start of the 1976-77 NBA season?

A) $1

B) $3 million

C) $5.5 million

D) $7.6 million

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re …

🌸 Yearning for: A springtime trip to Charlottesville, Va.

🎲 Playing: Board games at Queen & Rook with Revolution Museum chief R. Scott Stephenson.

🥧 Tasting: Country-style spinach pie and a limited-time pastry among the best things we ate this week.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: West Philly native and Temple alum

COMMANDO LINGO

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Derek Davis, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: In Pursuit. The new streaming series tells the story of America through the lens of Philadelphia.

Photo of the day

Carl Henderson of Carl’s Cards was a beloved figure in Havertown and beyond. He ran his shop with joy and selflessness for 31 years. After his sudden death last month, his family is keeping it alive.

🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “You can never correct nature / The tree that is born bent will never straighten its trunk.” That’s an English translation from “El Gran Varon” (The Big Man) by salsa legend Willie Colón, who passed Saturday at the age of 75.

👋🏽 Thanks for starting your morning with The Inquirer. Julie will bring you the news bright and early tomorrow. Until then, stay warm and take care.