Sansho - Investigatory

Have any of you had any success extending sansho from the unagi ideal? I came across a fantastic spice shop (also have a great shichimi togarashi, apparently also known as nanairo togarashi in Tokyo, but I have never heard it referred to as such) near Kiyomizudera in Kyoto, and have been trying to figure out how I can use sansho ever since. As of now, I know it doesn’t make an especially good tea (even though it is the substance behind one of the funniest phone calls I have ever received – Simon, please explain!), but I have had some success with tomatoes, both cooked and raw. I assumed this might extend its application to foods of similar acidity, but then I read in a spice guide at Amy’s house that the key to sansho was fatty foods. As all of you know, olive oil is a necessity for me, and it might have actually been the oil that the sansho had complemented so well on my tomatoes. Do any of you use it in your cooking? Should we stick to using it as a table condiment (after all the cooking is done)? I am really excited to use it on some grilled fatty fish (salmon, grouper, etc.) especially my favorite, grilled (chicharroned) grouper head (shioyaki – with only salt). Hopefully we can spear a few this 4th of July weekend in Sugarloaf.

Sansho Questions:
Where is it used besides with unagi?
Does it complement tomatoes?
Does it complement olive oils?
Have any of you used it on fatty foods? fish? beef? pork?
Can we cook with it, or should it be used as a table condiment?