We started with the ubiquitous “Spoonfuls of Happiness” – two soup spoons, one filled with a tai-wrapped smoked ankimo dressed with a bit of truffle oil and tobiko, the other a preparation of uni with quail egg and house-made ponzu sauce. The spoonfuls are served with a specialty sake and being an ankimo fan, I thought I would prefer that bite, but the freshness of the uni and the subtlety of the ponzu made the uni the preferred bite.

Not wanting to get full on rice, we specifically requested sashimi — with two slices each of maguro, tai aka, sake, hamachi, and and kanpachi. Note that the fresh, real wasabi is certainly a treat.

Indicating we were definitely interested in “unusual” offerings, the chef made us a salad of light mizuna greens, thinly sliced cucumber, and baby raw whole shrimp and squid. I don’t recall ever having been served whole squid the size of my thumb. Incredibly tender and lightly dressed, this was an amazing offering.

As my client requested salmon, a special offering of crudo was presented — thinly sliced white salmon, so tender and bright.

There was also an unagi course, but I’m not remembering exactly how it was offered.

We finished up with my one request of the evening; ama-ebi, as my good friend, Lance (visiting from London), had never had a fried shrimp head before. Perfectly fresh sweet shrimp and the fried heads were light and crunchy. Just perfect.

I brought a potential client and I’m sure we must have been given some deals as we drank a lot of sake, ate a lot of sushi, and the tab was only $300 for four.

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This review is, in fact, two separate visits. The first was Lisa and Cassy and I, sauntering in at almost ten in the evening, ostensibly to just try the Uni which, elegantly bedecked with 24k gold leaf was astonishingly fresh. But there were a few other treats being offered so we just *had* to stay. Baby squid were a surprise offering and proved to be very tender and bright.

While Lisa judges her sushi restaurants on Uni, I rate them on their Ama Ebi. The sweet shrimp was delicately decorated with a bit of tobiko and my only minor fault of the evening was with frying of the heads; some of the longer antenna were broken off in the process and I particularly like those crunchy bits. But that is a minor complaint.

Our last taste of the evening was a special roll-up that Chef Yoji prepared; mackerel, nori, lettuce, jalapeño, garlic, and a bit of sesame. The saltiness of the fish complemented the fresh, spicy chili and clean crisp lettuce leaf. Watching the chef prepare an omakase for another table is what brought me back, this time solo.

My solo visit occurred right after the Cherry Blossom Festival and while my first visit included a lot of face-time with the chef, after the festival closes in the evenings, it is often impossible to get a table at any restaurant in Japantown. I was lucky to be dining solo and be able to snag the end spot on the sushi bar. The staff were obviously overwhelmed, but were extremely accommodating. Upon sitting down, they pre- apologized profusely for any possible delays I might experience due to the crowd.

I didn’t need to look at the menu and quickly ordered the sashimi omakase platter I had seen the chef preparing during my last visit. While the fish was being prepared, I was served edamame, chawanmushi, and a very clear, light dashi broth (sans miso) that contained some nori and mushrooms. The chawanmushi was warm and rich, with perfectly square brunoise of carrots in the brothy bottom of the bowl and tiny bits of shrimp encased with the custard.

Then my sashimi platter arrived. At $30.00, this has to be the deal of the city; ten different kinds of fish. I received one of the most impressive servings that included baby octopus, maguro, toro, nori-wrapped uni, scallop, yellow tail, amberjack, red snapper, and sweet shrimp. All served with fresh wasabi, fresh shiso, and shredded daikon. I had all this with a small serving of Dassai Migaki Niwari Sanbu, a clean polished sake that showed hints of green apple and honeydew melon.

This is now my sushi bar of choice and I couldn’t be happier that it is within walking distance:

1737 Buchanan St
(between Post St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 674-1984

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I started with a pretty amazing offering of Brussels Sprouts served with mint and yuzu. I don’t miss the fact that SPQR isn’t serving Brussels Sprouts any more. These were incredibly fresh and the combination of mint and citrus awakens the palate and is comforting at the same time. I also ordered the sashimi sampler and couldn’t be happier; toro, sake, hamachi, and another.

Being adventurous, I of course ordered the “challenging” dishes; chicken hearts yakitori, beef heart served with onion and bonito flakes. The chicken hearts were perfectly grilled and so tender — which can frequently be ruined with over-grilling. The beef heart was served in chunks; rare and rich.

As I was finishing, because this was the soft opening, the kitchen sent out a few tastes for those of us sitting at the counter to taste; grilled black cod and the pork belly. The grilled black cod was intensely rich and complex with the pork belly providing that unctuous, fatty decadence.

Yes, it was a soft opening. The opening night is not for a few evenings but based on an early test, this will be a consistent favorite for me. Sozai was hard for me to get to and I will desperately miss Chef Nick at O Izakaya, but getting the best of both worlds is a stroke of brilliance. Bravo!

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Fortune has taken me to Los Angeles a few times this year and undoubtedly one of the best trips has been to stay with jeweler friend Rose. Being compatriots in a great love of sushi, she and her boyfriend, Andrew, insisted on sharing her personal favorite, Sushi Gen at 422 East Second Street in downtown. I think Rose has a personal “in” with head-chef Masa, but I’m not complaining. We had to wait a long time to get in and apparently that is not unusual for the following this place has. We waited a good 45 minutes for the coveted seats in front of Masa’s station and it was well worth it.

We started with a bottle of Kubota Senjyu which worked well for the entire evening’s offerings. To sort of “cleanse our palate,” our first offering was halibut sashimi in ponzu, with just a touch of yuzu and the fresh green onions, this awakened our mouths with an immediate demonstration of a respect for the fish and how it is best showcased. Not wanting to get too full on rice, I requested more sashimi than nigiri and fatty tuna was the next presentation; so rich and satisfying. There were presentations of both Japanese and Spanish mackeral (I think I liked the Spanish a bit better), sweet shrimp with fried heads (yeah!), and red snapper.

Rose knows of my willingness to try anything new or different and we asked Mas for the most unusual ingredient of the evening. In this, Sea Cucumber to which his sous chef (sorry, didn’t get his name) gave us a little dance on what sea cucumbers look like in the water. I’m just thankful I got pictures documenting that hilarious demonstration! The salmon had perfect marbling and the dressing on the albacore was just enticing enough to bring out its delicacy. Another juxtaposition which was offered was the Ankimo; Rose likes it with miso while Andrew prefers it with ponzu. I got to taste both and I’m still not sure which is my favorite, both worked so very well and it was thrilling to have great ankimo as lately, so much of the livers I’ve been eating have been grainy and not fresh.

We should have been full, but we couldn’t stop ourselves, continuing with some shared nigiri; scallops, unagi, squid with uni, and yellowtail. Rose and I also shared some oysters and then we culminated on a roll that Masa makes for Rose specially: a toro maki that is topped with more chopped toro and green onion. That was about my breaking point – we were too full for words and quite ecstatic. I don’t get this quality of sushi in San Francisco, that I have been able to find. The freshness of fish and its presentation was very reminiscent of Urasawa at a fraction of the price. So glad to have a new destination restaurant in Los Angeles and great friends to share it with!

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I have often lamented the lack of a true yakitori here in San Francisco. And truth be told, we only have two izakaya in the city; O Izakaya which is close to me in Japantown and Sozai, in the Inner Richmond. It took me a long time to get to Sozai because of its location. I’m sorry it took me so long to get there and I genuinely wish it were closer, despite some minor shortcomings which I’ll touch upon later.

But first, the sake. We each ordered a sampler, giving us six different tastes; Yuki no Bosha, Dassai Nigori, Tama no Hikari Yamahai, Take no Tsuyu, Urakasumi, and Tengumai. They were all distinct and enticing, but the Yuki no Bosha was the smoothest and easiest one to get in trouble with. In ordering a lot of food, we were grateful that the owner guided us through the menu on what to order.

We started with an assorted Sashimi platter as we were there the only night they serve sushi. The pieces were not cut perfectly, but the fish was fresh and good. Next came oysters and we loved the presentation; a bit of tobiko and a side of ponzu granita. This was delightfully innovative for the oysters, which were of great quality. A whole sample of yakitori came next; chicken gizzards, hearts, livers, thigh (negi-ma), and meatballs (tsukune). Not quite the quality of Shin Sen Gumi (my favorite in the state), but very respectable.

Our next offering was a slow cooked pork belly shichimi which was out of this world. So tender and rich and very, very satisfying. Lisa always has to try whatever uni is on the menu, so a single nigiri order arrived. Ankimo was next in the offering and I’m sorry to say this was not of great quality. It seemed a bit on the grainy side for my tastes. Some vegetables were recommended and the grilled Japanese eggplant were a pleasant surprise. Grilled to give a sugary, candied exterior, it did not hide the succulent eggplant creaminess inside.

Seeing how much we were enjoying the evening, the owner sent out a treat, the name of which I know not; squid brains in fermented squid gut sauce. The squid was tender enough, but the sauce was a bit too overpowering for me.

We finished up with dessert; a sweet-ish unfiltered sake (came in a frosty, pin, bottle) paired well with chocolate ginger cake and green tea tiramisu. Now I was reluctant on the tiramisu; making it with a green tea flavor seemed rather contrived but both Lisa and I were pleasantly surprised. It was not as kitschy as I thought it would be. The chocolate ginger cake, on the other hand, was superb; decadent hint of ginger in the redolent rich chocolate. Not too dry, not too sweet, and although garnished with a berry sauce, would have been better with simple whipped cream.

On the very minor downside to the restaurant, it is far from elegant. The tables are close together and the bizarre selection of 60s music in the background can occasionally glare a bit loud. But I don’t need elegant or appointed to enjoy good food and the service was exemplary. And the good news is that just a day or so before, Eater announced that the Sozai owners and the chef from O Izakaya are going to get together for a third venue in the Mission. Hoorah!

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