The people who say they wouldn't go to the French Laundry, Benu or Saison because of the precious parade of courses, the formal atmosphere and the extended length of time at the table are some of the same people sitting at the sushi counter eating one bite of delicate sushi after another, as one hour slips into the next.
It's hard not to be captivated by the skill of chef-owner Mitsunori Kusakabe. There are no decisions to be made as diners sit back, relax and are taken on a culinary journey that costs $95 for 11 dishes, mostly sushi but with a soup course and another hot dish.
Dinner begins with a briny broth of kelp tea designed to decompress the 17 patrons at the sushi bar and the 12 who are seated at tables. The waiter also brings a damp black finger towel so diners can wipe their fingers after picking up the sushi with their hands - the way suggested by the waiter, who is as calming as the tea.
Kusakabe defines his menu as omakase sushi, kaiseki style, referring to two distinct types of dining. Kaiseki is a set menu, precisely designed and served. A true omakase menu is based on individual diners' preferences gleaned from their ongoing relationship with the chef. It's a menu built on trust.
Yet in a broader sense the term is accurate here because the chef creates the menu; it's somewhat standardized, but on each of my three visits he made adjustments. Every ingredient is sliced, chopped, drizzled and squeezed to order.
For the first course, the chef places a piece of bluefin tuna, dark from its soy sauce cure, on a small pad of rice. He briefly torches half the flesh to caramelize it, intensify the flavor and firm up the texture - an artful contrast in a single bite.
Next comes a piece of halibut sliced to order, with shallow slits in the flesh to help diffuse the flavorings. The chef adds a dab of its liver gently scooped from a tiny tin, places it on the center of the white flesh, dribbles on a soy-like sauce and tops it with delicate ribbons of shiso. Next up is bonito with a small mound of pickled daikon and rings of scallions.
The sashimi - slices of amber jack and halibut because I am allergic to the scallops that would normally be part of the mix - is arranged on a mound of what looks like snow cone ice accompanied by a soy dipping sauce and a chunky blend of yuzu and onions.
Miso soup offered a warm change of pace, an intense broth with two tender duck meatballs, mitsuba (Japanese parsley) and a hint of sansho peppers. On other visits the soup featured summer truffles floating among the ribbons of herbs, with eringi and shimeji mushrooms visible just below the surface. The flavors are at once strong and subtle.
Next comes what's labeled unique sushi, although everything that came before could be described the same way. In this case, "unique" meant Tasmanian trout cured in kombu on two squares of rice flavored with cilantro and sesame seed. It was finished with sesame miso to bring all the flavors together.
On subsequent visits, the chef served a rice flour cracker that resembled a small pottery bowl shaped like a flower. It's so shiny and well formed that the chef had to tell me to pick it up and eat the entire thing, because I had started to use chopsticks to pick up the rice and barbecued eel on top.
Next is the second warm dish, which was the same on all three visits - two finger-size pieces of crab on tofu, caked in crispy rice and garnished with a slice of key lime so thin it looked like parchment. The waiter then pours on Hokkaido kombu dashi broth. It's yet another example of the tension between bold, subtle, crisp, creamy, warm and cool - the dish touches all those notes. This type of juxtaposition describes many of Kusakabe's dishes.
The next two bites, labeled "sushi chic," included striped bass with a sprinkling of sea salt, gratings of Meyer lemon peel and a few drops of juice. In between each course the chef wipes off the black lacquer rectangles on the shelf above the counter in front of each diner, and replenishes the small bowls of pickled ginger.
For her part, the server is always subtly looking over diners' shoulders, answering questions and helping them to decide what to order from 16 sakes, 16 wines or five beers.
The sake is available in a 3-ounce glass, 6-ounce carafe or by the bottle. Each round is served in different containers - crystal cubes, thick earthen pottery, translucent green cups and long-stemmed wineglasses for the more expensive Daiginjo ($15-$30 for a 3-ounce pour).
Light to heavy
The meal continues to progress from lighter to heavier preparations. Next is what turns out to be the most intriguing dish of all - Copper River salmon with just a sprig of microgreens on top. I could have sworn there was a brush of maple syrup because it was so sweet, but we were simply tasting the natural essence of the fish. In just about every case, the fish is served at the perfect stage for sushi.To finish, there's a choice: a slice of A5 Wagyu or toro - a lush, fatty piece of fish - on a pad of rice and topped with a small knob of wasabi.
That's the end of the tasting menu. From there, diners can order from 20 a la carte sushi or sashimi items or, if you have an appetite like mine, you might want to try the expertly prepared Santa Barbara sea urchin ($8.50 per piece), Hokkaido uni ($14) or barbecued white eel ($14). Then there's whiting cured with kombu and bonito flakes ($8.50), cherrywood-smoked bonito ($8.50) and five maki rolls, including one with braised Japanese squash ($7.50).
Desserts are also extra: mild green tea creme brulee ($6) and a refreshing yuzu and shiso ice ($4.50) topped with a green tea cookie in the shape of a K.
By the time you get to that point you feel as satisfied and refreshed as if you've had a relaxing massage and rest.
On my last visit, as I was paying the bill, the gracious waiter leaned over and whispered that if I let them know next time, they would do preparations differently from the printed menu. Finally I discovered what a true omakase menu might mean.
Kusakabe
Food: Rating: THREE AND A HALF STARS
Service: Rating: THREE STARS
Atmosphere: Rating: THREE STARS
Prices: $$$$
Noise rating: Noise Rating: ONE BELL
584 Washington St. (at Montgomery), San Francisco
(415) 757-0155. www.kusakabe-sf.com
Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, 5 p.m to last seating at 8:30 p.m. Beer, wine and sake. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Difficult street parking.
Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic. Find his blog at http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com and his reviews on www.sfgate.com. E-mail: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@michaelbauer1
RATINGS KEY
FOUR STARS = Extraordinary; THREE STARS = Excellent; TWO STARS = Good; ONE STAR = Fair; NO STARS = Poor$ = Inexpensive: entrees $10 and under; $$ = Moderate: $11-$17; $$$ = Expensive: $18-$24; $$$$ = Very Expensive: more than $25
ONE BELL = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); TWO BELLS = Can talk easily (65-70); THREE BELLS = Talking normally gets difficult (70-75); FOUR BELLS = Can talk only in raised voices (75-80); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
Prices are based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings. Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are paid for by The Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit.
Reviewers: Michael Bauer (M.B.), Nicholas Boer (N.B.), Mandy Erickson (M.E.), Amanda Gold (A.G.), Janny Hu (J.H.), Allen Matthews (A.M.) and Carey Sweet (C.S.)
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