442197 Mon Sep 17 16:16:35 -0700 2007 10 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2950125 Can anyone recommend a sushi spot - traditional, all-about-the-fish kind of place - for a few New Yorkers visiting this weekend and staying in Japantown? Ambience is not a necessity - great food is. Thanks! Oh, and if you have anything to say about Ame (I know, I digress) that would be much appreciated. Thanks! Mon Sep 17 16:16:35 -0700 2007 73380 bhagen03 1 2950428 Try Kiss Sushi. It's small, so you might want to make a reservation. Mon Sep 17 17:42:28 -0700 2007 2950125 12967 zfalcon 1 2950819 One of my favorite places in J-town is Ino Sushi. That place is definitely all about the sushi and sashimi. Don't miss the ankimo at Ino. Kiss Sushi was also pretty good - they have quite a few choices of cooked foods also. Just a warning Kiss' sushi is more on the small side (I am told its the Tokoyo style). If you are just looking for straight forward great sushi/sashimi then Ino is probably a good bet. Definitely make reservations for either place. Mon Sep 17 19:42:36 -0700 2007 2950125 15111 misspiggy 1 2951203 If you're coming from Manhattan in particular, SF sushi especially J-town will be a huge let down for you (assuming Yasuda, Jewel Bako, and Kuruma are your favorites, if not the great 4 digit Masa). Otherwise the only authentic sushi only place is Ino (dinner only) as misspiggy had already mentioned. No frills traditional style only where nigiri is served on the counter. Use soy sauce sparingly, dip fish side down first (single dip) and enjoy. Arguably the best monk fish liver receipe mankind has ever known. But saying Ino is an all about the fish kind of place isn't quite right, Ino also makes equally good sushi rice, an ingredient that is just as important to the experience. Ino's sushi is strictly Tokyo style (classical nigiri sushi). If fish is more important to you than rice, then perhaps Sebo in Hayes Valley would be a better option. Kiss is not a sushi only place. Their strengths are in cooked dishes, and while they do offer sushi the selection is small. The chef at Kiss is not classically trained in sushi and apparently picked up the art of cooking himself without formal training from what I was told. If you want nigri sushi prepared by a well trained master, Ino is your place. Little known fact, there is a scroll behind the counter at Ino in Japanese calligraphy, written by former Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba to Ino himself, that more or less says "Knife Handler for Life". If that's not a high honor, I don't know what is! If you want an exquisite high end dining experience that involves high quality raw fish and cooked delicate small dishes, although Kiss might be an option, do look into Kappa, upstairs from Denny's SF J-town. Mon Sep 17 23:16:03 -0700 2007 2950125 12872 K K 2 2951287 What a blasphemy, Ken, that you didn't mention ikura other than ankimo at Ino! ;-) I also want to add that Kappa doesn't serve nigiri sushi, just sashimi. For (kinda) similar dishes, I've enjoyed Kaygetsu far more than Kappa, but then again Kaygetsu is in Menlo Park. Vincent Tue Sep 18 02:15:12 -0700 2007 2951203 50138 vincentlo 3 2951964 Agreed - Kappa is the best Japanese restaurant in J-town, but it is NOT a sushi restaurant. It is a “Koryori” and most of the dishes are cooked but a few sashimi plates are thrown in. Around the corner from J-town, up Fillmore a few blocks is Toraya which I think is superior to Ino as far as quality and quantity of fish is concerned. I live in the neighborhood and have eaten at all of them, multiple times. Comparable to Ino is Fuku, on the other end of the mall (top floor, across from the book store). Tue Sep 18 08:53:25 -0700 2007 2951287 16933 Carrie 218 4 2957562 Last time Beau Timken from True Sake hosted a crab & sake dinner at Toraya on Post in Japantown, I went mistakenly to the other Toraya on Fillmore. Fortunately they are within walking distance of each other. Don't make my mistake of confusing these two restaurants! Vincent Wed Sep 19 17:41:56 -0700 2007 2951964 50138 vincentlo 3 2952215 That's because I think Koo in SF does a much better ikura marination of soy sauce, mirin, and sake (no offense to Ino, although the quality of his eggs are indeed supreme). It's really a personal preference, some like more shoyu, and some like it more salty, or some like more sake flavor. But Ino has the edge on sushi rice receipe and of course crispy nori for the gunkan maki. Not everyone is a fan of ikura sadly, but Ino's ankimo is certainly a standout and has converted non ankimo lovers to actually appreciating it. Tue Sep 18 09:52:27 -0700 2007 2951287 12872 K K 4 2957619 After reading Ken's review, I went back to Koo a few weeks ago, and even though I called days ahead and quoted a high price point, the guy (Kiyoshi himself?) responded the omakase usually didn't cost that much, and it was the sake that added up. When I arrived with a friend, he asked for what we liked and didn't like. I was a bit surprised, because it meant he didn't prepare anything special in advance *just* for us. Everything was quite good, but a big step down from what Ken showed us in his picture-laden review. Because of the huge kitchen, there were a small number of interesting appetizers that a small place like Kiss can't possibly churn out. When Kiyoshi asked me in the beginning what I must have that night, I thought for a while before I mentioned uni. But he didn't give that to me! Until I explicitly asked for it, which was quite good. Sake prices were stunningly low, and that was a huge plus. No ridiculous markups here! I also bumped into famed local sake connoisseur Bryan Harrell, and the sake exchange at the restaurant was quite enjoyable. Looked like $60 per person for omakase before drinks/tip/tax, but there wasn't enough food (I was only 1/3 full) and so my friend and I ordered a bit more. Not sure if I will go back to Koo, now that Sebo seems to be even more "competitive" as their prices don't seem as steep. Vincent Wed Sep 19 17:57:52 -0700 2007 2952215 50138 vincentlo 2 2953477 I second the recommendation for Sebo in Hayes Valley. Just so you get an idea of where it is, you just head south from Japantown toward Market Street and you'll hit Hayes street before you reach Market. Sebo has great fish although a bit pricey. But you're from Manhattan so you're used to it! :) Tue Sep 18 14:43:11 -0700 2007 2951203 43882 singleguychef 3 2953491 Sebo also has a short but excellent sake list done by Beau Timken, who runs True Sake across the street (world's only sake-only store). If you go early you can hit both--Sebo opens at 6pm and True Sake closes at 7pm. Tue Sep 18 14:48:42 -0700 2007 2953477 11369 Robert Lauriston