44943 Fri Apr 07 15:49:34 -0700 2006 8 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 221770 Sushi just hasn't been the same since Sushi Monster Sr. and I ate what amounted to essentially the entire Japanese specials whiteboard – top to bottom –- at Sakae in Burlingame two weeks ago. That unparalleled exercise in gustatory excess set the bar so high that everything since then seems just ... ho-hum. Of course, it's not every day Sr. and I have $230 to drop for a quick lunch. So what is there left to do? Go try Sakae's little sister – Yuzu. The modest storefront operation, at 54 37th Ave. in San Mateo (just a half-block to the west of El Camino and two blocks south of Hillsdale mall) does not compare to Sakae's overwhelming experience. But what Arima-san does is excellent in its own right and – surprise! – very competitively priced. I knew within five minutes of sitting down that this place would be on my "must return" short list. Like all my other top-tier picks, this one has a very small (seven-seat) bar and it's wise to be prompt if you don't want to wait for a lunch seat to open up. (The Thursday I visited was a slow one, though, with just me at the bar and three couples at the deuces.) I found Arima (who I'm guessing is both itamae and general manager/proprietor) to be very accessible and well-versed in both his craft and the current market for fish. Unlike Sakae, I didn't see a list of precious, exotic only-from-Japan items on the specials menu. But everything I ordered off the whiteboard was of excellent quality. (Arima indicated that *some* of the air-freighted Japanese fish is identical to that at Sakae, but some is sourced separately. Again, this is not a lower-priced Sakae clone.) If you are in the mood for something really exotic to American tastes, note that Yuzu serves a full selection of rarely seen Japanese-style vegetarian maki (rolls) made with everything from squash to Japanese pickles. Although I stuck to my usual ration of nigiri, I should also note that there was an affordable daily lunch special (soup, salad, kaarange chicken and seared tuna for $10.95) and a full range of the usual cooked offerings, plus four or five large fancy rolls priced at $7.50-$12. My faves from the specials board: Kanpachi (best-grade yellowtail) – with beautiful cuts, clean, clear, uncluttered flavor -- the only comparison is with Sakae's. Umi-masu (ocean trout, Australian) – I'm getting to love this full-flavored southern-hemisphere offering as much as my beloved BC sockeye. Too bad it's seasonal. Aji (Spanish mackerel) – the strongest-flavored fish of the day, seasoned with green-onion garnish and what might have been some sort of marinade. Potent! Glad I saved it for the end. The ebi and the Hokkaido scallop were good but not outstanding. The seared tuna, served garnished with some sort of pickled green and a white mucous-like, flavorless substance, was just not my thing. I have no complaints at all. The value's here. What I wish I saw was a bit more variety in the fish lineup or interesting signature treatments. I tend not to drink sake during my sushi meals, as it seems to dull my palate. But for those who do, note that there's an $11 three-glass sampler. The by-the-glass specials menu is all in Japanese, so I wasn't tempted to go down that road. There are splits of seasonal and special offerings in the below-$50 range, for those who don't want to order an entire bottle. Bottom line: Everything's right. Traditional orthodox style shop, really good itamae and top-quality fish at a fair price. Average nigiri plate was $5.50. Lunch total w/20 percent tip and no beverage was $39.50. That puts Yuzu right up there with my other top-tier favorites -- Higuma in Redwood City, SushiYa in Palo Alto and Naomi in Menlo Park. As for Sakae? It's safe on its own special plane. The epic path of piscene devastation continues up El Camino to Sam's! Give me the business, sauce brother! Bring it on! Sushi Monster Fri Apr 07 15:49:34 -0700 2006 0 Sushi Monster 1 221774 Thanks for your write-ups. I usually go to Yuzu since it's closer, but I absolutely agree that Sakae is the place to go for unusual and top-notch sushi. I just went to Sakae again last weekend and had the omakase. We started out with a palate-cleanser of glass eels (elvers -- it seems fresh ones are in season now) in what seemed to be a sake, mirin, and sudachi broth -- very unusual, I've never seen glass eels in a Japanese restaurant before. Then we had a very large amount of sashimi, sushi, and a few cooked dishes. Some of the items were not on the white board menu, such as the ocean trout sashimi (one of my favorites), and special creations such as the glass eels and a uni/ankimo/caviar dish. Unfortunately the dinner was $315 for two, of which only $10 was alcohol! Next time we'll make sure to eat a big lunch before going to Sakae again, but until then, we'll happily have more reasonably-priced meals at Yuzu. Fri Apr 07 16:15:24 -0700 2006 221770 0 PekoePeony 1 221775 Thanks for your write-ups. I usually go to Yuzu since it's closer, but I absolutely agree that Sakae is the place to go for unusual and top-notch sushi. I just went to Sakae again last weekend and had the omakase. We started out with a palate-cleanser of glass eels (elvers -- it seems fresh ones are in season now) in what seemed to be a sake, mirin, and sudachi broth -- very unusual, I've never seen glass eels in a Japanese restaurant before. Then we had a very large amount of sashimi, sushi, and a few cooked dishes. Some of the items were not on the white board menu, such as the ocean trout sashimi (one of my favorites), and special creations such as the glass eels and a uni/ankimo/caviar dish. Unfortunately the dinner was $315 for two, of which only $10 was alcohol! Next time we'll make sure to eat a big lunch before going to Sakae again, but until then, we'll happily have more reasonably-priced meals at Yuzu. Fri Apr 07 16:15:24 -0700 2006 221770 0 PekoePeony 1 221788 I believe you are right that Arima-san (and his wife) pretty much run Yuzu and also have creative input on the cooked food/menu. I think ultimately Hiro-san (owner of Sakae) still has complete ownership, but has handed the reins of how to run the restaurant to him. I seem to remember Bay-Spo newspaper one time showcasing a very interesting $20 cooked item at Yuzu. It was something to do a spicy seafood hotpot. Looked very interesting at the time. Arima-san actually worked as a sous-sushi chef at Sakae, which was how I first met him. This was oh, maybe back in 2000 or 2001. Fast forward a few years he left Sakae and worked at various Japanese restaurants. I spotted him at Sushi Kei in Millbrae, when I was going there for dinner a few times (haven't been in ages) and then after that he was working at Seto Sushi in Sunnyvale (prior to the ownership change). It was a hoot because he thought I was following him around when it was by freak coincidence that I kept bumping into him. Then finally he ended up at Yuzu. So he does have quite a bit of experience. He received his training in the Bay Area, not in Japan. And he goes to the fish market himself these days for Yuzu. Lots of work, sometimes not appreciated or known by customers. One very interesting sushi item at Yuzu is the yuzu tobiko, basically your "flying fish eggs" marinated in Japanese yuzu (kind of like a lemon). The eggs are normally red orange-ish, but after yuzu marination they turn into a nice dark yellow. Very tasty. First I've ever had and tried. Normally I don't order tobiko but this one I always get whenever I do rarely get to go. Fri Apr 07 17:02:40 -0700 2006 221770 0 KK 1 221797 Great review! Did they have much of a selection of non-sushi items? Sakae also has some non-sushi appetizer type items that are quite good. I was wondering if Yuzu had anything similar. Fri Apr 07 17:33:46 -0700 2006 221770 0 Naoki 2 221827 Yes, there was a complete menu of cooked items. I'm sorry I don't have any details on that, as I was just there for the sushi. Of the sushi menu, the one thing that struck me as special was the list of a half-dozen very traditional Japanese-style small maki (rolls) made with vegetables not fish. Fri Apr 07 19:27:48 -0700 2006 221797 0 Sushi Monster 2 221891 Linked below is Yuzu's website, all in Japanese. One of the links has a menu of cooked food/small dishes. What is mighty interesting is that I just dug this link out, went to it, and it looks like Chef Yoichi Arima started his own wine company.... arimawine.com. I kind of remembered him mentioning it in passing when I ate at Yuzu last year. Any Japanese readers who can help translate what's going on with arimawine.com and start a new thread would be gladly appreciated :-) Link: http://www.geocities.jp/yuzusushi2000/ Sat Apr 08 02:02:44 -0700 2006 221797 0 KK 3 221897 Arima wine was something he did FT for a while before settling into his position at Yuzu. He is quite the wine guy! Sat Apr 08 02:43:16 -0700 2006 221891 0 stuart 3 222091 A couple of things from the website: 1) It looks like Arima-san is also a distributor of the California wines, in particular,a Japanese-owned Sunset Cellars, along with others (Opus One, Pride, Turley, etc.) I believe you can try this wine at Yuzu. For those interested in this winery, I will add a link below. 2) The last Sat. of the month, Yuzu hosts a sake tasting event (with tasty looking appetizers) from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. R.S.V.P. if you are interested. I may check this out this month. Link: http://www.sunsetcellars.com/ Sun Apr 09 23:17:51 -0700 2006 221891 0 Yuko