Kaito Sushi [split from GT]

[Jammin Joy]

EDIBLE PERFORMANCE ART!!
That's what Kazuo Morita is fashioning at his modest establishment buried deep in an Encinitas, California, shopping center. And as unassuming as his restaurant is, so is Morita-san himself. As a sushi novice, I am certainly not the best-informed judge of his skill, but I can attest to the two amazing experiences my husband and I had with him last month while visiting La Jolla on family business. We announced our minimal sushi experience up front and asked him to guide us, which he, along with the far more experienced patrons around us, was happy to do. Our first visit was early on a Saturday evening and our only request was a sequence of sashimi and nigiri followed by whatever else he might devise. To start, he produced an ethereal presentation of halibut sashimi with lemon pepper. I don't take photos of restaurant food, but the delicate beauty and flavor of this first dish was divinely portrait-worthy.
As the evening progressed and the beer flowed, Kaz, as his patrons call him, warmed up like an elite athlete, amazing my husband with the 'body English' he employed to make his perfect cuts. And for the very first time, I experienced sushi-envy. The eye-catching concoctions - particularly, a soft-shelled crab roll - he produced for a fellow diner provoked me to anxiously wonder: Why can't I have that? Maybe Morita-san likes him better.
That evening, the halibut sashimi and a shrimp roll adorned with tuna were most memorable. But, only after the toro nigiri he offered us all, wordlessly signaling us with a mischeivous smile, lowered head and index fingers pointing forward from his temples to emulate the horns of a bull: "Toro in the house!" Oddly, the sudden attentiveness this provoked around the counter reminded me of the '60's and '70's reaction when a party guest announced a willingness to share a particularly sought-after substance.
After our duly allotted time at his counter, Kaz gently dismissed us with: "Okay folks, lots of customers coming in tonight." But, one more astonishment awaited us - the bill! After Sushi Yasuda we could only whisper between ourselves in wonder at the total - basically, half the NYC fare. This had to be a mistake! Kaz finally said good-bye, wishing us "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year", knowing we wouldn't be back from the East Coast anytime soon.
Basically, shouzen nailed Kaito in his succinct description above. Quality equal to NYC sushi temple Yasuda, but in a much more casual, relaxed and, dare I say, less pretentious atmosphere. What I experienced was more artistic and creative, yet proudly traditional in that Kaz quickly objected when I referred to his "California sushi". When I amended this to his "sushi in California" he seemed a great deal happier.
All in all, the combination of Kazuo Morita's warm and humorous interaction with his patrons, the communal experience of Kaito diners interacting with each other, combined with very reasonable prices for top notch ingredients carries the day for Kaito in our book.

[daantaat]

great review! Kaito has spoiled us for sushi virtually everywhere else, especially w/ the laid-back attitude there!

[karaethon]

I'm glad you enjoyed the experience! I was wondering if I was one of those regulars around the counter "early on a Saturday evening" but the scene you describe must occur very frequently.

To expand more of the use of Anago vs Unagi, it was explained to me that the proper way to enjoy eel at a sushi bar is to eat anago. However, anago does not come pre-fileted - the chef has to actually filet the fish themselves. Because eels are slippery and hard to work with, they have to actually nail the eel into the cutting board in order to do the filet. If you ask nicely, Kaz will show you the hole in his cutting board and the nail he uses for this. Most sushi bars in the US serve only Unagi because it can be bought pre-fileted, but really the "proper" way to eat unagi is more in a rice bowl and not in sushi form.

[cgfan]

Anago is easily available pre-filleted to Sushi bars, but it's really terrible stuff. What sets Kaito apart from most is that they bring it in fresh and fillet it in house. The Unagi commonly found in stores is mainly used for Ryori, or cooked dishes, and as far as I am aware fresh Unagi is not available stateside..

Good, fresh Unagi can actually be quite expensive, but one must go to the specialty houses in Japan where they feature live Unagi.

[Jammin Joy]

We met a lovely person named Margo that night who was quite an aficianado and even shared a taste of 'sea pineapple' or 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' home' (Kaz's nickname because that's what it looked like) with my husband. Perhaps you know her.
Just looked at sustainablesushi.com for Anago vs. Unagi. Some interesting info there. It raises some issues about Unagi farming, pollution and possible health concerns . I've only had Anago and, apparently, that's the one to order when you have a choice.

[cgfan]

JJ, just wondering how recent your visit was. Your anecdote about "Sponge Bob" reminds me of a discussion I overheard between a customer and Kaz. If I recall right that night, I was dining in front of Kaz's station right about in the middle of the long-edge of the counter, and the conversation was going on just to my right.

I practically live there, so the odds are actually quite good that we may have overlapped our visits! (I'm also the one who likened many customer's pushiness in buying drinks for the Itamae as one of "feeding the ducks".)

[Jammin Joy]

That was our first visit early on a Sat in Sep. Kaz served what he called "sea pineapple" to a trio of, possibly, Japanese diners in the corner. It kind of looked like SBSP's house. It was sea cucumber and he said that it was a somewhat challenging item, best-appreciated by advanced sushi eaters. He offered it to anyone who was interested. And altho' everyone who tried it, including my husband, said they liked it, they didn't look that enthusiastic. Kaz even looked a little dubious about their responses.
I noticed a substantial percentage of Asian diners at Kaito Sushi. That must be a pretty good endorsement for its authenticity.
We're headed back to the area for a week in a few days and Kaito Sushi will be a bright spot in what will otherwise be a difficult trip. Maybe you'll be there when we are.

-----
Kaito Sushi
130-A N El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024

[cgfan]

Yeah, that's Hoya; a real strange beast, it swims around early in its life cycle, then attaches itself permanently through a holdfast to the ocean bottom whereupon it metabolizes its own nervous system - it essentially eats its own "brain"!

Many Japanese don't like it either, and it can be quite bitter. At its best it has just a trace of bitterness but with really interesting and light tropical notes and traces of sweetness.

Would be nice to run into you at Kaito sometime. I take it you're from Gotahm?

[Jammin Joy]

DC.

[royaljester]

In Japan there are shops that are small do nothing but serve unagi on rice (unagidon). =)

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks for coming back to tell us about your experience, JJ. I'm looking forward to hitting Kaito sometime this month, and I'm soooo excited! :)

[Jammin Joy]

The amazing thing about Kaz is that he has no sense of his own reputation. He doesn't use the Internet and when I told him that he was recommended on CH, he was genuinely astonished. He shyly and modestly protested, saying: "On no! There are many sushi places." When everyone around the counter confirmed his online reputation, he was shocked.
We consoled ourselves with one more visit to Kaito when we missed our flights home. The second time around, Kaz matched his choices for us to the warm sake we were drinking - winter dishes. Best were the thin, miso-spiced wahoo (ono) steak served warm from the kitchen, the snapper nigiri warmed up with his little blowtorch, and most amazing, the warm sea eel served with a curlicue of spine as a crunchy garnish.
Kaz explained that most sushi places serve frozen sea eel from which the spine has been removed at point of origin. He gets his fresh with the spine intact. Thus garnishing the eel with a bit of the spine signals the quality of his product.
And speaking of "product", a Japanese gentleman at the counter, the owner of a Vancouver fish company, extolled Kaz's products and sources. Lots of sushi places try to cover up poor ingredients with overly spicy preparations, but if the underlying ingredients are not pristine it just won't work, he explained.
So we had some more great food, learned a lot and got to know Kazuo Morita a little better. Amazing chef, artist and man!! Hope you have a great experience.
Let us know what you think.

[Rodzilla]

Completely agree that both the food and staff at Kaito are amazing.

That said, I do think Kaz plays the humility card a bit. The website is full of reviews, including links to chowhound, and I know that I've personally told him about his CH aclcaim as well.

That's not a sleight though, Kaz has ana amazing personality, and I don't think there's another itamae who will teach you as much about the craft as him.

[cgfan]

Good point. I have learned so much from him over the three shops that I've been his customer, (though he actually remembers me from four...). Stingy with information he is not. He'll always try to answer a question to the best of his ability when asked, and if he feels comfortable enough with you and has more time he'll volunteer much inside knowledge about his craft.

From anecdotes from his traditional training to the various fisheries and seasonal feeding patterns, to the impact that nuances in how the fish are caught has, it's opened up for me a whole new world.

What I most treasure are what I call the "Shota moments", brief AHA moments were some arcane, perhaps somewhat theoretical, aspects of Sushi preparation is made concrete and undeniably clear. I won't go into them here but will rather just link to an old post of mine, most of which are observations made while dining at Kaito - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/575822