Sushi trip reports - starting w/ Kiss Seafood in SF

[El Diablo]

Kiss Seafood, San Francisco

http://www.yelp.com/biz/USbpXRK2pFey0V24QcgXsQ
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/p...estaurant.html

OK, this is a 12-seat restaurant. 2 tables and a sushi bar. Husband does the food, wife is hostess and server.

They have a regular sushi menu you can order from, but one of the two Omikases (chef's selection) is clearly the way to go. They have two options, one for $42 I think and the other for $60. Apparently the only difference is that the $60 replaces a couple of items with toro and other premium fish.

We did the $60 omikase.

Started out wiht a delcious mushroom and bean and random stuff japanese salad. Tasty and fresh.

Ordered some dry sake, the waitress made a great recommendation for us. ($10/big glass, we each had 2 or 3)

Next was three small dishes. A salad which was OK. Some cooked mackerel that was tasty. And some really delicious japanese eggplant. Wow, that was really great stuff.

Next we had sashimi. The sashimi included a couple of pieces each of clam (OK), squid (OK), salmon (delicious), hamachi (wow, this was really incredible), toro (wow, delicious, as expected), and a couple of other fish that were very good. The hamachi and toro were clear standouts, but everything was very good.

Then we had white radish and fish cake in a miso broth. The radish and fish cakes were tasty, but really they were just vehicles for this incredible, sublime miso broth. It's hard to describe how delicious it was. Rich, salty, intensely flavorful, yum.

After this was this vegatable and seafood custard dish. This was incredible. A little bowl with a broth full of lots of vegetables and pieces of fish. Oh, and some clams to put into the broth. So, you're eating this delicious broth with fish and oysters and stuff and then you dig into the bowl and there's this silky smooth rich custard layer with other seafood delights. Man, so delicious.

Nigiri was next. Similar selection to the sashimi, all delicious. One was a real standout, though. It was a marinated maguro. This fish was melt in your mouth, almost with a slightly jellied consistency. The flavor was just incredible.

I might have missed one course in here, but whatever, they were all great.

The meal finished off with some really incredible miso soup. Delicious.

Basically, you're talking $60-100 per person depending on the Omikase and drinks you choose.

I would highly recommend this to anyone. Really a special dining experience.

Here's a good review with some pictures: http://hungryhedonist.blogspot.com/2...s-seafood.html

[Shadowrun]

interesting, i usually begin with miso soup not end with it.

[proell]

Just got back from a sushi lunch in Santa Clara.
Decent sushi joint called "Sushi O Sushi" in a mini-mall (basically everything down here is in a mini-mall).
Everything was fresh, and the place was packed with mostly japanese businessmen so I'm guessing it ranks pretty high in the local sushi lunch scene.

Some hot tea and little edamame to start, followed by a standard trio of nagiri: maguro, hamachi, sake

Solid 4-star sushi lunch experience.
I pretty much live on sushi now that I've cut out all other animals from my diet.

Hopefully I'll get to add a more extensive dinner trip report to this thread at some point this week!

[Billy Bibbit]

El D,

How does this restaurant compare to other sushi restaurants in the Bay Area? Do you know which other ones offer omakase meals?

[suzzer99]

Had Club Sushi in Hermosa Beach last night. We mostly just stopped in for apps and a drink - not the full sushi experience. I've lived in the area for almost 7 years and never tried it. Fairly expensive and small portions. Nothing special. 8 small pieces of tuna sashimi for $13 seems a little high to me. Pieces were maybe .5 x .5 x 2 inches - does that seem like enough? A couple custom spicy rolls that were decent. The fried calamari was fairly rubbery and tasteless.

BUT - if you do go, get the apple pastry dessert thing. Mmmmmmmm. I may go back just for that. It's a flat apple turnover covered with a layer of carmelized sugar like the crust from creme brule (best part) - topped with two scoops of ice cream and a lot of hot caramel sauce.


I do plan to go back to the "Sushi Nazi" (Sushi Nozawa) in the valley very soon, and I'll be sure to provide a full TR. This is one of the best sushi places in LA. I've been there once before a few years ago, w/o knowing the full reputation, and thought it was the best sushi I've ever had.

Basically everyone just gets the special and *supposedly* he'll kick you out if you try to order a California roll. The biggest difference I noticed about it was that the rice was warm, which I can't remember ever experiencing at a sushi place. Really seemed add to the taste. Also the special was very tuna-heavy the night I went. Which suits me perfect.

Oh yeah, another GREAT deal is Miyagi's on Sunset Strip on a Tuesday night. 2 for 1 on everything. I've never been so stuffed on sushi.

[El Diablo]

Shadow: I have been told by some that miso soup at the end of a meal is standard in some traditional Japanese places both here and in Japan, but I'd never seen it before.

Billy: Many sushi places do omakase that is sashimi/sushi combinations. I haven't been to other Bay Area places that do an omakase like this where it is more like Nobu style omakase with a mix of sashimi/sushi and cooked dishes. Overall, I feel like the quality and execution was a notch above regular favorites of mine like Sushi Groove South and Blowfish (reviews of these and other Bay Area places somewhere on this forum). I'm going to Sushi Ran (http://www.sushiran.com/) soon and will give a comparison. Sushi Ran received a Michelin star and many now call it the best sushi in the Bay Area. Last time I went was over a year ago and it was very good, but I didn't think it was that much better than SF places. Kyo-ya in downtown SF might be the best sushi in the city. VERY expensive, though.

[Billy Bibbit]

[ QUOTE ]
Billy: Many sushi places do omakase that is sashimi/sushi combinations. I haven't been to other Bay Area places that do an omakase like this where it is more like Nobu style omakase with a mix of sashimi/sushi and cooked dishes. Overall, I feel like the quality and execution was a notch above regular favorites of mine like Sushi Groove South and Blowfish (reviews of these and other Bay Area places somewhere on this forum). I'm going to Sushi Ran (http://www.sushiran.com/) soon and will give a comparison. Sushi Ran received a Michelin star and many now call it the best sushi in the Bay Area. Last time I went was over a year ago and it was very good, but I didn't think it was that much better than SF places. Kyo-ya in downtown SF might be the best sushi in the city. VERY expensive, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the info. I just moved to the Bay Area a few months ago and I can't afford to eat very expensive meals on a regular basis, but I love me some sushi once in awhile.

The only really good sushi I've had since coming here is Kirala in Berkeley (where I live). I wish their menu were a little more creative. It has all the same things that are on the menu of every other sushi restaurant, but they're fresh and very high quality, plus I sat at the sushi bar so I got to eat them literally seconds after they had been prepared. However, it just didn't have the "wow" factor that would make me rate it with the best sushi I've ever had (Oishii in Boston). I got a bowl of miso soup, 3 orders of nigiri (ikura, hamachi, and toro, 2 pieces each) and a spider roll, and paid a total of $40 including tax and tip.

I'll write a longer trip report for Oishii later.

[El Diablo]

Billy,

Sushi Groove South and Blowfish are very good and quite a bit cheaper (dinner without drinks is usually about $35, with a couple of beers about $50). Some places like Sakana are much more low-frills in decor and stuff, but have very good fish for even cheaper. There are tons of very reasonably priced good sushi places in SF.

[Jason Strasser (strassa2)]

what about our little date, that place was good

[death_blooms]

I recently went to Sushi Itto in Acapulco, Mexico and it was really good. I had the 11 piece dish and an order of unagi. It ran me about $30 USD.