[San Francisco, CA] - Sasaki

The older I get, the less I feel like celebrating my birthday. I am officially back to just having a nice, quiet dinner. I really had no idea what I felt like doing until The Sushi Geek posted about Sushi Sasaki. In case you'd like to see the post, here is the Sushi Geek's Sushi Sasaki Review. Feeling pretty blah about what to eat, this was exactly what I needed. I researched a few other places but this is the restaurant that stood out to me the most. Plus, they (chefs Sasaki and Wada) both wanted to emphasize edomae sushi and simplicity. Key words that will more than likely get me to try a place - simplicity, traditional, understated (not that I won't go if it's not those things, those are just what attract me most).

I made a reservation, which was already getting a little hard to do on the weekends. It's reservation only and they have two times a night that they start their meals. The restaurant seats twelve, so only twenty-four lucky people get to enjoy per night. Please note that it's RESERVATION ONLY and it has to be through their website: Sasaki Reservations. 

Another article I read before this dinner was based on some things that Chef Nakazawa said: A Sushi Master’s Five Simple Rules for Not Embarrassing Yourself. The main thing i learned was that champagne pairs well with sushi and is a naturally good palate cleanser. Didn't know about that, and I was kind of skeptical, but would Chef Nakazawa lie to me? I figured it was as good a time as any to check it out. I prefer to trust my sushi chefs, so when it came time to order my drink, I deviated from my regular beer and ordered a glass of Savart L'ouverture MV. Dry, and slightly fruity, it really was a good palate cleanser. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Chef Sasaki only offers one Suntory beer, sake, and some champagne. I figure they wouldn't include it unless it went well with the food (as opposed to places that offer everything under the sun just to make that extra cash instead of focusing on the quality of food and drink), which it did.

The meal itself was pretty fantastic. I think I have found my new favorite sushi restaurant in Northern California! 

Omakase menu for the night. Start with some appetizers before getting to the nigiri.

Chef Takanori Wada prepping the maguro zuke with red rice

Seeing these prepped plates filled me with excitement like the night before Christmas

ホッキ貝/hokkigai/arctic clam, fish eggs, daikon sprouts, and a spicy fish sauce

Did you notice the view? I love the set up. Chef Sasaki said he had it designed this way on purpose so diners can see what the chefs are doing.

漬け鮪/Zuke Maguro - soy marinated tuna nigiri on red sushi rice. This was my first time having red sushi rice.

Slicing the mackerel. It has such a pretty color!

炙り鯖/Aburi Saba - seared/flamed mackerel. The sear was perfect.

Chef Masaki Sasaki  prepping the Sawara Kunsei

鰆/Sawara Kunsei. This was smoked Spanish Mackerel with shiso, daikon sprout, and shallots in a ponzu sauce.

Chef Sasaki plating the Black Sea Bass Shutou Yaki

Black Sea Bass Shutou Yaki - a grilled sea bass with a house daikon radish pickle. The fish was very fatty and paired well with the radish pickle. I could see myself eating this as a regular dinner meal on a weekly basis.

This restaurant only seats twelve. Everyone has a front row seat to both chefs in action!

Mushi Awabi - steamed abalone with liver sauce. Generous portion of tender abalone. Some of our seat mates were scared of the liver, but i enjoyed it.

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And thus we begin the 13 pieces of nigiri:

中とろ/chutoro - medium fatty belly with red rice vinegar

鰯/iwashi - sardine with ginger and red rice. Pictured on the left is what they serve instead of the thin sliced store bought ginger. They pickle this in house and I gotta say, it's amazing. I wish I could buy a huge jar of it to munch on at home!

魳 /barracuda, or Japanese Whiting, with fermented chili and red rice. First time having this and it was so good! Fun random fact - barracudas can swim as fast as 90mph!

金目鯛/Kinmedai - golden eye snapper with Japanese mustard and red sushi rice

The chefs gave us all this clam dashi as a palate cleanser since they were going to move away from the red sushi rice. 

When I saw Chef Sasaki preparing the uni, I was filled with anticipation.

雲丹/ uni and イクラ/ikura over white rice

Very generous portion. I've received much less at other places.

Konbu cured 平目/hirame - fluke that was cured with kelp with radish and white sushi rice. First time having this also and LOVED it.

針魚/sayori - needle fish with ginger and white sushi rice

いか /Ika - big fin squid with sea salt, yuzu zest, sesame seeds on white sushi rice. The squid was very tender and not super chewy at all

春子/Katsugo - young sea bream marinated in egg yolk with white sushi rice. Quite possibly my favorite nigiri of the night!

Chef Sasaki super thin slicing some daikon the way my mom used to peel apples

A delicious tray of goodies

Otoro, onions, some fresh veggies. As I was watching him prep this, I could feel myself getting hungry again and wanting to just swipe the entire plate and run off into the night. I think Chef Wada could sense it and pretended to hand me the entire plate.

This is what happened with the thin daikon slices. It was layered with some nara zuke/pickled squash, and a large portion of ankimo. It was one of those times where it was a first upon another first - this was my first time having ankimo that I ENJOYED. It was so tender. The other times I've had it, it was much denser. Most likely because it was frozen for a longer period of time. This ankimo was very fresh tasting. I will admit though, I was not a fan of the pickled squash. The flavor of it was not to my liking.

大とろ/Otoro - fatty tuna belly with red rice. Fatty and delicious!

小鰭/Kohada - gizzard shad. One of my regular favorites. 

Tray of goodies - wasabi, yuzu, house made pickled ginger, and various chilis and sauces.

穴子/Anago - sea eel with yuzu juice, sesame seeds, and red rice.

The only roll served that night. Tuna and fresh seasonal veggies on a crisp piece of seaweed, a light sprinkling of yuzu, and a shiso leaf. This was one of my favorites, and I was horrified to see that some people dining that night barely ate half of it.

Tamagoyaki done two ways. The one on the left was softer and sweeter. The one on the  right was more savory and texturally was like a castella cake and more to my liking. While good, the one at Sushi Kashiba is still my favorite.

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赤出し/Akadashi with clams. Chef Sasaki said he chose this broth instead of the regular miso you see at all of the other restaurants is because not only is it different, but the flavor is still mild enough that it won't be overpowering to the palate.

Just when you thought dinner was over (it wasn't on the menu), good things kept  right on happening.

Matcha mochi with red bean sauce for dessert. I'm not a huge fan of matcha, but this dessert was the perfect way to end dinner. The flavor was light, and what kind of Chinese person would I be if I didn't enjoy the red bean portion? Not pictured was a cup of complimentary hojicha. The experience was so relaxing, the chefs asked if I was going to fall asleep!

My birthday present from Chef Sasaki

Awesome sake cup that has "Sasaki" engraved on it.

Address:

2400 Harrison St

San Francisco, CA 94110

b/t 21st St & 20th St 

Please note that it's RESERVATION ONLY and it has to be through their website: Sasaki Reservations.