Kabuto A&S

Kabuto has just become our favorite sushi spot in the city. If you read yesterday's post, you know we have a list of places both "tried and true" and "dying to try" but this is a must go if you want a bit of adventure. The menu easily obliges.

We went with sushi compatriots R. and B. and ordered like mad. Kabuto is known for their unusual sushi rolls so make sure you order a few, even if you're a purist. We loved the Sammy roll, a California roll topped with salmon and curry sauce, and the shrimp and crab tartare on a sheet of nori that balanced atop a small mound of sushi rice. We chomped the garnish, too, crispy fried shiso (sort of Japanese basil). The front of the menu explains that these unusual combinations visit the chef in his dreams, and when he wakes he goes into the kitchen (or behind the sushi bar) to fashion them from memory. I couldn't convince anyone to order the Valentine (unagi, or eel, plus foie gras and chocolate sauce) but it's at the top of the list for my next visit.

Other delicious-ities that I've not seen on many other menus include soft, creamy ankimo (monkfish liver), melt-in-your-mouth sunazuri (yellowtail belly), and, when you can find it, abalone (they didn't have any on our visit). Specials that night included three fishes flown in from Hawaii. We tried the escolar, a firm white fish, but skipped the rest in favor of Tasmanian wild king salmon from Australia, which was tender and sweet and far surpassed the usual sake one can order. Hamachi kama, also called yellowtail collar, is the jaw bone and cheeks of the fish and can be found at nearly every sushi restaurant. It came to the table piping hot with a side dish of ponzu sauce. We fought with chopsticks over the succulent, smoky white and dark flesh and several who'd never had it before rolled their eyes in ecstasy. A first for me was the amaebi, shrimp served two ways. First, raw shrimp nigiri comes to the table, the shrimp glistening and pink. I had never had raw shrimp, since a typical order of ebi nigiri is actually cooked shrimp. I didn't care for it -- it was very fishy, very chewy, and just not for me. I loved part two, though: deep-fried shrimp heads. B. picked off the spindly legs and ate the head in one bite, but I ate mine slowly, savoring the nutty uber-shrimpy flavors. It was like shrimp to the nth degree, and eating the eyeballs, brains and legs delighted me so much I wondered if I'd been reborn a ten year-old boy.

Dessert offered a wider variety than I expected, and we enjoyed deep-fried tempura green tea ice cream, the ice cream inside still cold and solid and the tempura sweet and doughy. My absolute favorite dessert is a Japanese-American hybrid: green tea cheesecake. Though I think Blowfish does a better version, Kabuto's was creamy and soft and rich with cheese, and I loved the heap of kiwi, strawberries and grapefruit that accompanied it.

We brought our own wine so I can't comment on the beverage selection. Corkage is a ridiculously reasonable $6, and Beverages and More is a mere ten blocks away. Mr. Food Musings and R. zipped to and fro in a taxi while B. and I held down the fort on the sidewalk outside. On a Saturday night at 7 pm, we only waited twenty minutes after signing our names to the wait list -- but as we sat down, the sidewalk was getting crowded with hungry patrons.

Kabuto is a small space that seats 40 stretched between the sushi bar and the smattering of tables. Mellow, yellow paint and artfully displayed Japanese pottery and knick-knacks decorate the wall behind the sushi bar, and a kitschy clock amuses with plastic sushi, the kind many Japanese restaurants display to advertise their wares, where the numbers should be. Service was pleasant and quick and our server was happy to recommend house specialties. Besides the food, I noticed something there I've never seen anywhere else: a female sushi chef.

Next, the fearless foursome take on omikase! R. and B. have a relationship with a sushi chef in town, and we've gotten a few tips from others in the know on how to get a chef to cook just for us. Wish us luck!

Kabuto A&S, San Francisco, 5121 Geary Blvd, 415-752-5652

Comments

[julia]

The only problem with Kabuto is that they've closed and moved up north (maybe somewhere near Mt. Shasta? I can't remember).

[catherine]

Yeah, I read that too. But it's supposed to reopen under new chefs who trained with the former owner and are committed to making sushi in his style. For me, the next sushi spot to try is Kiss and maybe Koo, but then maybe I'll hit Kabuto again and see what's what.