Category Archives: Raw Bar/Coastal Cuisine

Thermidor with Chef/Owner Bruce Binn

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Bruce Binn, seemingly jovial as he walks towards me. “Hey Rebecca, I’m Bruce. My partner Neil will not be joining us, he’s over at Spork.” His pleasant and upbeat aura took me by surprise as most chefs exude a certain ‘on edge’ attitude that’ll make you want to back into your corner walking on eggshells. Not the case with Bruce Binn.

We’re sitting at the bar and I asked the bartender to surprise me with a cocktail as I like my drink ‘in harmony’ (it was the only thing that came to mind). He somehow knew exactly what I meant and without any questions he presented me with Blood and Sand. Blood and Sand consists of Scotch, Sweet Vermouth, cherry liqueur, and fresh orange. Similar to the Old Fashioned drink but slightly sweeter; the bold, straight forward spirit held in check with a calming note of sweetness and a twist of bitter and after tones of citrus on the palate. Perfect.

I took the opportunity and talked to the chef and asked a few random questions and here’s what went down:

Me: If you’re stranded on a desert island, what 5 foods would you want with you? and what would you make?

Bruce: Bagel and lox… is Tequila food? I like me some good rum. Reuben sandwich, burgers and pastrami.

Me: Interesting… ok. If you were being executed tomorrow, what would be your last meal?

Bruce: What’s my crime? My crime will dictate what I eat! I’d have to overindulge, a pound of Uni, something Japanese, lots of fresh, raw fish. That’s pretty satisfying.

Me: What’s your favorite Japanese restaurant?

Bruce: Ariyake on Geary. I still want to know what my crime is.

Me: I’ll have to get back to you on that after my meal. Last question: When designing a dish, what factors/components do you take into account?

Bruce: Its origin. If there is inspiration from a particular region – whether its American with Italian influence or French influence- gotta understand its foundation and decide the direction to go with. Either keep it true to its origin, or update it and figure out what I can do to give it my own stamp. It’s also a seasonal issue, but mostly knowing its origin, and understanding why it is what it is, understand why these elements work and execute it that way.

Twenty minutes and two Blood and Sands later, Bruce went back to the kitchen and my girlfriends arrived. We were promptly seated and our lovely waitress walked us through the menu and specials of the day. Here’s what we ordered:

Chips and Caviar - house chip, smoked fish, trout roe, creme fraiche

Close up of the Chips and Caviar

Pork Chop - housebrined Berkshire pork chop, spaetzel, red cabbage, grain mustard sauce

Scallop and Lobster risotto

Halibut Almondine - halibut with prosecco-almond sauce, fresh gnocchi, fava leaves, spring garlic

Verdict: It was a lovely meal. Great staff and service. I’d come back specifically for their pork chop, that was delicious and would love to try more on the menu.

Service: Excellent. Extremely warm and welcoming.

Ambiance: Retro, had a vintage feel with a modern twist. Great space.

Food: 4 out of 5 stars. My favorite dish was the Pork Chop, it was wonderfully thick, juicy and tender. Flavors were well-balanced. Least favorite dish was the halibut, the fish was overcooked. The scallops and lobster risotto was good but not spectacular.

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Seafood at Swell

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Swell, took over the old space of Bar Crudo keeping the raw bar concept in place. To differentiate the two, Bar Crudo has an American flair interpretation of seafood while Swell expressed its point of view with strong Japanese influence through its choice of ingredients, techniques and dinner format.

The menu is fairly simple with few selections of raw plates and warmed specialties. Portions are all in small plates, tapas style. While we pondered the menu, decided to start of with a dozen of Kushi oysters (my fave) and a bottle of Sake to kick off our appetite.

Kushi oysters

Roasted Wild Asian Mushroom Risotto

  • Least favorite dish of the night. In general I think risotto is a very sexy dish. The perfect risotto should be sexy to the eyes as it comes to the plate in a thick and creamy puddle and comforting in the mouth with its richness coating your tongue. You catch my drift?
  • Allow me to get technical…the creamy consistency of the sauce derives from the starch found in the rice meaning the result is dependent on the technique/methodology. When it sits for any length of time, it will continue to cook and as a result, the risotto will eventually soak up too much liquid leaving the final product broken or mashed. Timing and control of the liquid you put is crucial. Having said that, I believe timing was the issue here as this dish turned out a little too grainy and broken for my liking.

Roasted Asian Wild Mushroom Risotto

Scallops Roulaud - julienne crisp apples wrapped in fileted scallops topped with Yuzu aioli, sesame and wasabi tobiko.

  • From the light crunch of the apples, to the mini juicy bursts of tobiko and the freshness of the raw scallop provided a mixture of textures within one bite. The combined flavor was sweet, delicate and refreshing.

Scallops Roulade

Fort Bragg Sea Urchin - Uni served over tempura shiso with sweet soy aioli and strips of Nori.

  • Loved the counter of the tempura to the soft and buttery uni texture. More impressed that they kept this dish light in flavor allowing the uni’s distinct flavor take center stage.

Fort Bragg Sea Urchin

Dungeness Crab Cakes over a bed of kimchi cucumbers and daikon salad, topped with nori and sweet mayo.

  • Crab cakes are boring and gets dull in flavor typically because it’s usually presented to us with lemon wedges for tanginess and certain cream sauce for balance. When a little more thought gets put into this classic dish, it is easily elevated to something non conventional. And here we have a crab cake served with pickled cucumbers substituting the lemon and daikon salad for extra spice and sweet mayo for balance certainly added the twist and substance I’ve been looking for.

Dungeness Crab Cakes

Miso Glazed Black Cod - string beans, silvers of radish, and citrus vinagrett

  • Well cooked and very tender with right amount of sweetness from the miso glaze. Would love this dish over rice!

Verdict: While Swell kept the crudo concept, they certainly branched out with a voice of their own. The style is consistent through each dish keeping the combination of flavors and textures in mind. The complexity of flavors, the counters and balance is spot on as you often get sweet, sour, savory, crunch, buttery, and subtle surprises in one bite. In addition to the good food, the space is quaint and intimate allowing my friends and i spend some solid time catching up.

Michael Black from Sebo

Posted in Japanese Izakaya Places and White Board of Specialties, Raw Bar/Coastal Cuisine by

Michael Black, with a rock and roll aura that exudes  a matter of fact attitude, and perhaps a past that consist of leather jackets, motorcycles and tattoos, certainly does not fit the typical stereotype of a sushi chef or one to concoct traditional izakaya plates. Plus, he is only half Japanese, usually not enough in the eyes of sushi traditionalists.

Sebo, opened in March 2006, will be five years by March 2011 have generated quite a buzz in San Francisco; from having been on the Michelin 2010 and 2011 list, high reviews in the SF Magazine article, to being featured in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation, Black remains humble and ambitious to expand his hopes for Sebo.

Fortunately for me (certainly a bonus that I went with someone who is a close buddy of Black’s), we were seated at the bar counter only two feet away from Black, along with the chefs from NOPA and Delfina -  it was almost like I was in a private clubhouse of folks in the culinary industry. Being able to watch and chat with Black was such a treat. Each time Black presented a dish, he walked us through what we were having; the type of fish, use of base, and method of cooking technique. In the mist of jotting notes and taking pictures to document my experience at Sebo, it dawned on me why this omakase experience  felt different and special – 80% of the dishes we had were traditional Edomae-style small plates that he had growing up in Japan that can’t be found on the menu. It felt like I had a taste and glimpse of his childhood… incredibly intimate and personal.

He started us with a starter plate of Shima Aji, striped jack fish, butterfish, and fluke fish – all flown in from Japan butchered in front of us. Of course, fresh wasabi in tow.

Some sake and beer later, he handed us a drink: Soju made of barley instead of rice. Very subtle in taste, smooth finish with a bit of essence of Scotch.

Tsubugai: cucumber with sea snail. This was absolutely delightful. The sea snail somewhat reminiscent of geoduck in texture and taste. Sweet and refreshing.

Squid and eggplant in soy and vinegar base – my least favorite dish of the night. It was good, though it was on the salty side. It lacked balance in flavor and contrast in texture.

Tsumire-Jiru: fish ball, fish cake, fish paste, vegetable stew and broth. This dish reminds me the comfort of home cooked meal. Hearty, warm, soothing and pleasant. Perfect on a cold winter night.

Uni (from left to right): Mendocino, Maine, and Hokkaido

Mendocino Uni – mild and sweet Solid in texture compared to the other two.

Maine Uni – Creamy, buttery, and smoky in flavor with slight moldy cheese essence.

Hokkaido – Intensely rich

Combeu Maki (not sure if this is spelled correctly) – Rolled up pork wrapped in kelp simmered. One of Black’s most traditional dish. This was a lovely dish. The different components and textures ranged from soft and slick to a bit of crunch and chewiness that kept this dish from tasting dull.

Ended our 3.5 hour meal with fried fish scale. Typically used as garnish but we ate it as finger food. Uber buttery and crunchy!

DECOR: Loved the decor of this place. Simple, stylish, modern with Japanese touches, and chic without losing it’s casual vibe.

OPEN KITCHEN: Consist of only two chefs that run the kitchen.

SEATING: 6 bar counter seats facing the open kitchen. 6-8 tables with lots of space and flexibility.

MENU: Per my chat with Black, their menu changes every day. 95% of their fish are shipped from Japan daily. Definitely not your typical line up of salmon, imitation crab, yellowtail, and fusion rolls., think exotic selections that even hardcore sushi fans don’t find recognizable.

TIP: Get a seat at the counter, trust in Michael and just sit back and let him take care of you – its the way to go.

After 3.5 hours of dining and getting to know the chef, learning about him and his past experiences, he opened up and explain what is most important and what drives him – his passion for food and cooking. This guy is amazing… here’s what he said:

“Food is part survival, but if you bring it to a level of art, it is very intimate. That glimpse of reaction when you taste my food is the best reward of my job and that is what I strive for.”

Black’s ardent passion for food is unmistakable.

Taste What I Mean – Zushi Puzzle

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Zushi Puzzle, a sushi restaurant in the Marina, established in 2004 run by Chef Roger Chong, one of the most respected and well known sushi chefs in San Francisco. Unlike most sushi restaurants in the city, the ambiance at Zushi Puzzle is surprisingly homely and not flashy at all. By looks alone, you would find most restaurants on Lombard more appealing than this joint but, that is what’s wonderful; a restaurant that have garnered a tremendous amount of positive reviews solely because of its quality and selection of fishes.

For those who have not been to Zushi Puzzle, the most important tip I could give you is to call ahead of time and lock yourself and your date a seat at the bar. With only 10 chairs tightly wrapped around the sushi bar, this area is tucked away from the rest of the restaurant behind this wooden wall – it is absolutely the best seat in the house for those who want a great Omakase experience with Roger to walk you through it.

Roger typically starts his guests with a hand roll of deep fried soft shell crab wrapped with special seaweed.

From experience, Roger will either ask or will give you a sample taste test to get a feel of how spontaneous of an eater you are and once he feels like he’s got your taste-buds  figured out, the experience begins.

And my preference – toro and anything exotic that you wouldn’t find in any sushi joint. Here are a few highlights:

Uni over cold silken tofu. Roger explains that in Japan, they serve this dish of Uni over hot silken tofu so the contrast in temperature brings out the sweetness of the Uni. He, however, prefers serving this dish over cold tofu and his reasoning is to emphasize the texture of the Uni. Because the lack of contrast in temperature, the sweetness/flavor of the Uni is somewhat masked. For the purpose of getting the most out of this dish, leave a chunk of Uni on the tip of your tongue, then swallow it. The tip of the tongue detects sweetness, without mashing it in your mouth, swallowed it . Give this technique a try and then eat it how you normally would, you will taste and feel the difference

International plate of sashimi. From left to right: octopus, chutoro from Spain, flying fish, hamachi, ivory salmon from Alaska, trout, yellowtail from Japan, mackerel from Spain and butterfish from Fiji.

Torched Otoro (veined with fat) cheeks with fresh wasabi. Unmistakably delightful in flavor. The freshly grated wasabi brings out the sweetness of the fish. Ridiculously buttery and mouth-watering.

Those of you know me know that I’m sometimes allergic to shrimp. Sometimes I break out in hives, sometimes I don’t…weird, I know. Anyway, my date wanted to try their raw shrimp and when it came out looking the way it did, it just looked too damn succulent that I couldn’t turn it away. I had a bite and goodness it was sweet and plump. We were ready to go buy some anti-histamine for my potential break out, but luckily I didn’t get an allergic reaction. It was a risk but it was totally worth it.

Ended our 13 courser with this: Torched kobe fat.

Allan – fellow diner whom we met at the bar is a regular at Zushi. He’s been a loyal customer for 6+ years and goes 2-3x a month. This guy certainly knows his stuff, and fresh wasabi =)  Hi Allen if you’re reading this!

The thing I love about sitting at the Omakase bar is that I always end up meeting awesome folks. My date and I were chatting it up with fellow diners at the bar and we all seem to share two things in common: appreciation of fresh fish and Roger’s creations. It has only been two days since I dined there and I’m already itching to go back!

Roger: I look forward to my many future dates with you.