"Irasshaimase!"
San Diego, like San Fran it is right off the coast but both unlike Los Angeles its not much of a old-school sushi town but nonetheless its still flooded with plenty of Americanized cali-roll centric sushi joints. SD being a coastal town offers an abundance of sea life and when life gives you lots of good fresh seafood what do you do? You eat it raw of course.
Mentioned in my previous post, Sushi Ota was my virgin
omakase experience and it was them, who opened my can of warm to search and demand for high-end sushi. The most yelp-beloved SD sushi joint and certainly the most well known among SD natives or religious yelpers will always have a special place in my stomach. But I do have to be honest, my feelings for the place is still uncertain, given I only visited once. However, I do confirm Ota does somehow give off a touristy and hype driven vibe. Maybe its the location, the wait line, the price value and or the demographic of diners.. Who knows? It certainty satisfy me enough for a return trip in the distant future.
A local buddy of mine that has never been to Ota mentioned that I should try Kaito Sushi in Encinitas. Kaito is a well-regarded authentic sushi place, and a favorite among locals around the area. 5 years since it opened in its current location it still keeps a low profile, and I never heard about it until now. Located 30 minutes north of downtown or central SD it was both a drive and also given other conflicting circumstances I never got a chance to go out until now.
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| The exterior |
Located in a large grocery store plaza. The place is intimate, minimal, but very fitting to the food it serves. The sushi bar takes up 70% of the restaurant and only a handful of small tables lean against the side wall to accommodate families with kids or the bar intimated. From the layout it was a great sign, It meant that it's going to be personal and authentic experience right with the chef himself. Given some tips we arrived early so we would be guaranteed the entire selection of fish available for that day.
The Food:
To Start: Sunomono, Gari, Fresh Wasabi
Sunomono is basically housemade appetizer using vegetables
and/or seafood that are seasoned with vinegar based dressings. Its a
refreshing start to a Japanese meal like an
amuse to the french. Also worthy of mentioning the Gari or the pickled ginger is on point and one of the better ones I tasted.
1st Tipple:
To most westerners and modern food critics, besides the usual sakes and Japanese beers, that champagne and sushi are made for each other. So to wet our palate, we naturally went with a champagne that I brought from my personal collection.
Duval-Leroy's Clos Des Bouveries, Brut, 2005 vintage ($60). Arguably its currently one of the best value on the champagne market. Trust me, you'll get a crap load of bang for your bucks here. So far, its unlike any champagne I’ve ever had. (although haven't had that much yet). It’s fermented in oak, and it
carries a ton of structure and some typical toasted bread flavor. But
it’s hardly oppressive. Indeed, the wine is brimming with fruit
aromatics, it feels quite lively and crisp, and brace yourself for an extended finish. It
glows in the glass, almost like a Riesling. Very interesting stuff, especially when one considers paying $45 for some
meh, Veuve Cliquot. Sorry buddy had to call you out.
1. Hirame (fluke) Shiso leaf, Green puree, Himalayan pink salt
The chef wasted no time at showing us his skills and the freshest ingredients. This was my first time with Hirame but no doubt it was a memorable one. The visual presentation captivated our attention and left a symphony of flavors in our mouth. Fluke is usually bland on its own so Kazu-san grated fresh Himalayan salt over, it definitely pushed forth the hidden flavors of the fish. The green strip of shiso leaf and a tiny dab of lime yuzu kosho up top added the magical touch that just hit all the right notes. So wonderfully complex and all worked out harmoniously together.
2. Chu-Toro
The highlight of a superb sushi meal right in front of our eyes. 2 pieces=2 orgasms. Tuna belly was just what I needed, conveying an unabashedly soft,
melt-y consistency. The fish melted right in my mouth and into my soul.
The End.
3. Ika (Squid) Shiso, Ikura, Ginger
Long pause..okay back to earth from the heavenly pieces of Toro. Whats next? Squid, the chef said. I'm actually not a big fan of Ika. It's too rich, boring and has a weird mouth-feel. But Kazu -san manage to pull out some tricks to help balance out the heaviness of the squid. He topped it off with a few salty and savory ikura, grated ginger and a refreshing strip of shiso leaf as we seen with the Hirame. Overall, it went down pretty easy and had a pleasant creamy finish.
4. Aoyagi Sashimi (Orange Clam)
I had cooked orange clams before at some Chinese seafood restaurant. I think they refer it to as surf clams or in Japanese
hokigai, not sure if the two are similar or the same when it comes to sushi terms? Anyways, I loved the texture, snappy and firm. What I loved even more was its delicate flavors. The taste of ocean sprinkled with some rock sugar. Yum! The natural sweetness of the clam really shine through. Fresh, fun and too easy to eat made this a table favorite. We wanted more.
5. Magurozuke (marinated tuna) Yamaimo, Daikon Sprouts
This piece of fish was my favorite of the night. I had maguro by itself countless times in the past, but this was my first time having it marinated in a soy based sauce along with the additional condiments. Kazu-san was genius in choosing to use yamaimo (mountain yam). It played a splendid role in balancing texture and flavor. The daikon sprouts also added a refreshing touch to offset the fatty and flavor soaked fish.
Delicious.
6. Kohada Maki (gizzard shad)
Kohada is something I did have once prior to eating it here at Kaito, but certainly not in this form. This version was good and I love the nori but the fish was really muted and overpowered by other elements inside the maki rolls(wasabi, shiso leaf, etc.) I would have like to taste the Kohada more.
At this point, I did wish that shiso leaf wasn't the common ingredient in most of the pieces of sushi we had so far.
7. Uni (sea urchine)
There's something very sinister about eating uni. It's moist, briny, gooey, flesh like texture. 'Just look at it.' The only way to eat it is to put the entire thing in your mouth all at once. Mmm! This version here is a bit more overwhelming on the brine-y side. Too much
海 for my taste. It made us question the freshness on the uni for a second. My dinning partners was intimated by it and had a hard time finishing the large pieces.
What's the cholesterol count on these things? Who cares..life is much better with it.
8. Sayori (needle fish)
Another first for me. Kazu-san decided that sashimi Sayori was the way to go. For such a small fish it was actually a very painstaking process to get about 6 thin pieces of meat out. The needle fish had a mild flavor, with a nice crunch. If available I'd def give it another shot next time.
2nd Tipple:
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| junmai daiginjo? how old are you? you spoiled brat! HAHA.. |
With our Champagne dispensed it's time to move on to the traditional sushi matching beverages. We ordered a tall Sapporo(not pictured) and two glasses of mid-grade sake. All had a pretty decent flavor profile.
9. Unagi (freshwater eel)
This was our first cooked sushi. Unagi are fatty in texture, rich in flavor and has a lush mouth-feel. I tired a piece of my dining partners. and it was a prototypical example of what it should taste like. The nori and sprinkled spice adds a nice contrast flavor and texture.
10. Anago and Spine (saltwater eel)
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| The girls ordered unagi and the guys got anago, fair enough. |
Anago are cousins to Unagi, ones salt and ones freshwater. In contrast to the unagi, typically its going to be leaner, with a slightly
cleaner, lighter flavor. Bottom-line its personal preference between the two. Also on the plate was a unique much talked about Kaito treat, eel spine. Deep fried to a crisp, in my opinion perfect 'beer snack'.
11.Kanpachi Carpaccio
Before we rack up a damage that we'll regret and spoil our experience we decided as a group to opt for one more dish or fish in this case to close it out. We ended the night with Kazu-san's twist on a Italian classic,
carpaccio. The funny thing was it tasted nothing like what we expected and definitely more Spanish influence than anything. It felt, if almost life I eating something out of a tostada bowl. It could easily be Kaito's signature dish. Didn't care too much what's in it but it work. Kampachi's texture balanced perfectly with the lemon. Light, refreshing and a fiesta in my mouth we went out in a happy mood.
Conclusion/Verdict:
Kaito is a top end competitor in the San Diego sushi scene. Nothing too special indeed but I admire the hype-less attitude and the unpretentious. Matter fact, I think they are pretty on par to many high-profile sushi places in the OC and LA area. Go open minded and pretend your joining a friend for a meal; drink a bit, laugh a bit and have a great time.
The biggest surprise to us was perhaps the bill. Our damage for the night was
$256.40. (4 omakase+corkage fee+2 glasses of sake+a cold one) Which rather was relatively low at a establishment like such.
Maybe we should have ordered more. I adore Kazu-san's sense of humor. witty and daring. We came somewhat intimidated but left feeling we were welcomed and wanted. All content, and seeking a return trip in the future to see what else Kaito and Kazu-san have to offer.
Kanpai.
130-A N El Camino Real
Encinitas,
CA 92024
(760) 634-2746
http://www.kaitorestaurant.net/
Dining date and time: May 2, 2013; 5:30pm-7:20pm
