Crazy for Koo

No doubt about it, Koo excels at serving wonderfully fresh sushi and sashimi. Chef/owner Kiyoshi Hayakawa (Sushi Ran, Ace Wasabi’s, Tokyo GoGo) turns out impressive quality fish with daily specials from his simple, clean Irving Street sushi bar and restaurant. There are also fusion dishes like shrimp and scallop dumplings with a drizzle of chili oil and mango puree, grilled artichokes, and duck breast salad with a mustard-ginger-pineapple sauce. The latter is our favorite, but overall, the sushi bar items are really their forte. Servers are always courteous and efficient. Koo has a nice selection of sake and my husband likes the fact that they serve Asahi Black which he can't find at many restaurants in town.

One unique and fun dish to eat is appropriately named A Spoonful of Happiness. You actually receive two delicious spoonfuls: one with uni (sea urchin), quail egg, tobiko and ponzu sauce; the other with ankimo (monkfish liver) wrapped with whitefish, ponzu and truffle oil. A shot of dry sake accompanies them. The first bite is smooth and creamy and the second bursts with flavor. Wow, my tastebuds do cartwheels.

A few of our favorite types of sushi here are the wild aji (mackerel) garnished with green onions, the otoro or indulgently fatty blue fin tuna, wild King salmon, and nasu or Japanese eggplant. Rather than rattle off a long list, let's just say that my husband and I haven't met a fish here that we didn't like.

We recently discovered that they don’t like to do substitutions which created a minor hiccup when we took our kids there for dinner last week. My son wanted to have white rice instead of mashed potatoes (they call it potato salad) with his chicken teriyaki, but they said they couldn’t do a swap. So, we ordered a bowl of rice on the side. And, their chicken comes with a sweet chutney rather than classic teriyaki sauce which my son wasn't too keen about. He and my daughter were both happier with the tempura.

Again, if you focus on goodies from the sushi bar, you are bound to go home happy. This is a nice place to go with a group of friends for dinner. Just note that parking can be difficult in the neighborhood, especially on weekend nights, and it can be tough to get a table if you don’t plan ahead. Be sure to make reservations and give yourself extra time to park.

Koo. 408 Irving Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), San Francisco, CA 94122. 451.731.7077. Closed Mondays.

Oyaji - sushi and izakaya style fare in the Outer Richmond

There's a little gem tucked across the street from the Lincoln Park Golf Course on Clement Street that serves good izakaya style dishes and sushi. I like the hot towels they pass out when you sit down, and enjoy eating in their cozy, semi-private booths. They have a killer crab and cucumber salad (kani su), delicious skewered chicken meatballs (tsukune) and great nigiri. My son loves the shrimp tempura as well as the Oyaji beef which is grilled rib eye with sauteed onions and Oyaji sauce served on a sizzling platter. It's not on the menu, but my daughter usually starts with a takuwan roll. She enoys the skewered duck (aigamo), too.

We've happily devoured the fried whole flounder (karei karaage), eyeballs and all. Cabbage rolls, stewed pork belly (butano-kakuni), and steamed clams in sake (asari no sakamushi) are pretty tasty, too. I always have saba sashimi, it's my favorite.

Last night, we tried skewered chicken gizzard (sunagimo) which, all I can say is, truly an acquired taste. The crunchy texture totally threw us off. I can't say that I'll be ordering that again anytime soon. We also sampled sautéed squid in butter and soy sauce (ika sauté) which my husband devoured - I got one little bite. The cha-shu ramen had great chewy noodles and tons of tender pork but was a little salty.

Oyaji always seems to be bustling, even on a weekday night. Last night, there were a mix of locals and Japanese people in business attire. Take a look at the photos of all the food we ate. Our bill came to a respectable $66.80 - it also includes tea and a soda.


For more info: Oyaji Restaurant

Monday morsels: feasts, festivities, free food and fresh spots

Zagat says One Market chef Mark Dommen is preparing a special five-course dinner highlighting fresh ingredients from local purveyors. Feast on signature items including Dungeness crab salad with avocado, cucumber and a lemon grass sorbet, Alaskan halibut cooked sous vide, and beef cheeks braised with...oooh... Guinness! Pastry chef Patti Dellamonica-Bauler will do, what else, dessert. The cost is $59/person before tax and tip, plus $15 for int'l beer pairing or $25 for wine pairing. Call 415.777.5577 to reserve your table!

Today, a new sushi place emerges in Hayes Valley, sharing company with the likes of Domo and Sebo. It is called Otoro Sushi, named after the tasty, melt-in-your-mouth, top-of-the-line bluefin tuna. In my book, there can never be too many sushi-izakaya style restaurants to satiate me. The big test will be the saba...205 Oak at Gough. They will be open for lunch (11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) and dinner (5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., last call at 10:30 p.m.), Monday through Saturday, and for dinner only on Sundays. 415.553.3986.

Get your free KFC! Their latest "unfried" recipe is making its debut. Step into any location today and sample a piece of the Kentucky Grilled Chicken for yourself. The concept of grilled food at KFC sort of puts my head on tilt, but okay, I'll try it, especially if it's on the house.

I poked my head into Bistro Gambrinus last week and interrupted a meeting long enough to find out that they will open their doors at the end of the month. They are still working on their menu and applying finishing touches, but from the looks of it, there may be a new watering hole worth trying to find parking for on Fulton near Masonic.

Have you heard about Jamba's School Bananananza '09? Jamba Juice is donating 20% of sales to local schools until May 24th. See the website for more info or call your nearest location for a list of participating schools.

Not sure where you're going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo next Tuesday? Here is what's happening at several places in the city. Mercedes - Hair of the Dog Cantina will be open for lunch from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. so you can start whooping it up early. They will be closed for a private function in the evening. But, how about heading over to Tommy's Mexican Restaurant next? Yes, I know they are usually closed on Tuesdays, but they will be open, open, open from 12 noon until 11:00 p.m on this festive day. There's also T.G.I.Friday's which is offering some 5¢ appetizers to go with their blackberry margaritas, 4-7 p.m. Chevys will serve their regular menu, but remember, kids eat free on Tuesdays with the purchase of a regular priced entree. I'll list more spots as Cinco de Mayo nears, so be sure to come back to my page soon!