Arrival in San Francisco- Sakesan Sushi & Bistro
As the temperatures in Chicago took a turn for the worst, Taste Tester #1 and I hopped a plane to visit the beautiful city of San Francisco. The last time I visited the city by the bay I was a mere 10-years-old and my most vivid memory of the city was the hundreds of sea lions on Fisherman’s Wharf (which I would later track down). Needless to say, visiting over 15 years later as an adult was an opportunity to see San Fran in a whole new light.
Upon arriving on a Wednesday evening, TT #1’s sister and her boyfriend took us to their favorite sushi spot, Sakesan in the Richmond District neighborhood. One of the coolest things about the restaurant was that upon first glance it looked like dinners were sitting cross-legged under low to the ground tables. But it was an illusion (not a trick Michael!) because after taking our shoes off and entering our private table space we discovered that the benches for seating were actually built in underneath the tables. Very fun and different!
The restaurant’s menu reminded me of my favorite Chicago sushi spot, Toro, because of the variety of creative maki rolls they offered. We started off with the “kaki-fry”, which are deep-fried oysters in a thick crunchy crust with some unagi sauce for dipping. Even though the oysters were deep-fried you could still tell that they were fresh, just one of many benefits of being near the coast!
Next we tried the “aloha” roll which was a shrimp tempura roll topped with tuna and fresh mango with tobiko and mango sauce. This roll reminded me a lot of the combination of flavors I use when making my own tuna tartare, I always tend to add a little bit of mango in the mix to give it a bit of sweetness.
We also tried the “super dynamite” roll which was a tempura fried roll with mixed fish and drizzled with spicy cream sauce and tobiko. It definitely was not the healthiest sushi choice but really hit the umami taste we were looking for. After one small glass of warm sake I was ready for bed, there was a lot we wanted to pack into the next three days!
[jetpack_subscription_form title="Subscribe to Beyond ExpecTASTEtions" subscribe_text="If you liked this post and want to see more sign-up to get updates!" subscribe_button="Sign Me Up" show_subscribers_total="0"]
