Shuko

We got the kaiseki menu and had a great experience.  Overall, I think I liked the cooked dishes more than the sushi because there was so much creativity and fun flavors (loved all the sauces), but everything was good (although I think I prefer O Ya, which we tried recently, over Shuko).

• Chawanmushi with ikura and green peas -- this was served cold, and it was a nice and refreshing opener 

• Dungeness crab with shaved cucumber -- a great summer dish; the saltiness of the crab (very good-sized portion of crab!) was balanced by the cool cucumber

• Toro and caviar with Japanese milk bread -- simple and as good as everyone says; the bread was the perfect combination of chewy and crunchy, and toro and caviar need no further intro

• Fluke with mushrooms and nori breadcrumbs -- this was pretty delicious; I loved the flavors, but only criticism might be the mushroom and sauce might have overpowered the fish a bit

• Grilled sepia with heirloom tomatoes and creamy corn -- the sepia was perfectly cooked, and that corn was soo good

• Hanger steak with nectarine and broccoli -- steak was a nice medium, and the salt of the steak and charred broccoli went well with the sweetness of the nectarine and sauce

• Sushi tasting -- 17 pieces, including a their version of a spicy tuna roll (seared toro with fresh chili handroll...I'd eat that everyday) and another toro roll.  I appreciated that the sushi was served very simply and traditionally; just the fish with a bit of wasabi and brushed lightly with soy sauce; no fancy sauces here, and none needed.  Some unique pieces that you don't normally see were a red snapper that was lightly seared with the skin on and dorado.  My favorites of the night were probably the uni (super fresh and creamy) and the ocean trout, which I almost am ashamed to say was my favorite but it had such a strong and memorable flavor.  There was also a soft shell crab sushi, which didn't look all that pretty, but it was delicious -- lightly fried and very meaty. And last but not least, there was the toro from the collarbone (kama toro), which the chef scraped directly from the collarbone and then plated...yum.  The sushi tasting ended with a shiso leaf wrapped inside a lotus root.

          

• Strawberry granita -- this was a light and refreshing dessert and a good segue into the last dessert

• Apple pie -- I was not expecting apple pie for dessert at a Japanese restaurant, but this was one of the best apple pies I've had.  Besides the filling, I'm all about pie crust, and they had a wonderful crumble on top and a perfect crust that was neither too flaky nor felt too heavy