I've been lurking at this website called Jina:
www.jinaonline.org/home.php
which is a site for Japanese transplants in North America, and there's a restaurant review section with reviews and rankings of what native Japanese think of San Francisco's restaurants (including Japanese restaurants and sushi bars). There are some pretty funny reviews (esp. the Hama-ko one) and some surprisingly good and bad reviews.
At any rate (and this is based on my conversations with a few sushi chefs in SF) and this website is that Anzu at the Hotel Nikko is actually worth a visit.
Has anybody been for dinner? I've only been to brunch....
www.jinaonline.org/home.php
which is a site for Japanese transplants in North America, and there's a restaurant review section with reviews and rankings of what native Japanese think of San Francisco's restaurants (including Japanese restaurants and sushi bars). There are some pretty funny reviews (esp. the Hama-ko one) and some surprisingly good and bad reviews.
At any rate (and this is based on my conversations with a few sushi chefs in SF) and this website is that Anzu at the Hotel Nikko is actually worth a visit.
Has anybody been for dinner? I've only been to brunch....
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Tue, July 19, 2005 - 1:27 PMY'know I've been there a long time ago (like a few years), and prior to some pretty life changing sushi experiences.
The service was great, and I remember being impressed, but I don't remember what I ordered.
It doesn't suck, but it might be a little pricy. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 21, 2005 - 9:39 AMWell, I was blown away. How come I had never heard of this place before? It's famous outside of SF, many celebrities and famous Japanese baseball players/artists/musicians eat here regularly. Suzuki-san (owner/chef at Ebisu), Kiyoshi-san and Ayumi-san (Koo), even the Oyaji guys eat here regularly.
I think the key confusion is there is Anzu dining room restaurant (which frankly appears to serve typical upscale hotel food) and then Anzu sushi bar which takes up a fraction of the restaurant, also odd because some of the servers cross over to the bar from the dining room. I'd had brunch here and it was so-so, so I'd kind of crossed it off my list.
The odd service-operation angle aside, Anzu offers FORTY (40) different kinds of fish/seafood from local waters and Japan. That is by far the largest assortment of fish offered in SF. I asked Takahashi (the head chef/itamai, who I happened to know through a friend) and he said that all the distributors reserve him the first pick/highest quality of fish, and knowing that I could verify this with ease.
The omakase (4 hours!!! Well 3 hours but we talked to Takahashi-san for an hour afterwards at closing) served in pairs, themed as well, for example: aji w/ shima aji, wild sockeye salmon w/ ocean trout, hokkaido uni w/ santa barbara uni, 2 types of clam, 2 types of scallop, you get the picture... usually paired between local and japanese seafood.
There are 12 different kinds of sake/nihonshu ranging from $16-$125 a bottle.
It was $200 for 2 for omakase, drinks, tax and tip.
Highly recommended and reservations accepted for sushibar. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 21, 2005 - 10:31 AMok, clearly i ate at the wrong place (the dining room restaurant).
that sounds awesome! i think i'm going to have check that out. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 21, 2005 - 11:00 AMOne thing my girlfriend got for her last course: yamaimo, ume, and shiso maki. So I tried a piece and in the ume paste was these hard translucent strings of flesh and some tobiko. It tasted great but I had no idea what it was so I looked at her and she gave me the same delicious but curious look so we asked Takahashi what it was... "Crushed umeboshi with shark fin and tobiko". -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 21, 2005 - 5:28 PMI'd hate to ask how much the bill was after that. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 21, 2005 - 5:29 PMClearly I'm not paying attention, but not bad at all.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Fri, July 22, 2005 - 12:52 PMI don't think I've ever had a girl give me a "delicious but curious look."
The only look I usually get is "angry and pissed off." -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Fri, July 29, 2005 - 6:26 PMWell, just went there with Jay, Gary C and Dan V and some other people and I gotta say it was some of the best sushi I've had in SF. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, August 1, 2005 - 5:12 AMhow much longer are you here for?
and can you afford another dinner or two? -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Tue, August 9, 2005 - 9:06 PMDepends. I leave Monday. Where do you guys wanna go?
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Wed, June 21, 2006 - 10:15 PMHow is Takahashi san's anago and tamago yaki? It is so hard to find good anago in the Bay Area. I'd say the best I've had is a cross between Sakae's and Sushi Sam's, with Sakae having the edge if the anago got flown in from Tsukiji (super sweet and melt in mouth), otherwise their standard anago is decent (might be too sweet for some).
Does he also do a good zuke or shiromi or hikarimono no konbu jime, or ikura no shoyu zuke? Ankimo? (Ino's is hard to beat). -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Wed, June 21, 2006 - 10:37 PMAnzu is about 10x better than Sushi Sam's. I've never been to Sakae so I can't compare.
I've never had the tamago (I'm off ova/dairy) but his anago is great when he's offered it (I never order, just omakase).
He gets at least 2 shipments from Tsukiji per week. At least 40 different types of fish. Here's what I had on my last visit when I bothered to take notes:
masu (ocean trout)
chisai suzuki (baby sea bass)
hirame no engawa (fluke fin)
hokkaido and santa barbara uni (sea urchin gonads)
ume fukahire (sour plum paste with shark fin)
ishikarei (stone flounder)
shima aji (yellowjack)
isaki (threeline grunt pigfish)
madai (gold butterfish)
kurodai (black snapper)
aoyagi (blue clam)
sayori (needlefish)
tobiuo (flying fish)
sanma (saury pike)
aka kani (red crab)
aori ika (broad white squid)
tairagai (razor shell clam)
kobashira (round bay scallop)
But best of all... unlike Ino, Takahashi-san actually has a personality. (Sorry, that Ino chef is just way too cold).
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, June 22, 2006 - 11:20 PMThanks for the brilliant perspective! I am so sold, that variety you have noted is amazing...I will have to make a special trip in the future, perhaps go there on my birthday (which is the only chance I have to try).
Sushi Sam's has the edge for being so close to his distributor, IMP Foods, and probably their favorite greatest customer (and being so close by he gets to cherry pick the shipments). It just saddens me that Sam raises prices every year (and nigiri sizes seem to shrink even more as time goes by). He did have tachuio (?) and isaki, kisu, and sayori before (but not all at once), and have not seen it anywhere else.
Gotta love Hokkaido bafun 'nads ;-) That shizzle is hard to top.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Fri, June 23, 2006 - 1:22 PMIno chef might be cold, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than Anzu.
Damn you for getting sayori and aori ika without me. It's been so long since I've had either of those. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Fri, June 23, 2006 - 5:28 PMActually I used to think sayori was needlefish (at least that was what Mr Sushi Sam claimed), but I've read elsewhere (alt.food.sushi) that it is halfbeak.
Can someone confirm?
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Fri, June 23, 2006 - 5:58 PMI was told from childhood that it is needlefish, but I've also seen pictures of it described as halfbeak. This is much like the debate of what tai really is: some call it red snapper, some call it sea bream.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 12:01 AMIn Japan:
sayori = needlefish
tai = sea bream
hirame = fluke
Elsewhere, due to regional/local distribution, there are substitutes of halfbeak, snapper and halibut respectively. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 12:06 AMSo when are you taking me to Anzu again? -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.Unsu...
Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 12:25 AM"Again" would imply some sort of previous occurance.
I just got back actually! I totally beg to differ with you over the cost. Maybe he just charged you high price cuz you're so fancy. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 12:43 AMAnzu for me cost almost twice as much as Ino. It was omakase for me and my mom.
So when are you taking me out to Anzu?
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 2:09 AMaw, inoue san is very nice! but then i guess it's hard to tell as i always leave that place drunk.
also, ino isn't cheaper than anzu. it just depends on how much you eat and drink. i've left anzu with a bill comparable to that of ino when i either drove or wasn't feeling that thirsty. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Sat, June 24, 2006 - 10:28 AMIno(ue)-san 's not terribly talkative over the past 6 years since I last visited, but is friendly from my interactions with him. I do recall his answers/chat being short on sentences.
I miss going there...used to see shows at the Fillmore and would make an excuse to have dinner there. Back in the day 4+ years ago when I was hitting one show a month between the Warfield and Fillmore :-(
I do like omakase there, except when he whips out the dry anago or unagi.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Thu, July 13, 2006 - 2:45 AMI agree with Dan about Takahashi-san's personality. ANZU's humble-size sushi bar offers an astounding variety of fish, especially white fish. Really, if you are more into lean white fish, no other place in the Bay Area will make you happier than ANZU.
Vincent -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Wed, August 16, 2006 - 9:17 AMI have to say I'm extremely impressed with the hikari mono (shimaaji, kohada, iwashi, sanma, sawara, etc.) I've had at Anzu as well.
Were you not as impressed by the blue fish Vincent? I know that in my omakase we always start with kobachi, then sashimi, then whitefish and then proceed into the bluefish... maybe what you're saying is that I eat too much (I agree).
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Wed, November 16, 2005 - 1:07 PMI made reservations at 7:30pm tonight.
Are any of you guys around? -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Wed, November 16, 2005 - 1:28 PMIf you spot me, perhaps I can spot you in the near future... -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 3:20 PMSo apparently Dan is famous. Two gals were leaving on Sat and they dropped Dan's name to the chef at Anzu. I was like Dan? Couldn't be the same guy, but then when the chef described the Dan in question, clearly they were one and the same.
man, this is my favorite place in SF. I would said that I was going but it was last minute and my bf and I were consoling a friend who is in need of a horny, crazy Asian chick. Jay, you know of any that you aren't dating?
He had mejina and ishi-dai (parrotfish). I don't remember if i've had these elsewhere. He had frozen o-toro but he said he's getting the fresh stuff starting May IIRC prob from Japan since he doesn't seem to like the farmed stuff from Spain or Australia. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 7:16 PMHorny, crazy, asian chicks? You mean there are those that don't meet that description? I'd like to meet one of those.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 9:11 PMIf you know any of them who might be interested in a relatively attractive white male who has his own place, gimme a holler. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 9:48 PMget in line, attractive white male! (said the attractive indian male)
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 9:52 PMMeh, I'm usually not friends with them. Jay has all the asian girls. And I have my own attractive white male who has his own place to deal with.
Meanwhile tell him to look here: asianfriendfinder.com/ -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 10:13 PMOh wait, I have to dislose that I am not the attractive white male in question. Actually, I'm not even white, male or (depending on who you ask) very attractive. I'm talking about my friend who is suddenly single. Thanks for the site.
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 10:04 PMHaha, those were my sexy lesbian coworkers... J, if you heard them on the cell phone, they were talking to me from half way across the Pacific. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Mon, April 17, 2006 - 10:14 PMOh yeah, they were on the phone a lot and they were all over each other. Apparently they go to Koo a lot. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Tue, April 18, 2006 - 2:14 AMokay, now i'm pissed.
no one has introduced me to: 1) hot friends, 2) hot lesbian co-workers, or 3) ANYONE.
that's it, the next time someone calls me for sushi directions i'm going to have stipulations in my contract.
by the way, you're all fired. -
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Re: Anzu (Hotel Nikko SF)
Tue, April 18, 2006 - 5:13 AMYou already knew I had no female friends, so it's all your fault.
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Unsu...
Bad News
Fri, July 14, 2006 - 9:18 AMKazu-san took a job in Las Vegas. I'm still unsure over his last day...
I'll post more details when I know them. -
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Re: Bad News
Fri, July 14, 2006 - 12:33 PMWhat is up with people voluntarily moving to Vegas?
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Re: Bad News
Fri, July 14, 2006 - 3:02 PM!!!!!!!!!!!!
So if he's gone, what will happen to the bar? I wonder who Anzu will hire to replace him.
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Re: Bad News
Fri, July 28, 2006 - 1:02 AMDan, did you find out when his last day it? I want to hit up the place before he leaves.... -
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Unsu...
Re: Bad News
Fri, July 28, 2006 - 2:13 AMstill not completely sure... probably 9/1, so yeah, get on it! -
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Re: Bad News
Wed, August 9, 2006 - 1:01 PMokay so here's the deal. his last "official" day is 9/1.
after that, it's back to being a "normal" sushi bar. he may come in here and there in September, but he's only ordering very basic/run of the mill fish. no guarantees on what days he'll be in, but if you want the best fish from the best chef in SF, i'd go to Anzu before the end of this month. -
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Re: Bad News
Tue, August 15, 2006 - 9:14 AMso where in las vegas is he going? i might wanna go to vegas and have something decent to eat. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.Unsu...
Re: Bad News
Tue, August 15, 2006 - 9:40 AMthere are actually some pretty good japanese restaurants in vegas (Okada, Shibuya, Osaka) but you have to twist their arm to make sure you know when you say omakase you mean a traditional omakase.
i know he's interviewed at least one of the places mentioned above, but i don't think he's got a job lined up yet. -
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Unsu...
Re: Bad News
Wed, August 16, 2006 - 9:25 AM"she's my cousin.... but doesn't she look almost exactly like Laura Palmer?"
sorry.
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