Review: After 20 years, the fishing is still fine at Kaz Sushi Bistro
The sea bass napoleon at Kaz Sushi Bistro. By Tom Sietsema Tom Sietsema Food critic Email Bio Follow Food critic May 15 at 10:00 AM
No one roasts a finer chicken than Frank Ruta, at least the way he served the bird at his much-missed Palena in Cleveland Park. Wherever the chef, last seen at Mirabelle, decides to cook next, legions of us are hoping his celebrated chicken is part of the package.The steam-inflated scallion pancake that floats through the dining rooms made famous by Peter Chang? Thank his wife and co-pilot, Lisa, for the dish.
I’m back at Kaz Sushi Bistro partly out of nostalgia — two decades is a milestone in the mercurial restaurant industry — and partly to see how the business measures up to the competition, which is considerable these days. Japanese restaurants have been popping up like Democratic White House aspirants, some examples better than others . Meanwhile, consumers are savvier than ever. Twenty years ago in this city, sushi was thought of as something special — appointment eating, if you will.
You may have come expressly for sushi, but before you take the plunge, consider some small plates. The best tend to be hot. Clam tempura, gathered in a clam shell, has my friend from Rhode Island sighing . Spring was sprung when I got a taste of some of the season’s first soft-shell crabs, explosively juicy beneath their light jacket of potato starch. Cabbage pancake striped with a sweet barbecue sauce and animated with bonito flakes is an okonomiyaki not to be forgotten.
The quality of the fish at Kaz remains excellent. Okochi buys everything but his tuna whole before breaking down the fish in-house. One of the most indulgent ways to explore a chef’s range and the kitchen’s inventory is to ask for chef’s choice, or omakase . “Spot prawns from Canada,” Ho said as he surrendered the sweet specimens, one piece served with crumbled egg yolk and yuzu juice. The nigiri that stood out, because it felt less like everything before it, was striped bass with a precise dot of intense tomato. The carefully cut fish suggested Japan, but its accent put us in Italy. Okochi, who initially aspired to study French cooking, has long looked to Europe for inspiration and America for its sense of humor.
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