Sushi Zone

San Francisco, CA

Although I had made reservations to go with Doctor Phil to Sons and Daughters, he was in the mood for some San Francisco sushi, so although I knew there’d be a wait, we headed over to the zone.  I’d recently heard that one of the chef’s had retired and it wasn’t as good as it once was, but I needed to find out for myself. We waited for a good hour, but when we were seated, we had the best seats in the house, right in front of the new chef. I order the classics, large Asahi, miso soup, hamachi kama, baked sea bass, Hawaiian #2, Spicy Hamachi, two orders each of Tuna, Hamachi, Salmon and albacore.

Hawaiian #2 and Spicy Hamachi Roll

Nigiri - Tuna, Hamachi, Sake, Albacore (Top to Bottom)

The food was good, good quality fish, perfect executed original rolls, and thick, meaty cuts of nigiri. Here are the two differences that I noticed. The baked sea bass seemed to be heavy on the mango and light on the bass, flavor unchanged otherwise. The Hamachi nigiri, usually amazing, was just good. It was missing something, maybe the slice of lime, I’m not sure, but it just wasn’t the same. I met a couple who spoke about how this and Sushi Puzzle were the favorite places in the city. Another couple was there for the first time, reading about the Zone from the Zagat guide. It seems like the word is out, so although my special trips to the zone will probably become more infrequent as time passes and the popularity continues to grow, it will always be a nostalgic go to pick for affordable fish and friendly service.

December 13, 2010

Rating 8/10