Tataki - Sustainable Sushi

Tataki is a pleasant sushi restaurant in Western Addition/Pacific Heights which bills itself as "San Francisco's sustainable sushi restaurant." Tataki has an appealing happy hour menu that I like to take advantage of - all their featured rolls are $4.50 and they have an asian-fruit sangria that's yummy.

I began by trying the albacore tataki (I ventured off the happy hour list to try the dish for which the restaurant was named - how could you not). Tataki is a traditional Japanese way of preparing fish in which it is set to marinate with vinegar and ginger and given a quick hard sear to cook. The albacore was served with a garlic sauce. It was nicely cooked and was served on a bed of shaved daikon which was refreshing and added a nice crispness.



We then had the arctic char and avocado roll (happy hour item!) which is one of my favorites. I was a char skeptic but after Tataki's roll I think I might prefer this roll to a basic salmon roll. We also tried the spicy crunchy tuna roll (I know, it's a little froo froo) but it is SO good. The tuna has a bit of a kick (maybe shichimi togarashi??) and if you put fried panko on virtually anything and I'm going to gobble it up.


To round out my sushi binge I tried the Divisaderoll (Tataki's cross-street is Divisadero . . . get it??) which was albacore, avocado and masago (a type of roe). Very good, but I next time I will stick to my happy hour allegiance.

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6.30.10

This evening I got a very special treat - a little Spruce 'take home.' I got a "double" appetizer portion (I happily could have eaten at least a quad) of their gnocchi with wild mushrooms, zucchini and some sort of glorious creamy sherry-y sauce. I have not had a bad Spruce experience and this meal upheld the record. I must say that in the privacy of my own home I, slightly ashamedly, took a quick lick of the plate so as not to miss out on any of the saucy-goodness.

6.27.10

Dinner at SPQR (thanks to BlackboardEats). Started off with creamy burrata, pepperonata, anchocress, and a drizzle of balsamic and we also tried the spring vegetable 'vignarola' - interesting salad with fresh lettuces, herbs, and lightly sauteed fresh veggies (peas, artichokes, etc.). The salad was good but I don't always love the wilty-sauteed texture in my salads - maybe I'm too much of a traditionalist. The burrata was scrumptious and a very generous serving of cheese.

We had three pasta dishes - the standout was the buckwheat spaghetti with a suckling pig ragu, broccoli rabe, and golden raisins.

For dessert I couldn't resist the brown sugar torte with lemon curd and candied kumquats. The torte was delicious and similar in flavor to sticky toffee pudding.

View from the chef's counter.

6.1.10

Roses on the walk home. A pleasant sunny day to start out the month.