Koo

Description:

• Kiyoshi Hayakawa grew up in Tokyo, Japan where he mastered the art of Japanese cuisine. In 1982 he moved to the United States to share his refined traditional talents with diners in sushi bars from Boston to Santa Barbara. He finally settled in California, sharpening his knives and his skills at Sausalito's revered Sushi Ran, Ace Wasabi's, Tokyo GO GO for fifteen years before. 2004 opening of Koo in San Francisco , Kiyoshi's creativity has reigned supreme. Kiyoshi, 47, celebrates the best of old-world Japanese cuisine-excellent cut of fresh fish,expertly Prepared and beautifully presented, and treads where no sushi chef has gone before-breaking every old school sushi rule with new-world menu items that could be categorized as downright blasphemous.The beauty of it is, it works. Diners craving tried-and-true handroll or nigiri are more than satisfied with Kiyoshi's delicate and masterful creation. Those who've been there and done that never tire of the inventive selection : the Flying Kamikaze roll (a roll of spicy, tuna, asparagus, albcore tuna, and ponzu sauce),Tokyo Crunch (spicy tenkasu, yellowtail, eel, cucumber, and wasabi tobiko), Endless new creations that appear on the menu as he dreams them up, and selections new to a Japanese restaurant menu-delicious salads and abundantly flavorful'share plates' such as his legendary miso-marinated black cod.

Awards:

CitySearch

•  Japanese Food 2007