Last week, I went with my friend Jude to a sushi restaurant that I have been wanting to try for a long time - Tataki. There are hundreds of Japanese restaurants in San Francisco, and a handful of good ones. What makes Tataki different is that it is only one of two restaurants in the world that only serves fish from sustainable sources.
I was kind of shocked to learn that this practice is not more widespread. Sustainability is not something new, but I guess it is new to a cuisine that has become commonplace to the average American diner - clearly, the demand for unagi, sake, and maguro is alive and well, and thiving in a city near you. I love all of these fish and eat them whenever I can, so I don't pretend to be as thoughtful as I could be about the origins of what I eat.
My desire to try Tataki was out of curiosity, sort of like when I try vegetarian restaurants. What would they do to offer the discerning diner a sushi experience that was familiar and satisfying, yet in keeping with their philosophy?
Easy. They serve beautiful, fresh, delicious fish. They have found substitutes for the familiar varieties that look like and taste as good as (if not better than) what you know. We kept it simple, which you have to do since the menu is pretty tight.
So what we had above was the Chef's Choice Sashimi. Looks like your typical Sake, Hamachi, and Maguro, right? It was Iwana (closed farm arctic char), Suzuki (closed farm California striped bass) and Maguro (handline yellowfin tuna, not the more common bluefin). Every pieces was flavorful, delicate, silky, delicious. I was especially impressed with the char, and as salmon is my favorite, the fact that I never missed it says a lot. We just had to have more, so we asked the chef for a recommendation for some nigiri.
Oh my goodness gracious. This was the Kona Kampachi (farmed Hawaiian almaco jack) - so lovely, so buttery, so tasty. The kampachi I had in Hawaii last year did not even come close. And the color - variegated shades of silver-flecked pink fading to white - simply beautiful.
All of this plus a seaweed salad, some light and tasty soba noodles, and green tea made a perfect, healthy lunch for two.
There is a website dedicated to sustainable sushi, where you can read more about it and see additional photos from Tataki. There is also a book called Sustainable Sushi by Casson Trenor (he was in the restaurant the day that we were there) - you can get it at Tataki or on Amazon. Were the recession not choking the hell out of us, I would have picked up a copy. As it is, I am saving my pennies for my next meal at Tataki - Poseidon willing, may it be sooner rather than later!
