High standards still prevail

I dropped in after a long absence at Sushi 69 in San Anselmo. Hiro (Hiroyuki Makino), the Executive Chef and owner was smiling behind the sushi bar as always. He informed me that the other long time Chef at Sushi 69, Takeshi, is returning to Japan today, his last day behind the sushi bar being last Thursday, so I just missed him. And miss him I will. Takeshi, like Hiro, has a fine hand at slicing up the sushi so that it melts on your tongue and he sometimes made little variations that he thought would suit my taste.

I ordered one old favorite straight away, the Tuna Lily. The combination of the crisp shrimp chip shell filled with soft pieces of tuna mixed with onions and caviar and a tart sauce just dances on your palate in a pleasing way.

In honor of Takeshi, I ordered the Takeshi roll which I had not tried before. A wonderful pairing of tastes, expertly executed by Hiro, included tempura shrimp, spicy scallops and cool, crisp cucumber on the inside, topped with maguro tuna and slices of shiso leaf on the outside. This is worthy of a repeat in the future.

I finished with another favorite, tamago nigiri, noticing that Hiro's fine sense of style has been refined since my last visit to include a decorative brand on the ends of the egg. It is served on a fresh leaf on the granite counter in front of you (if at the sushi bar). Sitting at the counter, watching the careful preparation and plating of food I noticed the care and attention that Hiro puts into the beautiful food that comes to his customers has been maintained at the high standard that he has kept from the beginning .

Restaurant Inspection Results

Critical: 0
Noncritical: 0
Last inspected: February 26, 2010

Previously reviewed:

February 7, 2008
January 18, 2007


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