okoze sushi

1207 union st @ hyde

motivation: japanese food with jellybean and pinky, after too long without. also, i wanted to try out a new place in a different neighborhood. i mean, what kind of restaurant reviewer would i be if my only recommendations were in the mission? right. so off we went to russian hill and i was immediately reminded why i don't eat in this area very often. i can haz parking place pleaz?

since we made poor jellybean wait forever while we drove around ineffectually in circles, he started off with a large sapporo and pre-ordered us delicious miso soup. at okoze, they make them with a choice of mushrooms: nameko, enoki, or shimeji. pinky and i finally arrived to soups perfect for a chilly evening - hearty, slightly sweet, highlighting great mushroom flavors. it was a good beginning to a tasty meal. we ordered more fatty winter food with the hamachi kama and warm battered age dashi dofu adorned by lively twisting bonito flakes. the hon maguro nigiri was a gorgeous deep red and had a perfect texture; the aji was light and tangy; the sake nigiri a pale salmon color and just full enough in the mouth without being too heavy. all the nigiri were at perfect room temperature and the staff was nice enough to accommodate us with three pieces. we fully filled our bellies with two rolls: the tokyo tower roll and the green caterpillar, balancing deep fried pieces with veggies. it was all very good. in fact, the high quality almost justified our parking struggles.

if only the prices were just a tad more in my affordable realm. though i think the expense fit the area appropriately and further defined okoze as very much a good neighborhood sushi place. the last confirmation was in the low flirtability. it was a good-looking and well-dressed crowd, but everyone there seemed focused on their own tables and conversations, and not on making eyes with us tipsy hipster kids. which they should have, because we got into some sexy details of jellybean's explorations with his beautiful and righteous new girlfriend. we three could teach these yuppies a thing or two in bed. not even the servers tuned in to our hot chatter. they were helpful but not overly friendly and i couldn't help but think that they would have gushed more had we been regulars.

conclusion: your best bet is to take a lover on russian hill and sneak off to okoze when you need your palate well pleased. then write and tell me all about it!

itadakimasu!