Just as Jonathan Kauffman did the other week, Michael Bauer returns to Hecho (185 Sutter) after hearing about the hiring of master sushi chef Sachio Kojima, who’s been MIA for half a decade. He opens by reiterating, “I’ve never quite understood the combination of sushi and Tequila at Hecho,” echoing his first review of the place, which opened last year.” But he has to admit the sushi is excellent now, and he also notes some tasty chicken nuggets and a “perfectly grilled hamachi collar,” both of which were on the opening menu and are much the same as before, but he remarks on them now that he’s warming up to the place. Overall: Two and a half stars, up from two. [Chron]
Also at the Chron, Bauer lets Janny Hu pinch-hit with a review of Izakaya Yuzuki (he clearly had enough Japanese this week). She says she “loves” chef Takashi Saito’s food, even if it is quality over quantity. Also, “The food at Yuzuki is the food of ancestors, and the result is a meal rich in attention and detail.” All told: two and a half stars. [Chron]
Meanwhile, Jonathan Kauffman, perhaps noting the dearth of notable new restaurant openings recently, hoofs it to Lake Merced for an underground dinner with Stag Dining Group. He says he’s long been a fan of chefs Jordan Grosser and Ted Fleury (the former and current chefs at The Alembic), and he sounds like he had a great time at their “Guns, Game, and Rosé” dinner, which they likely didn’t know he was at. He writes, “If you’re not attached to the screw-the-Man ethos that once made underground dinners the rave of the new millennium, they can be a hell of a lot of fun.” He says “the food was more rustic than … precise,” noting some “amazing” fingerling potatoes, and some “mild, extremely tender” suckling pig. All in all, it sounds like the convivial experience of dining (and drinking a lot) with a bunch of strangers in an unusual environment was worth the $110. [SF Weekly]
