An has reopened with a new owner/chef – Daisuke Takiguchi, who ran Kenzo for some time before moving south to run a noodle restaurant (sort of like Shinichi and his wife at Hashiri Bettei). Previously, An was a chef driven restaurant run by Kiyoshi and his wife, long time sushi Bay Area veterans who themselves took over the space from another long time veteran whose food I never had and cannot comment on.
The biggest difference I’ve noted is the shari, it’s only the second week so it’s bound to change (I offered my own amateur opinion on what could be popular as well). Kiyoshi used a blend of akazu and komezu for a balanced shari with some slight body/punch. I wouldn’t categorize it as even medium strength but it was something you could taste. Daisuke is using all komezu w some sugar for a very light tasting, slightly (and I want to stress that while you can taste it, it is not sickly sweet or dessert-esque in any way) sweet shari. I personally prefer something with more oomph/punch so I didn’t like it but ymmv, I think it’s like what some older traditional spots in NYC offer or like a much better version of takeout spots like ebiko in SF/Oakland offer. Daisuke looks to have kept the same general ethos of the restaurant – good quality fish at lower price point (145 for nigiri focused menu / 135 for like a sushi kappo style meal) so expectations should be in line with that. It is also one of those single chef, single server and single dishwasher restaurants – just like the previous An and a ton of the higher end places here (Yoshizumi, Hashiri, etc)
1. Zensai looks to be fresh takes on Kiyoshi’s old standard zensai courses. Generally, a bit flat relative to previous restaurant but appreciate new take on these for the new restaurant 1. Atlantic salmon w shiro miso sauce, tiny sprig of dill and Fuji apple – didn’t love it but I hate salmon so its probably me. Kiyoshi did something similar that I also don’t like and so barely remember 2. Yellowfin tuna zuke w batons of potato, lemon and thread chili – fun take but a bit meh. Kiyoshi did the same did yellowfin zuke but with a small lemon mash that I preferred 3. “Spoon of happiness” – minced toro, ponzu jelly, amaebi, truffle oil and ponzu jelly – actually pretty much the same as Kiyoshi, don’t super love either take on it 2. Owan course – clear dashi (standard kombu + katsuobushi), matsutake and ebi shinjo w edamame. Nice aroma, dashi was well done but pretty strongly flavoured – ymmv with that. Shinjo was alr – edamame dominated the bites it was in so I didn’t get a lot of the sweet meatyness from the shrimp I was hoping for but it was constructed well and cooked properly unlike similar at Shin 3. Sashimi – mistakenly sent. Ended up being comped – not reviewing 1. Tai 2. Kanpachi (not the hirenaga one) 3. Akami 4. Chutoro between that and toro 4. Nigiri: 1. Kinmedai, mostly flat – not particularly fatty 2. Kamasu w jikasei yuzu kosho, good not great. With spots like these I almost like solo toppings like these as they usually simple and well made for the most part. This yuzu kosho followed in that trend and went nicely with the kamasu 3. Sanma with negi and ginger, actually pretty good – kinda happy w this even tho seasons almost done 4. Aori ika w ginger, slightly sweet before the ginger and wasab kicked me in the nose lol. Would have been a decent piece with better control of them tho 5. Taiwanese hirenaga kanpachi shioyaki w fried burdock, honestly nicest thing that night. My favorites for the night would be either this or the chawanmushi. The hiranaga was cooked really perfectly and the fried burdock added this like nice additional salinity to the whole thing that resulted in a dish that was honestly better than some versions at the like $200-300 spots here 6. Nigiri: 1. Hirame kombujind w engawa topping, eh. Engawa wasn’t great either 2. Fujimasu, fatty n clean. I don’t like trout or salmon, but if I have to have them I prefer trout like these or the really wild n fancy salmon 3. Katsuo from shizuoka w momiji oroshi, looks to have been pre grilled and rested. Clean tasting – katsuo, at least the ones that have made it here, have been kinda lean just given the more warm weather in Japan. The water in Japan does seem to have finally gotten pretty cold this week though so I imagine going forward we’ll start seeing fattier specimen. This one was eh but I didn’t hate it 4. Hotate w karasumi from Taiwan, Hotate was honestly pretty good n karasumi was of decent quality – I’m actually a fan of Taiwanese karasumi I’ve had thus far, even if I prefer the homemade/jikasei ones 7. Ikura, shiitake, enoki and kuruma ebi Chawanmushi, this was really good – honestly one of the nicer chawans I’ve had in the Bay. Everything came together really nicely and it was all cooked great, nothing overly mushy 8. Nigiri 1. Tachiuo, alright – nothing bad but nothing great 2. Chutoro w Karashi, pretty good – nice combo, their karashi is a bit too piquant though 3. Aburi toro, alright – better than I thought it would be 9. Standard fancier Miso Soup, you’ve had this a few times at those restaurants that used to be big in the 90s/00s I’m sure 10. Matcha and Honey ice creams either walnut, frozen farmers market persimmon and mint leaf
Extras
1. Aburi Saba – half standard shiojime and sujime time for more raw/nama fishy taste. Topping w karashi and w wasabi. Fish had come in earlier that day/the day before I believe, honestly didn’t taste the standard hikarimono flavour he was going for, the karashi really ran away with it 2. Aburi Akamutsu w jikasei yuzu kosho, pretty good. Akamutsu was not super fatty sadly 3. Amaebi with tobiko, not too bad – had the type of texture and slight stickiness I’m used to with better amaebi rather than the awful one I’d had Kinsen but wasn’t super sweet like the premium ones I’ve had in the past 4. Anago w loose tsume made from Anago stewing liquid and bones, actually really good – one of the better nigiri of the night. Just wish the tsume was thicker and it’d have honestly been the best 5. Complimentary chopped Toro and uni gunkan, not reviewing 6. Not pictured, just shari as nigiri – basically what was described above. Body temp with uniformly cooked grains and good hagotai/toothyness. I recommended experimenting with some akazu and letting it have a bit more body – it’s my own preference, but I feel like people generally like that as well and most of the new openings have been in that style
My thoughts are a bit hard to nail down, unlike Kinsen this is a true mom and pop first opening and it’s only in it’s second week. Daisuke’s helped run restaurants for a time but never really owned his own, the same with his wife. I also personally don’t like the shari style and the restaurant isn’t trying to be some transcendental experience that can push past that with sheer quality – it’s focused on offering good sushi at a reasonable price, like the previous spot had. To that end, I think I wanna try this out again in 3-6 months and get a feel how it’s shaped up. Review is mainly because I’m putting out the updated Bay-wide review and I’m worried this’ll be lower than I think it really deserves so wanted the opportunity to fully articulate myself.
I think for the average joe, looking to not waste 135/145 pre tax n tip – it’s a good spot in the city and will likely get better once the growing pains are done. I think it’s worth checking out sometime this winter if you’re interested in more old school sushi places.
1 Comment
An has reopened with a new owner/chef – Daisuke Takiguchi, who ran Kenzo for some time before moving south to run a noodle restaurant (sort of like Shinichi and his wife at Hashiri Bettei). Previously, An was a chef driven restaurant run by Kiyoshi and his wife, long time sushi Bay Area veterans who themselves took over the space from another long time veteran whose food I never had and cannot comment on.
The biggest difference I’ve noted is the shari, it’s only the second week so it’s bound to change (I offered my own amateur opinion on what could be popular as well). Kiyoshi used a blend of akazu and komezu for a balanced shari with some slight body/punch. I wouldn’t categorize it as even medium strength but it was something you could taste. Daisuke is using all komezu w some sugar for a very light tasting, slightly (and I want to stress that while you can taste it, it is not sickly sweet or dessert-esque in any way) sweet shari. I personally prefer something with more oomph/punch so I didn’t like it but ymmv, I think it’s like what some older traditional spots in NYC offer or like a much better version of takeout spots like ebiko in SF/Oakland offer. Daisuke looks to have kept the same general ethos of the restaurant – good quality fish at lower price point (145 for nigiri focused menu / 135 for like a sushi kappo style meal) so expectations should be in line with that. It is also one of those single chef, single server and single dishwasher restaurants – just like the previous An and a ton of the higher end places here (Yoshizumi, Hashiri, etc)
Courses (too many for Reddit, all photos available [here in a Google folder](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1L2eeY8_Z8-L5WG4ww0_7rD-TfdnqTNHN))
1. Zensai looks to be fresh takes on Kiyoshi’s old standard zensai courses. Generally, a bit flat relative to previous restaurant but appreciate new take on these for the new restaurant
1. Atlantic salmon w shiro miso sauce, tiny sprig of dill and Fuji apple – didn’t love it but I hate salmon so its probably me. Kiyoshi did something similar that I also don’t like and so barely remember
2. Yellowfin tuna zuke w batons of potato, lemon and thread chili – fun take but a bit meh. Kiyoshi did the same did yellowfin zuke but with a small lemon mash that I preferred
3. “Spoon of happiness” – minced toro, ponzu jelly, amaebi, truffle oil and ponzu jelly – actually pretty much the same as Kiyoshi, don’t super love either take on it
2. Owan course – clear dashi (standard kombu + katsuobushi), matsutake and ebi shinjo w edamame. Nice aroma, dashi was well done but pretty strongly flavoured – ymmv with that. Shinjo was alr – edamame dominated the bites it was in so I didn’t get a lot of the sweet meatyness from the shrimp I was hoping for but it was constructed well and cooked properly unlike similar at Shin
3. Sashimi – mistakenly sent. Ended up being comped – not reviewing
1. Tai
2. Kanpachi (not the hirenaga one)
3. Akami
4. Chutoro between that and toro
4. Nigiri:
1. Kinmedai, mostly flat – not particularly fatty
2. Kamasu w jikasei yuzu kosho, good not great. With spots like these I almost like solo toppings like these as they usually simple and well made for the most part. This yuzu kosho followed in that trend and went nicely with the kamasu
3. Sanma with negi and ginger, actually pretty good – kinda happy w this even tho seasons almost done
4. Aori ika w ginger, slightly sweet before the ginger and wasab kicked me in the nose lol. Would have been a decent piece with better control of them tho
5. Taiwanese hirenaga kanpachi shioyaki w fried burdock, honestly nicest thing that night. My favorites for the night would be either this or the chawanmushi. The hiranaga was cooked really perfectly and the fried burdock added this like nice additional salinity to the whole thing that resulted in a dish that was honestly better than some versions at the like $200-300 spots here
6. Nigiri:
1. Hirame kombujind w engawa topping, eh. Engawa wasn’t great either
2. Fujimasu, fatty n clean. I don’t like trout or salmon, but if I have to have them I prefer trout like these or the really wild n fancy salmon
3. Katsuo from shizuoka w momiji oroshi, looks to have been pre grilled and rested. Clean tasting – katsuo, at least the ones that have made it here, have been kinda lean just given the more warm weather in Japan. The water in Japan does seem to have finally gotten pretty cold this week though so I imagine going forward we’ll start seeing fattier specimen. This one was eh but I didn’t hate it
4. Hotate w karasumi from Taiwan, Hotate was honestly pretty good n karasumi was of decent quality – I’m actually a fan of Taiwanese karasumi I’ve had thus far, even if I prefer the homemade/jikasei ones
7. Ikura, shiitake, enoki and kuruma ebi Chawanmushi, this was really good – honestly one of the nicer chawans I’ve had in the Bay. Everything came together really nicely and it was all cooked great, nothing overly mushy
8. Nigiri
1. Tachiuo, alright – nothing bad but nothing great
2. Chutoro w Karashi, pretty good – nice combo, their karashi is a bit too piquant though
3. Aburi toro, alright – better than I thought it would be
9. Standard fancier Miso Soup, you’ve had this a few times at those restaurants that used to be big in the 90s/00s I’m sure
10. Matcha and Honey ice creams either walnut, frozen farmers market persimmon and mint leaf
Extras
1. Aburi Saba – half standard shiojime and sujime time for more raw/nama fishy taste. Topping w karashi and w wasabi. Fish had come in earlier that day/the day before I believe, honestly didn’t taste the standard hikarimono flavour he was going for, the karashi really ran away with it
2. Aburi Akamutsu w jikasei yuzu kosho, pretty good. Akamutsu was not super fatty sadly
3. Amaebi with tobiko, not too bad – had the type of texture and slight stickiness I’m used to with better amaebi rather than the awful one I’d had Kinsen but wasn’t super sweet like the premium ones I’ve had in the past
4. Anago w loose tsume made from Anago stewing liquid and bones, actually really good – one of the better nigiri of the night. Just wish the tsume was thicker and it’d have honestly been the best
5. Complimentary chopped Toro and uni gunkan, not reviewing
6. Not pictured, just shari as nigiri – basically what was described above. Body temp with uniformly cooked grains and good hagotai/toothyness. I recommended experimenting with some akazu and letting it have a bit more body – it’s my own preference, but I feel like people generally like that as well and most of the new openings have been in that style
My thoughts are a bit hard to nail down, unlike Kinsen this is a true mom and pop first opening and it’s only in it’s second week. Daisuke’s helped run restaurants for a time but never really owned his own, the same with his wife. I also personally don’t like the shari style and the restaurant isn’t trying to be some transcendental experience that can push past that with sheer quality – it’s focused on offering good sushi at a reasonable price, like the previous spot had. To that end, I think I wanna try this out again in 3-6 months and get a feel how it’s shaped up. Review is mainly because I’m putting out the updated Bay-wide review and I’m worried this’ll be lower than I think it really deserves so wanted the opportunity to fully articulate myself.
I think for the average joe, looking to not waste 135/145 pre tax n tip – it’s a good spot in the city and will likely get better once the growing pains are done. I think it’s worth checking out sometime this winter if you’re interested in more old school sushi places.