always remain awesome: Kusakabe

if you're at all familiar with Sushi Ran in Sausalito then you must know their chef, Mitsunori Kusakabe. Sushi Ran is known to have some of the best sushi in the Bay Area and you are considered quite the lucky duck if you can snag a seat at the sushi bar for an omakase. but things have changed. for better or worse, who knows. maybe unbeknownst to the general population of eaters but definitely noted by the frequenters of the popular sushi restaurant, Kusakabe has left to open a restaurant with his own name. he serves one omakase kaiseki style menu ($95/ 8 courses) each night with the option to add nigiri, sashimi, simple maki and dessert a la carte to follow. the space is sleek and simple yet inviting once greeted by a host or server. while there are some tables near the front of the restaurant, it provides as a sort of waiting area until your seats at the sushi bar are ready. they don't want anybody to miss out on experiencing watching the chefs at work.

from Sushi Ran Kusakabe brought with him Chef Ken Ngai, who we were happy to be entertained by. he created our simplistic sushi masterpieces for the evening while also making us feel welcome and playfully bantering with us or our neighbor guests. the sushi was incredible! beautifully simple, fresh and colorful. the hot dishes were also very good and adequately gave us breaks between raw fish dishes. if you truly appreciate good sushi, i absolutely recommend this place. it's only been open for about two months now and has not had very much press or advertising yet has received a lot of buzz. get your reservation sooner rather than later or you'll likely begin to see a month long wait list!