Sushi Zone

It was clear that i needed to get to Sushi Zone early so i could learn why it was always packed, so night before last i staggered across the street and arrived at 5:04, just in time to alight on the last seat at the counter.

That was the good news, but it also meant that when, fifteen minutes later after the staff had completed all the preparations for dinner and the waitress started taking orders, mine was the last.  I ordered a small Asahi beer, a bowl of miso soup, and the Mango-Hamachi roll, but it was another forty-five minutes before the roll arrived.  First come, first served.

It’s a three-person operation:  the waitress, the sushi chef, and a chef for the hot foods who doubles as the dishwasher.  A smooth machine with no wasted motions, and they turn out superb food.

The miso was excellent and the roll, sublime.  Got into a little conversation with a couple of couples at the bar who made some recommendations for my next visit and agreed that i was lucky to get a place since i’d arrived so late.

So last night i Segwayed over at 4:55 only to be confronted with a line of ten people.  Aargh.  There are eight seats at the bar and two tables for four, so there was a very real possibility that the bar would fill up when the door opened.

And it was windy and cold, a bone-chilling 40-something degrees (well, hey, this is San Francisco and we suffer readily), but i lucked out and four of those ahead of me took one of the tables, leaving two seats at the bar.  And good thing i got there when i did, since about a minute after i arrived two more couples joined the line.

I had the Asahi and soup again but this time went for the Hamachi-Avocado roll, which was every bit as good as the previous night’s version with mango.

Sushi Zone is a joy, and i recommend that to get a seat you arrive a bit before it opens.

But after i get there.

Oh, and here’s the location: