M is for: Montclair {Kakui Sushi Restaurant Review}

For a girl who grew up in the wide open spaces of Montana…I’ve sure adapted to the compact life of the city pretty well. In Montana, a 20-minute drive might get you 30 miles outside the city. Here, a 20 minute drive might get you to SOMA. And Outer Sunset? That may as well be in Idaho.

So it’s not surprising that us San Franciscans cringe at the thought of driving anywhere outside the city limits…especially if you have to cross over a bridge. But recently, my friend and co-worker, Kate, moved to the Oakland Hills. I’ve been meaning to see her new place and check out her new ‘hood forever.

Finally, the conclusion of the Bay Bridge Series provided the perfect opportunity. Her place is amazing! She has a terraced backyard with sweeping views of the bay, and a GARDEN! So jealous. We also checked out nearby Montclair Village, which is bristling with restaurants and shops. We were in the mood for sushi, and Kakui definitely fit the bill.

Usually, at a sushi place, I don’t give the appetizers much thought aside from standard stuff like edamame, miso soup or seaweed salad. But at Kakui, they had a couple of things that caught my eye. I was intrigued that their fried brussels sprouts had received multiple mentions on Yelp, and given my love affair with the vegetable, we clearly had to get them. They were grilled to a delicious golden brown and drizzled with a tangy Karashi vinaigrette. We stopped short of licking the plate clean.

We also got some grilled shishito peppers. They are similar to padron peppers in that one in about every ten are SUPER spicy. There is no way to determine which ones are going to be hot, so it’s sort of like playing Russian Roulette with your food, which is kind of exciting. Of course, the very first one I grabbed was by far the spiciest. They were served with a sweet miso sauce, which helped tone down the fire that was breaking out on my lips.

After a long weekend, we were in the mood for a little sake, so we selected one of their “sake flights.” Check out the pours we got for only 10 bucks! Three different pours with descriptions of each one. A great deal if you’re looking to try a couple of different cold sakes. Edamame was standard.

Finally…the sushi! Everything seemed super fresh, and we opted for a five-piece tuna sashimi. It was beautifully presented. We also got the kakui roll, which was jam-packed with fish (no rice). It had hamachi, tuna, salmon and avocado and was wrapped in a very thinly sliced cucumber. I LOVED this roll. It was so bright and fresh tasting, and I appreciated the fresh take on a traditional sushi roll.

Overall, it was a really nice evening, and great to finally check out Kate’s place and catch up….Even if it was a long trek from the city. 😉