Sasa: More of the Fusion Invasion in Walnut Creek

In the past year, at least five restaurants serving Fusion cuisine have opened in Walnut Creek. My description of Fusion cuisine is that it is a combination of Asian and American foods and preparations.

While I think that the large number of Fusion restaurants in Walnut Creek might be a bit too much of a good thing, this is not stopping me from trying them. In June I wrote about Vanessa's Bistro 2, where the Fusion dishes have a Vietnamese slant.

Today, Melia and I tried out Sasa, where the Asian emphasis is Japanese. Sasa describes itself as a "Japanese Izakaya." Japanese Isakayas are tradional small plate restaurants where people go to unwind and visit all day long, sort of a Japanese version of a Dim Sum restaurant.

So far of the newer Fusion places I've tried, Sasa is my favorite.

For lunch today, we shared four dishes from the "To Share or Not" part of the menu. These dishes are Small Plates and priced at Lunch at $6 for one, $11 for two, and $15 for three.

We started with a selection of three:



* The Farmer's Veggie Roll, a serving of 5 pieces of a seasonal vegetable Maki Roll
* Tempura Prawns Lettuce Wraps, a serving of 2 large prawns, each on on a pile of butter lettuce leaves
* Spicy Grilled Baby Back Riblets, 4 sauced riblets with a side purple cabbage salad

The presentation of our selections was beautiful and all were very tasty. The Prawn dish was my favorite. The sauce on the Ribs was a bit too sweet for my taste, but all dishes were outstanding.

Wanting just a little something more to complete our meal, we ordered the Sweet Corn Fritters, which were freshly fried and bursting with the flavor of the fresh sweet corn which is at the height of its season right now.



We each enjoyed a pot of flowering tea with our relaxing lunch.



Sasa's lunch menu also offers larger plates such as Three Mini Chicken Teriyaki Burgers, a Soft Shell Crab Club Sandwich, Soba Noodles, and lots of Sushi.

The dinner menu features a similar mix of Small and Large Plates and dedicates an entire section of the menu to what's fresh from the local Farmer's Markets. Much of Sosa's fresh seafood is delivered daily from Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market (the largest fish market in the world) and Oahu's Auction Block.

Sasa's emphasis on fresh and seasonal food was showcased in each dish that we enjoyed today.

There are two dining rooms. The front room has a mix of booths and high tables. The back dining room is all tables. And, there is also seating on an outdoor patio.

JAPANESE IN A REMOTE CORNER IN BERKELEY

Continuing with my ongoing Berkeley meals, I went to lunch at a neighborhood Berkeley Japanese Restaurant, Genki (1610 San Pablo Ave. at Cedar), which is right across San Pablo Avenue from Café Fanny. We noticed it the day we lunched at Café Fanny and were curious.

We heard mixed reviews of Genki, but decided to give it a try, all the same. Apparently, there has been an ownership change in the recent past. Our one colleague, who has lived in Japan, said that the sushi was not very good.

Undaunted, we arrived at about noon. The restaurant is plain and shares a parking lot with the motel which is behind it. It was about half full when we arrived and continued to be reasonably busy throughout our meal. About half the clientele was Japanese. The sushi chef as busy at the sushi bar doing his thing and, from what I could see, he and those sitting at the bar seemed pleased with their sushi.

Once seated, we were immediately brought steaming mugs of hot tea. This made us feel at home as well as warmed. What a nice touch! And, there was no charge for the hot tea.

I decided on the Tempura lunch special, priced at $8.00. It included two large deep-fried Prawns and a mix of deep-fried vegetables that included green bean, carrot, sweet potato, and broccoli. Several fresh Edamame garnished my plate.





The lunch specials are served with Miso Soup, a salad, rice, and a few wedges of fresh orange.

J's Chicken Teriyak-Gyoza lunch combination ($7.50) was presented in a lacquered box which held everything but her Miso Soup.



Both of our meals were delicious...not only do we plan to return again soon, but we already have a long list of things to try next time. At the top of my list is the Nabeyaki Udon that one of the men at the table behind was enjoying... it is a Noodle soup in which there are vegetables and prawns and which is topped by an egg which seems to have been poached in the broth.

Genki is open for lunch on weekdays and for dinner every evening from 5 p.m.