O Chame

This last Friday, Ngoc and I went to O Chame over in the Fourth Street artisan district. Michael Bauer sings praises about this quaint Japenese-American fusion restaurant, and he does so with good cause.

So often do contemporary restaurants claim to produce "Asian fusion". So much so that I'm automatically turned off to the restaurant before even giving their food a chance at the mention of such a description. O Chame is a good exception. The menu is short and sweet, with a number of Japanese-ish appetizers, five or six Udon/Soba bowls, and three trademark French-Californian (tm) mains with misc. Asian accents. I recommend steering clear of the main courses, at least for your first visit. Not that I don't have anything against skirt steak or roasted salmon...definitely great choices. However, as an O Chame neonate, you want to graduate first from noodle soup. This, in my opinion, is where O Chame really does things right.

Ngoc and I started w/ the Seared Ahi Sashimi...which, is kind of an oxymoron, since searing fish makes it not-sashimi??? Irregardless, it was delicious, with a wonderful savory-saltiness seared into the bite-sized chunks of premium fish, served on bitter greens w/ a horseradish sauce. A technicolor dreamcoat of flavors. Next, Ngoc and I ordered Udon dishes, with roasted oysters and roasted pork tenderloin, respectively. I can't speak much for the oysters, but the pork was incredibly flavorful, considering that the slices of tenderloin were fully submerged in fish broth. Super smokey, tasting almost marinated. Impressive. For dessert we tried their wagashi and caramel balsamic gelato, which, as it sounds, was made w/ caramel and balsamic vinegar. The combination hits you awkwardly w/ an olive and corked-wine (that sounds ridiculous, i know) sourness at first that deliciously melts away into smooth caramel. It took some getting used to, needless to say.