Zushi Japanese Bistro

Zushi Japanese Bistro Restaurant Review:

Watching chef-owner Kevin Chang slice into pristine fish with clinical precision, you think he should have been a surgeon. Admiring his plate presentations --- each item placed with aesthetic deliberateness as if in a Japanese landscape --- you think he should have been an artist. But tasting his creations --- “Three-Way Oysters,” a half dozen on the half shell with house ceviche, chili-infused daikon and ponzu, and salmon roe; spicy tuna glimmering like Cartier cuts cradled in endive logically followed by palate-cleansing rockfish belly --- you sigh contentedly knowing that he was born for Zushi (a more Eastern pronunciation of sushi). Many of the area's top chefs come to his bamboo-imbued bar for their nigiri and sashimi fix, but fish is just part of Zushi's tale. His sister-in-law, who trained at Paris’ Le Cordon Bleu, creates French pastries for dessert. And Chang rolls chocolate truffles in green tea powder for Valentine's Day, dresses up a so-called Trinity roll in Cajun splendor come Mardi Gras, and teases (but you wouldn't put it past him) about matzoh ball-miso soup at Passover. He even makes ramen noodles for an occasional special. Zushi has a sleek bar/lounge with a range of sakés, playful sake-tinis, classic cocktails, beer and more, and an attractive dining room. But there's nothing like the counter where Chang is as decisive with his knife as he is with his opinions.