Gluten Freebird

Warm weather means smaller portions and cool food, so we turned to Kaz Sushi Bistro last night. It’s less traditional than standards like Sushi Taro, Sushi-Ko, and Sakana (Bistro probably gave you that hint), so we hoped that we would find some new-age dishes that wouldn’t be doused with soy sauce or panko like at recent sushi outings.

Kaz makes its own soy sauce - naturally low in sodium and a bit sweet - but it sadly contains wheat in addition to buckwheat, so that was off-limits. I can’t wait to find a spot that uses tamari so that I can eat soy-glazed hot dishes. After that, I’ll scope out a place that uses gluten-free breading for soft shell crabs.

The restaurant early high marks for its careful attention to my restriction. Our server immediately went back to the kitchen to inquire about the soy sauce and then went over our entire order with us to make sure that there were no hidden glutenous ingredients.

We ended up ordering the day’s special of spicy scallop ceviche in a scallop shell and an incredible chive and toro roll that leaves average spicy tuna rolls in the dust. It was the kind of roll that made me wish that I could barter my other sushi pieces for extra toro and chive (who wants this lovely wild horse mackerel?). It had toro’s nice oil with the crunch of fresh oniony bits and not too much rice.

The big question mark in our order was the foie gras with plum wine jelly on sticky rice. The foie was delicious and the bright jelly made for a playful topping. The sticky point was with the rice. The sticky rice distracted from the creaminess of the foie and made for a muddled mouthful. We both scraped off any remaining rice to enjoy the foie and jelly alone. It was better than dessert.