Sea Saw (Scottsdale) - Izakaya- Japanese tapas

[molto e]

Sea Saw Restaurant

7133 E. Stetson Dr.

Scottsdale- 480-481-9463

Nobuo Fukuda, the Chef of Sea Saw, serves Japanese tapas style food that is wine friendly and called Izakaya. I love Sea Saw so much that I wonder if Nobuo is spiking the tuna with something because I can't get enough of it . This is ingredient driven cuisine and Chef uses the best. Sea Saw has a menu with hot and cold dishes, but to experience Chef Nobuo Fukuda at his best sit at the counter and let him guide you with his Omakase menu (tasting). Nobuo was a Food and Wine Magazine "Best Chef" in 2003 and a 2005 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef Southwest" finalist in 2005.

Oyster with Uni in tomato water with a little wasabi oil

I usually start my meals off at Sea Saw with these and they are delicious

Nobuo grating a Wasabi root to use with the Big Eye Tuna. He uses a shark skin grater and grates from each end because the root end is hot and gooey and the top end where it flowers is watery and sweet so you combine them. The shark skin is used because it causes a chemical reaction with the wasabi to release the flavors. Nobuo has spoiled me by using the fresh wasabi, because it is so much better than the paste that is typically used.

The sashimi platter with two kinds of Spanish Mackerel(Sanma and Aji) and Hawaiian Big Eye Tuna.

The Aji is served with ginger, chive and soy

The Sanma is fatter, tender and sweeter than the Aji and served with onion, dried deep fried chile, truffle sauce and japanese citrus- seudachi.

The big eye tuna is from Hawaii and on the dish the darker red pieces are akami (red meat) and the lighter pieces are chutoro (medium fatty). I have gone to Sea Saw 3 out of four nights because I love the tuna so much. Nobuo says that when the Bluefin is in season that it blows away the big eye so I probably will just eat at Sea Saw every night then.

This is the sea bream with basil chips and beets and it is like red snapper from Japan-so good

Panko crusted soft shell crab with Nuoc Mam sauce and a rice noodle salad that is under the crab- I get this every time it is on the menu

Japanese mushroom melange baked in parchment paper

Pork belly wrapped in a banana leaf- this is some of the best pork belly that I have ever had-it just melts in your mouth

The lamb is marinated in peanut butter, coconut milk, curry, chicken stock, mirin. The red sauce is a roasted red pepper vinegarette-red pepper, mirin, vinegar, grapeseed oil. The cucumbers are japanese varietals marinated with sunomono dressing and sesame seeds and they are a palate cleanser.

Cool Duck- pan seared breast, chilled, soy-zinfandel reduction

I get this every time I go to Sea Saw-love it.

Shinshu mushi- steamed sea bass, green tea soba noodles, ume-shiso mushroom broth

The dessert is a creme brulee croquette with a coconut covering and habanero and mango chutney with a cilantro syrup. The icecream is sweet corn with coconut tapioca. I love this dessert

Sea Saw is one of my favorite restaurant in town and once you go there you will be a fan of Nobuo also.

My other Phoenix picks are:

Binkleys http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=72680

Cyclo- http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=74197

Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken- http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=72127

Pizzeria Bianco

Zinc Bistro

Good Eating,

Molto E

[docsconz]

Once again, a beautiful report, Molto! The uni/oyster combo looks dynamite. What is the little herbal (?) strip on top?

I have never seen a fish head presented on a sashimi platter before. Was that simply for decoration or was it part of the platter to eat?

[molto e]

Once again, a beautiful report, Molto! The uni/oyster combo looks dynamite. What is the little herbal (?) strip on top?

I have never seen a fish head presented on a sashimi platter before. Was that simply for decoration or was it part of the platter to eat?

←

Doc,

I will get back to you on the herb on the oyster. I took the fish head as decoration, but you are a more adventurous eater than I so.... . Look forward to a trip by you and the clan out west and you can try it and tell me how it is .

Molto E

[edsel]

Nice post, molto e. I can see from your vantage point that you were at the counter. I dined there last May when I was in the area on business. Since I was dining solo the hostess who took my reservation suggested that I sit at the counter. It's much more entertaining than sitting at a table.

Chef Nobuo was not in the house, so I can't speak to the experience of having him cook for me. I can vouch for the professionalism of his staff. When Chef is away, his cooks do a terrific job.

The guy with the blond streaks in his hair (sorry, I don't remember his name) was working directly in front of me. It was fun watching him pull a gorgeous slab of o-toro out of the under-counter refrigerator, reverently carving lovely slices while simultaneously carrying on a polite conversation with me and the couple seated to my right.

The cooks do a great job of "explaining" the dishes (which aren't exactly traditional) without being preachy or insulting. They offer suggestions on how best to approach each dish, but without being overbearing.

I didn't do the full omakase. I started out with a couple of dishes plus a flight of sake, then ordered a few more dishes, a different flight, and dessert. There was never any pressure on me to "make up my mind" about what to order. At one point I wondered aloud if doing the foie gras and o-toro would be "richness overkill". Some lighter dishes, including an amazing hamachi and grapefruit (I think) were suggested as foils to the richer dishes.

Dessert was quite impressive. The pc also does the desserts at the other restaurants from the same owners (Cowboy Chow?). The one I chose was a pana cotta with Asian overtones. I'll have to dig out my notes to see what exactly it was, but I do remember being impressed. I can just picture the folks from the Pastry & Baking forum wagging their fingers at me. You don't recall the most important dish of the evening?!!

[molto e]

Edsel.

Nobuo trains his chefs VERY WELL! They also are very into this genre of cooking and reverent about their knives. To learn to cut the various garnishes takes a good amount of time and a lot of cucumbers and daikons to practice on. The desserts since last May have improved greatly and they currently have a soy caramel sauce that is awesome.

Molto E

[molto e]

Once again, a beautiful report, Molto! The uni/oyster combo looks dynamite. What is the little herbal (?) strip on top?

I have never seen a fish head presented on a sashimi platter before. Was that simply for decoration or was it part of the platter to eat?

←

Doc,

I got just the answer to your question-on top of the oyster / uni combo is nori.

Molto E

[molto e]

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/best2005/dini...17japanese.html

FYI,

Molto E

[molto e]

I had the pleasure of dining at Sea Saw the other night and I sat at the counter and let Nobu do his thing. He told me that he has set up a new connection for fish coming straight out of Japan and is very excited about it. I rate Sea Saw as one of the top two dining experiences in town. I ordered the Omakase with the wine pairings and was blown away once again by Nobu's artistry and innovative combinations.

First Course:

A silver bowl was brought before me with two Sawagani Crabs squirming around in it.

Edamame Soup with ginger creme fraiche, Oyster with Uni in tomato water with wasabi oil and nori and the fried Sawagani crab with a little Argentinian rock salt on it. This was a great opener

Second Course:

Sashimi- I loved each one of these and they lasted as good as they looked

Japanese needle fish with sudachi and salt

Aji-Spanish Mackrel with grated ginger and green onion

Sanma

Chu-toro with fresh wasabi and homemade soy

Tako and Tomato-sliced octopus, organic tomato, homemade mozzarella, Turley olive oil, wasabi aioli, yuzu juice and pink peppercorns

Gravlax-basil oil / balsamic reduction, pecorino romano, toasted almond

Yellowtail with avocado, grapefruit, yuzu kosho

Akashi Sea Bream from Japan with myoga, taro root, beet and shiso chips

Seared tuna tataki with roast beet puree

Third Course:

Soft Shell Shrimp Fry with green papaya salad

Fourth Course:

Whitefish Carpaccio thinly sliced with ginger, sesame seeds, yuzu juice, roasted garlic oil on homemade buns

Fifth Course:

Sea Bass Three Ways

Excellent

Marinated in soy, sake, mirin and yuzu juice,underneath onion salsa

Saikyo Sea Bass with light miso, spicy daikon slaw, hajikami-japanese pickled ginger root

Sea Bass and mushroom mélange-sake soy, garlic butter, sudachi, shitake, enoki, shineji

Sixth Course:

5 spice braised Oxtail with baby root vegetables and caramelized daikon

So good perfectly braised meat and great flavor

Desserts:

Green Tea Cake, Miso Creme Brulee, Red Bean Ice Cream

This is my favorite non-Foie dessert at Sea Saw right now

Miso marinated seared Foie Gras with Red and White Wine Poached Pears and a Japanese Mountain Peach

Only Nobu can slip Foie in as dessert and how good it is

I look forward to my next meal at Sea Saw and hopefully it will be soon.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[docsconz]

Spectacular food! The little crabs look sensational. This obviously did not correspond fully to the menu in the photo as some of the courses differed. Did you ask for substitutions?

[molto e]

Spectacular food! The little crabs look sensational. This obviously did not correspond fully to the menu in the photo as some of the courses differed. Did you ask for substitutions?

←

Doc,

I appreciate your attention to detail Doc, Nobu asked if I cared if he changed things up a bit and why stand in the way of creativity. I have really received my love of this style of food through my meals at Sea Saw. The Crabs are really crunchy and I have also seen them used at Tru.

Molto E

[ahurwich]

Dinner at SEASAW saturday night 12/03. Had a variation of the chef's menu that included Bream, Spanish Mackrel, and Blue Fin, all line caught rather than farm raised, as well as a few of the dishes shown in Molto e's pictures above. The various dishes fell into three catagories: best, even better, and beyond. I hope more people in Phoenix find and appreciate what chef Nobu is doing here.

ahurwich

[Genny]

Please forgive my ignorance, but how do you eat those really little crabs? Shell and all?

[molto e]

Please forgive my ignorance, but how do you eat those really little crabs?  Shell and all?

←

Genny,

I had never eaten these until Nobu dropped them before me. The whole crab is edible and very crunchy-one bite.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[Genny]

Hmmm, I sometimes have difficulty with this type of thing. I feel like a brute eating the shells and all. Tasty? Is it crunchy like eggshells or crunchy like lifesavers?

[molto e]

Hmmm, I sometimes have difficulty with this type of thing.  I feel like a brute eating the shells and all.  Tasty?  Is it crunchy like eggshells or crunchy like lifesavers?

←

Genny,

These are not as sketchy as you think. Crunchy like eggshells would be about what I would compare it to, but they are good.

Molto E

[molto e]

This was Chef Nobuo Fukuda's New Year's Eve menu at Sea Saw Restaurant. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sample it on Friday the 30th and I am still savoring it-mentally. As 2005 has come to a close the restaurant that I have had my most meals at in 2005 has been Sea Saw and Chef Nobu Fukuda saved the best for last. I am always excited to eat at Sea Saw, but Chef had told me that some special things were coming in for New Year's so I was especially looking forward to the meal. When I looked at the menu, it was like I was looking at my fantasy menu at Sea Saw. When I saw Kobe on the menu, I really wanted to skip to that course and start there, but patience found the way to my mouth. I want to bring attention to Chef's ability to pair various wines to his innovative cuisine. The pairings really accentuate the nuances of each course. I am not sure that there are too many Chef's that have the ability to match wines with this style of food like Nobu. I highly recommend doing the tasting menu when dining at Sea Saw and putting yourself in Nobu's capable hands.

HASSUN:

I have posted pictures of some of the components of this dish, the ones that I have not posted before I will spotlight. The dish has the following components from left to right starting from the top row:

1. hamachi with grapefruit, avocado, black truffle, ponzu, grapeseed oil

truffle oil

2. Tako and Tomato-sliced octopus, organic tomato, homemade mozzarella,

Turley olive oil, wasabi aioli, yuzu juice and pink peppercorns

3. Seared tuna tataki with roast beet puree

4. Gravlax-basil oil / balsamic reduction, pecorino romano, toasted almond

5. Akashi Sea Bream from Japan with myoga, taro root, beet and shiso chips

6. Edamame Soup with ginger creme fraiche

7. Oyster in it's own liquor with Ostera caviar and chive

8. Oyster with Uni in tomato water with wasabi oil and nori

9. Oyster with Mozuku (salted seaweed) in a sweet vinegar dressing

Oyster with Mozuku (salted seaweed) with a sweet vinegar dressing

Hamachi with grapefruit, avocado, black truffle, ponzu, grapeseed oil

truffle oil-I love it when Nobu can incorporate truffles into his sashimi.

Oyster in it's own liquor with Ostera caviar and chive

SASHIMI:

Saiyori-Japanese needlefish with ginger and chive

Aji-Spanish Mackerel with ginger and chive

Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna- Fresh wasabi, I love this stuff and have been known to eat plates of it

Akashi Sea Bream from Japan that has been poached slightly by covering fish with a towel and ladeling hot water over it

Sea Bream grilled with soy, mirin, sake, yuzu, Japanese cilatro and green onion

Nobu preparing our next course

JUMBO CLAM:

Prepared three ways- Sashimi, Grilled and Poached, each taken from a different part of the clam. This was an excellent dish and shows the depth of Nobu's repertoire.

Sashimi of the siphon that is sticking out of the clam with a dipping sauce that was made with clam broth, sake, yuzu juice and truffle oil

Grilled comes from the inside of the clam marinated with Yuan (sake, mirin, soy, yuzu) and after grilling a dash of togarashi

Poached in sake, clam broth, yuzu juice, truffle oil

Blue Fin Tuna

I almost jumped over the counter when the Kamaochi toro came out, to be honest I was half way over the counter. As Chef worked on the tuna the board became so oiled from the tuna's marbling.

Blue Fin prepared three ways- Sashimi, Seared on a Hot Rock and Tartare

The hot rock was placed in front of me so that I could sear these nuggets of "love" to my liking. When I placed the tuna in my mouth, it literally melted. I must say if I had the choice of this toro or Kobe beef, I would pick the toro. That is how delicious this was!!. This is the part of the fish right behind the cheek, sort of like the collar bone.

This was the part that Chef scored so I could eat it as Sashimi. The tuna was so marbled that the fresh wasabi got lost in it.

In the apple was the tuna tartare and in it was tuna, fuji apple, pine nut, cucumber, garlic, thai chili pepper and chive

SEA BASS- prepared three ways-1. Marinated in soy, sake, mirin and yuzu juice,underneath onion salsa 2. Saikyo Sea Bass with light miso, spicy daikon slaw, hajikami-japanese pickled ginger root. 3. Sea Bass and mushroom mélange-sake soy, garlic butter, sudachi, shitake, enoki, shineji

I was lucky enough to have Chef surprise me with this course once before and I have pictures of it up thread. Each of the preparations were expertly done and so good. I can tell you how good it is because I really am not even a fish person.

KOBE BEEF

Shabu Shabu-thin sliced Kobe ribeye with kombu (dried tangles seaweed) broth and sesame dipping sauce

This was the first time that I have seen Nobu use this style and everybody loved it

Full disclosure, I was distracted by the Kobe short rib and forgot to take the picture. I had to borrow a couple of slices from a neighbor to take the picture so the plating was much tighter than the picture. The short rib was marinated with Nobu's Asian A-1 (Black vinegar, soy, ginger, garlic, thai chile, tomato paste)

accompanied by fennel and Asian pear salad with Nuac Mom sauce.

The short rib was seared and then low baked, it tasted more like ribeye steak than a short rib. In fact, this will be the short rib that I will measure all future ones against.

FOIE GRAS:

Miso marinated seared Foie Gras with Red and White Wine Poached Pears and a Japanese Mountain Peach

This is a very decadent dessert

SWEET:

Profiterole- orange confit, saigon cinnamon ice cream, soy caramel ( my vote for best topping), orange vanilla creme anglaise

This was a magical meal. The display of culinary artistry of Chef Nobu Fukuda was in full bloom. Nobu's team of German Sega, Geoff Reed (special thanks for giving me correct spellings and lessons), Matt Rojas and the lovely Chantelle are a well tuned machine. They show a true love of what is Sea Saw, the finest, freshest ingredients delivered by master Chef Nobuo Fukuda. Thank you to the Sea Saw staff for a great year of dining and learning.

Molto E

Edited January 3, 2006 by molto e (log)

[docsconz]

Wow! This is a great example of not being able to tell a book by its cover. Looking at the menu at the top of the post, I thought, "ok, but a NYE menu?" The following photos sure proved that wrong. I am intrigued by his sushi fusion of east and west.

[mcattaneo23]

That Tuna is absolutely spectacular!!! I am so jealous as I have never in my life seen Toro like that before. Thanks molto for opening my eyes to this wonderful diamond in the rough!!

[molto e]

Marty,

Chef Fukuda gets some of the best fish that I have ever had. The only problem is that he has spoiled me and that will be a toro that I measure all against.

Molto E

[estherschindler]

How much did that meal cost? (My birthday is next week, and I'm looking for something special... but I want to afford the mortgage payment too.)

[molto e]

I had the pleasure of dining at Sea Saw recently and Chef Nobuo Fukuda had a few new dishes on the Omakase. I must say that I am still haunted by the toro that I that was on the New Year's Eve menu. That may have been the best toro that I will ever eat, but I am hopeful there is one swimming around somewhere that will top it.

There it is again, but anyway to my last meal...

The meal started with kanpachi with grapefruit and avocado, yuzu kosho,

ginger, ponzu, fresh black and white truffle.

This was the last of this year's white truffle at Sea Saw. This is such a great combination of flavors with the citrus of the grapefruit to the finish of the truffle.

The next course was Hawaiian Big Eye tuna and wild seabream (tai) sashimi, grilled tai

skin salad with myoga, white truffle, mitsuba stem

(japanese cilantro, or trefoil)

No one in town gets the quality of fish that Nobuo is getting and I do not think anyone is getting wild fish straight out of Japan.

Karei Nanban (baby black back sole) with blood orange vinaigrette, carrot and red onion slaw, blood orange chip and gelee

This is one of my favorite dishes that I have eaten at Sea Saw. The bones were fried and Chef told me to alternate bites of the fish and the crispy bones. I had never eaten crispy fish bones before, but I know that Nobuo would never give me anything that was not good so down the hatch they went. The blood orange vinaigrette is soooo good and the red onion slaw rocks.

The hot rock came out next and with some toro

We are instructed to put the toro on the hot rock and take it off when you get a little sear on each side so that the end product is pretty rare.

Now Nobuo came up to me and asked," Will you eat anything?" It was not too long ago that this type of cuisine would not have been something that I would have enjoyed. Chef has brought me along and taught me about this style and now I really enjoy it. I replied," If you give it to me-I will eat it." Within the walls of Sea Saw, I do not have any Neophobia (fear of eating something new).

The Shabu-Shabu vehicle came out

live scallop(hotate)and live baby abalone(nagareko) were pictured and now Nobuo said that he was not going to tell me what the other components he was about to serve me were. He had a dish behind the Shabu-Shabu thing and he put something in the broth for a second and gave it to me and asked me after I ate it,"Did you like it?" I ate the first thing and said yes then the second thing and said yes and the third thing and said yes. So there Nobuo is smiling at me and I ask him, " What was that?" He says," Do you really want to know?" Now I really did not think too much about what I was eating or anything like that, but now I wanted to know. Before I say what it was, I will make it clear that it was good and would eat it again. He pulled the dish out to where I could see it and...

The lips of a wild japanese sea bream (Tai)

The second thing....

The cheek of the fish.

and now the last thing......

The eye, which he told me are very prized in Japan.

The last course was grilled kobe short rib with shaved fennel and asian pear,

mint and nuoc mam dressing.

I love how they do the short rib, giving the outside a sear and then low roasting it until done.

Another great meal at Sea Saw and some new lessons learned. Chef told me that he is working out a deal to get Japanese Kobe now that the restrictions have been lifted.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[jesteinf]

I'm going to be in Scottsdale tomorrow night for a meeting on Wednesday and I'm thinking about hitting Sea Saw for dinner. A few questions:

1. I'll be staying at the Mariott Suites (7325 E. 3rd Ave). Is this within walking distance from the restaurant? I think it is, but just want to check.

2. Do I need a reservation to sit at the sushi bar, or can I just walk in?

3. If I do Omakase, what is the price range and about how long will dinner take? I'd love to enjoy the experience, I just don't know if I want to spend 3 hours at dinner.

Thanks.

[molto e]

I'm going to be in Scottsdale tomorrow night for a meeting on Wednesday and I'm thinking about hitting Sea Saw for dinner.  A few questions:

1.  I'll be staying at the Mariott Suites (7325 E. 3rd Ave).  Is this within walking distance from the restaurant?  I think it is, but just want to check.

2.  Do I need a reservation to sit at the sushi bar, or can I just walk in?

3.  If I do Omakase, what is the price range and about how long will dinner take?  I'd love to enjoy the experience, I just don't know if I want to spend 3 hours at dinner.

Thanks.

←

Josh,

As far as walking distance, yes it is, but maybe the hotel would give you a ride. I would make a reservation at the counter to be safe 480-481-wine. Do the Omakase, because sometimes there are offerings on the Omakase that are not available on the menu. Price range 80-100 without pairings, but double check that. You will be out in under three hours for sure and ask them to try an do it in the time you want.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[jesteinf]

Giant scallops. I was sitting at the counter and these giant scallops just kept on coming out of the kitchen. Chef Nobu would separate the fist-sized portion that you eat from the rest and started slicing away. Thin, pristine slivers of gorgeous scallops.

Those scallops were just one part of the show at Sea Saw the other night. Thanks to Molto E's fabulous posts I decided to try Sea Saw for dinner the other night while in Scottsdale for work. I sat at the counter and had the omakase. Most of the items on the menu have already been highlighted here but some of my favorites were the oyster topped with uni, the tuna tatake, and the whitefish carpaccio (served with freshly baked bread to soak up the sauce).

Back to those scallops. One of the items on the menu was the mushroom melange. I'm not a huge mushroom fan so I asked Chef to substitute something else. He asked my what I like to which I responded "anything but mushrooms." Well, he either read my mind or saw me drooling over the scallops because my substitute course was a scallop shabu-shabu. One of those gorgeous scallops, sliced thin and served raw to be dunked a hot a flavorful broth. Just outstanding. The meal finished with quite a crescendo with the final two courses of lamb and foie gras.

I don't get to Scottsdale too often, but from now on Sea Saw will be a regular stop.

[molto e]

Josh,

I am glad that you liked Sea Saw. Nobuo is a very special chef and Phoenix is very lucky to have him. He is nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for the "Southwest Best Chef" for the second year in a row.

Molto E