Veteran Chef Launches Chīsai Sushi Club In SF Mission District

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Veteran sushi chef Erik Aplin will celebrate this week's opening of his Chīsai Sushi Club in the Mission District, a new addition to San Francisco’s omakase sushi scene.

Chīsai Sushi Club opens Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 3369 Mission St., in the former Ichi Sushi space near Bernal Heights.

Aplin is planning a menu of "approachable omakase," inspired by SF classics and Bay Area seasonal ingredients, plus vegan/vegetarian offerings.

Chīsai Sushi Club's launch also will be a homecoming of sorts for former Ichi Sushi crew with many longtime sushi chefs and staff returning to cook alongside Aplin, the restaurant said.

A Bay Area native from Palo Alto, Aplin began his culinary career in Colorado, with varying kitchen stints including with Chef Masaharu Morimoto at Morimoto Napa, at Matsuhisa Vail under Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, at the now closed, iconic ICHI Sushi alongside owner Tim Archuleta, at famed San Francisco sushi restaurant Akikos and Robin in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley.

At his new eatery, Chef Aplin is drawing from his love of the SF tradition, the Crab Louie salad, with his menu's modern version — the "Chīsai Sushi Club Crab Louie" with little gems, Louie dressing, dungeness crab, tomato, cucumber, pickled daikon and finished with shaved, miso-cured egg yolk.

Also among Aplin's creations are “open-faced” hand-rolls, served in custom, wooden holders, including: the "BLTA," made with bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado, topped with yuzu kosho mayo; and a "Seafood Tower" with raw scallops, Fort Bragg uni and ikura, topped with nori butter.

A full vegan/vegetarian omakase menu will feature the “Deli-Style Hand Roll with Goldie Lox," a collaboration with Julie Podair, known for her Goldie Lox brand of cured carrot "lox," the vegan iteration, with cucumber, avocado, red onions and capers.

Other vegan offerings include "Tomato Maguro," using in-season tomatoes prepared to mimic tuna, and "Braised Zucchini in Konbu Dashi."

Inspired by the city's Victorian aesthetic, Aplin crafted his new space with stained glass, Tiffany-inspired lamps, gold detailing and a large painting of Ocean Beach, the Cliff House and Sutro Baths from artist David Imlay, plus a restaurant’s logo that pulls Victorian architectural details from crests that adorn the city’s many historic homes.

Chīsai Sushi Club, at 3369 Mission St., will be open Mondays through Wednesdays 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursdays to Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Follow this link for more info. Reservations can be made here.

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