Wendy Logan photo

Kazu Spicy Beef: looks good, tastes good

Kazu
64 N. Main St., Norwalk, (203) 866-7492, www.kazusono.com

Our group arrived at Kazu in South Norwalk just 20 minutes before the close of service on a quiet weeknight. Having done my time on the other side of a bar, I was feeling sheepish, well aware of how irritating this can be for a staff looking to go home early on a slow night. Any trepidation, however, was dismissed by the friendly bartender, Loni, and her manager Jithravan (or Jay, as she is called by her staff). They were completely relaxed, ready to take our order, and poised to hang out with us as long as we cared to stay.

Kazu's menu offers all the standard Japanese fare — teriyaki, yakitori, negimake and your basic California roll — as well more creative items, like miso black cod, or stewed Chilean sea bass with kimchi vegetables served in a hot pot. There are also innovative sushi specials.

We jump all over a salmon-draped crunchy orange roll made up of white tuna, flying fish roe, tempura flakes, avocado, spicy sauce and a drizzle of wasabi dressing. The bite-sized roll is sublime. The white tuna is fresh, soft and sweet, contrasting nicely with the crunchy tempura flakes. The roe pops and the salmon is buttery. The creamy hot sauce inside adds a bit of a kick and the orange flavor, though faint, provides needed citrus. Even our slightly finicky friend, who normally declares salmon off limits, is impressed.

We continue with more rolls. The Super Kazu is the size of a hockey puck and made up of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, crab, avocado, asparagus, cucumber, a smattering of the glistening tobiko and the surprise ingredient, mint, which freshens and brings the whole mouthful together. The Dragonfly roll is simpler and smaller, with avocado-wrapped spicy tuna and more of the pretty red tobiko.

Our group disagrees on favorites in Japanese cuisine, but all who are sushi fans agree that spicier is better, so we ask for fresh wasabi with our rolls. Substantially hotter than the standard smooth paste that accompanies a typical sushi or sashimi offering, the fresh version appears rougher and a bit greener. For palates that can take the heat, I highly recommend it.

The peanut chicken summer roll is at once light, refreshing and substantial. Wrapped in thin rice paper that takes on a delicate noodle-like consistency, this traditionally Vietnamese item is filled with bits of white-meat chicken, crushed peanuts, crunchy scallions and cilantro, with a touch of jalapeno pepper. Served with a clear, bright, sweet citrus sauce whose hint of sesame adds depth, the combination is a symphony.

To assuage the pickiest eater in the group, a Scot who would rather swim the English Channel than eat raw fish, we order several cooked items. We start with an assortment of shrimp dumplings, both the standard shrimp shumai and shrimp har gow which are often served together as dim sum. The dumplings are offered with a duo of sauces, one soy-based and salty and the other ginger-based and sweeter, with a red pepper accent. The shumai, little purses filled with a steamed shrimp filling, are thicker and chewier than their dumpling cousin, whose wrapper is delicate, thin and pleated. The har gow boast chunkier bits of shrimp. Both are good.

It's fall and it's cold out, so we can hardly resist trying the very non-traditional butternut squash dumpling. Served with the same sauces, this dumpling's flour-based wrapper is similar to the har gow, nearly sheer, and the filling is a smooth and savory blend of the pumpkin-colored vegetable, cheese and a hint of chili powder for heat. Though odd, it works.

Chicken lettuce cups are not so much unsuccessful as unremarkable. The dish is essentially stir-fried chicken wrapped in iceberg lettuce and served with a dark, rich, overly sweet sake bean sauce.

The Kazu Spicy Beef is beautifully presented, garnished with a fresh orchid blossom and served on bamboo leaves. The sautéed, sliced beef is tender and stir fried with a rainbow of colorful, crunchy veggies, including whole fresh pea pods, asparagus, mushrooms and red bell peppers. The brown, soy- and ginger-based sauce is tasty, lacking only in the promised spice; the heat here is all but absent.

With a full bar and a diversity of specialty cocktails, Kazu is also a sake lover's mecca, offering hot and cold selections in every grade: Junmai, a full-flavored version with a slightly higher acidity level than other sakes; Ginjo, a lighter, more fragrant style; and Daiginjo, considered the preeminent sake for the painstaking process involved in its brewing process. There are also specialty sakes like Pearl, an unfiltered variety, and Moonstone Asian Pear.