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Also this issue: Farm Fresh Peace of Cake |
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April 17-23, 2003
food
 The choice is his: Master sushi chef Jin Seok Seo with the chefâs choice sushi platter. Photo By: Michael T. Regan |
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Osaka, with all its quirks, is a welcome addition to Chestnut Hill.
You’d never know the unemployment index was still up after visiting Osaka, a Japanese restaurant in Chestnut Hill that’s been open since Valentine’s Day. For every table, some three to four different young, attractive members of the waitstaff attend to your needs: running dishes, clearing dishes, taking your order and just mincing by to say hello. And that’s not counting the bartender or the baseball-capped sushi chefs, of which there are three. No one can accuse the owners of this restaurant, brother to the Osaka on Lancaster Avenue in Wayne, of not doing their part to feed the economy.
Osaka is also, of course, feeding the Japanophilic public. Chestnut Hill has been in need of a Japanese restaurant for more than five years. What the neighborhood apparently didn't need was another coffee joint, so the Xando/Cosi/identity-crisis-on-focaccia shop has made way for Osaka. Today, the old espresso bar has been replaced by a sushi bar. The alcoholic coffees have been replaced by brightly colored sake creations. And the plush patchwork of pseudo-vintage furniture has been replaced by a more streamlined décor accented with orchids and blond wood details.
Osaka's menu is primarily sushi-driven, with a respectable list of traditional and house-special norimaki. The increasingly popular Nobu school of cooking that grafts continental and Asian flavors has influenced the entree descriptions as well as the price scale, which is distinctly Manhattan. Still, there is none of the futuristic feel you'll find at Morimoto or Kissen and the overall character of Osaka, caught between the standard fare and an urge to innovate, remains somewhat undirected. So too, we learned, was the kitchen: Our server told us on a Saturday night that many of the menu's offerings were not available and our meals were, on both courses, served out of synch.
The first appetizer to arrive was a shredded Napa cabbage salad with sesame dressing. The bowl of greens was sprinkled with sesame seeds of the white and black varieties and topped with an edible lavender orchid. The cabbage was cool and crisp, but its dressing was oddly tart, with none of the nutty smooth flavor that "sesame" usually implies.
Steamed shumai, gathered dumplings filled with minced shrimp, were tender, their rice-noodle wrappers light. These were made from a traditional recipe and delicious for it.
Whitefish and caramelized onions tucked between sheets of filo dough and topped with beurre blanc was one of the fusion experiments. This one fared well, with the pearly forkfuls of fish drawing flavor from the sweet onions; both were well offset by the texture of the filo.
In the same global neighborhood was the crabcake served on top of purple Thai rice and a tomato ginger reduction. The crabcake itself was generously devoid of filler, with just the lump meat and a few bits of red, green and yellow pepper. Unfortunately the purple rice, which is denser than its white counterpart, did nothing to complement the cake's simplicity, and the sauce pooled around the bottom was acidic and heavy. I would venture to say that, in general, tomato is an ambitious flavor to absorb into the Asian vernacular.
The sushi was all around more successful. We tried the spicy yellowtail, which combines the tuna with a creamy red pepper sauce. The nori was fresh and pliant and the rice was amply seasoned. We also tried the pickled squash or kanpyo roll, which was a sweet-vinegary bite.
Osaka's house-specialty sushis were inviting, and for better or worse, took none of the creative liberties of the entrees. The honeymoon roll, shrimp tempura rolled up with avocado and encircled by salmon, was a nice combination of flavors, the moist fish giving way to the crisp center.
Dancing eel was filled with a similar combination of avocado and crab stick and wrapped in "scales" of teriyaki-marinated unagi. I can't say this roll inspired me to dance; the eel was rather mushy and grainy.
Desserts featured the inevitable green tea ice cream and -- there's that fusion thing again -- chocolate cake. We opted for the mochi, small purses of ice cream wrapped in rice cake and dusted with powdered sugar. These little bonbons that cross East and West have become a fairly common supermarket item in recent years. Osaka's version scored big on the ice cream (one purse each of green tea, vanilla and red bean), but the rice cake was chewy and tough, with the consistency of taffy.
Despite the missteps, Osaka, with its lovely atmosphere and well-credentialed chef, holds promise. Judging by the crowds (we even had a David Morse sighting), the neighborhood has taken well to this newcomer. With all the friendly staff around it may be only a matter of time before the kinks are worked out. In the meantime, Chestnut Hill's sushi fans and the Starbucks down the block are breathing a collective sigh of relief.
Osaka
8605 Germantown Ave., 215-242-4084
Appetizers, $9-$13; entrees, $15-$28
Mon.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sun.-Thu., 5-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5-10:30 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is not permitted. Reservations suggested on weekends. All major credit cards.
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