Review: Sekisui in St. Louis

Man does not live by sushi alone. Neither does woman, nor does the Guru.

And a restaurant like Sekisui, whose Japanese cuisine almost completes the Asian food circuit on South Grand Boulevard, goes far beyond sushi for a huge variety of delicacies, some of which may be strange to St. Louis eyes or palates, but which offer a collection of taste treats that are well-nigh thrilling.

A relatively new addition to St. Louis cuisine, Sekisui blends Japanese and American skills in its kitchen. The three sushi chefs who work the external serving area, dicing and chopping and snipping and rolling wonderful creations into rice, are bolstered by Justin Keimon in the kitchen. Keimon, the first chef when R. L. Steamer's moved out of Dogtown, showed a superb touch with fish in Chesterfield. Here, across the street from Tower Grove Park, he's more delicate, more aware of color and textures and shapes, and the results are every bit as wonderful, if in a different style.

The menu is large, scattered about and sometimes difficult to figure, but the staff is excellent at explaining the makeup of all the dishes – at least they did it for us on several visits, and what we got was almost always exactly what they said it would be.

On one occasion there was a special mackerel dish that neither Mrs. Guru nor I ever had tasted – never had even been offered in restaurants of many cities, states and nations.

The small, whole fish was sliced and served as sushi, with the diner stripping the flesh from the bones. Then the plate went back to the kitchen and the bones were fried to crunchy tenderness, like popcorn or cracklin's. Exciting.

A wonderful variation was grilled mackerel, brushed with a seasoned teriyaki sauce, then grilled and served piping hot, is superb, especially to those who like their fish with a slightly stronger, even fishier, flavor. A pretty good rule of thumb is that ocean fish may display more flavor while fresh-water fish are milder. Heavy batter use by restaurants, however, covers all flavors. Batter-up, anyone?

Cheeks, of both fish and meat, are becoming a delicacy everywhere, though they have been served in much of the country for a number of years. The guru's first exposure to cheeks was with cod in a Los Angeles Japanese restaurant more than 30 years ago, but we now have veal cheeks in several St. Louis restaurants, and the yellowtail cheeks at Sekisui were admirable. No matter the animal, cheeks are tender and succulent, soft and easy to eat.

It isn't all fish at Sekisui, either. Duck breast, served rare, arrives in small, thin slices, fanned out around a plate. The fowl has a smoky flavor that is a perfect complement to the natural sweetness of the meat, and the result is elegant. Fried chicken and pork are available in several styles, and grilled beef on a skewer is excellent. So is beef tongue and large, tender shrimp.

But fish is the draw, like the giant clam, cooked until it pops open, then served in its natural juices. The chewy clam absorbs the flavors of a soy sauce, and some hot sauce, too, and it's brilliant. Spicy wasabi mustard works, too.

Squid with spicy cod roe (a form of caviar without the glamour or the price tag) offered splendid contrasting textures, and the spicing in the roe added to the squid flavor.

Grilled appetizers like Japanese eggplant and scallops are superior.

In terms of more traditional dishes for American diners, the tempura battered shrimp and vegetables are delicious, arriving mostly dry and with fine flavor. Panko, a Japanese bread crumb, adds texture, not heaviness, to the items. Miso soup and a superior cucumber salad accompany most entrees.

Noodle bowls come with all types of meat, fish and vegetables as toppings. There are enough sushi and sashimi dishes (sashimi is fish without rice) to provide huge meals, and enough various rolls from the sushi bar to bring truth to anyone's wildest dreams. The sushi is fresh and delicious, and watching the sushi chef work is like watching a ballerina working with her arms. Dumplings are first-rate, no matter what the filling.

The menu can be difficult, though dividing appetizers between headings "from the kitchen" and "from the sushi bar" is a good idea. Then, however, going through "grilled appetizers," "cold appetizers," kushiyak or "skewered appetizers" and "other specialties" on the same page leaves a head slightly spinning.

But in the final analysis, Sekisui offers enough delicious, imaginative Japanese cuisine to satisfy any appetite and any curiosity.