Domo
From origami to gardening to airport hotels, Japanese design has always trended towards diminutive meticulousness. To eat their food in a place of tasteful proportions, try Domo.
A casual Hayes Valley sushi nook, Domo's owned by Isa's Luke Sung, and cheffed by Sung's high school buddy Kuohwa, with whom he once rolled Zig-Zags instead of seaweed. The interior optimizes eating space (no tables, just counter seating at the bar and around the perimeter) while the floor-to-ceiling windows and wood panelling give the charming impression of peering out from inside your own bento box, waiting for a diner from an alternate universe to fumble at you with chopsticks. Aside from ingredient-driven sushi basics, Domo boasts razzle-dazzle maki like the Sexy Mama Roll (broiled asparagus, tobiko-topped salmon, yuzu cucumber) and Ankimo: monkfish liver w/ ponzu and scallions -- like foie gras, though monkfish are far less likely than geese to chase you into a pond when you make a play for their organs.
To make the most of their tiny space, Domo also encourages taking their high quality sushi to go -- so leave your Hummer idling curbside, then scarf down your delicate nibbles while lurching through traffic on the way to the Cow Palace.
