By Gene Mahoney
(with much-needed assistance from Kimberlye Gold)

This Month: Thai Cottage & Yahoo Sushi

Thai Cottage
4041 Judah (between 45th & 46th Avenues)
SF, CA
(415) 566-5311

Half way across the world, about 200 years ago, Siam ceased to exist and became Thailand. Locally, about 200 days ago, Ponsawan Restaurant ceased to exist and became Thai Cottage. (Yeah, I know that was a lame intro but it's close to deadline and how the hell else am I going to begin this thing?)

Ponsawan was a Chinese/Thai dining experience, but Thai Cottage is Thai all the way. I don't know much about Thailand, hell - next to nothing , but that never stops me from yapping my big mouth about the place to the wait staff of Thai restaurants I go to. I usually ask them if Bangkok is really as naughty as people say it is, or I tell them that I used to take Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) years ago. They usually just smile at me politely and nervously, wondering why I'm trying to make conversation with them. I don't know why; I've just found Thailand to be sort of interesting (not enough to read about, but enough to bother the wait staff of Thai restaurants about).

What caught my eye about Thai Cottage was its appearance: tasteful beige, tope, and brown decor with high ceilings and pretty chandeliers , and its location: four blocks from Ocean Beach if you want to walk on the sand after dinner, and a half block from Celia's Mexican Restaurant if you want a margarita after dinner.

Thai Cottage is owned by Ms. Buntawan Vamnutjinda, who emigrated from Bangkok to San Francisco eleven years ago when she was thirteen, growing up in the Richmond District, attending   George Washington High, and just recently graduating from SF State with a B.A. in Child Development. Her mom, Yupa, and her cousin, May, are the chefs.

Upon entering, Buntawan served me a bottle of delicious Thai beer called Singha ($3) while Kimberlye had a glass of the house Chardonnay ($4.25). I asked Buntawan what makes Thai Cottage different from other Thai eateries.

"Everything we serve is a recipe of my mother's. She was a teacher in Thailand but has been cooking ever since we arrived in America. Our flagship dish is the Grilled Fillet of Fresh Sea bass (12.95), topped with sweet and spicy chill-garlic sauce and crispy basils."

Buntawan went on to tell us that Sea bass is not common in Thai restaurants because bass is a deep sea fish and Thailand has a shallow coast. Kimberlye thought the sauce had "just the right amount of kick" and added that she had never seen such large leaves of basil on top of a dish before.

For soup we had an exotic (at least for my crude, unsophisticated palate) tasting Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut milk soup with bamboo shoots and galanga) for $6.95 (add $2 if you want shrimp instead of chicken).

So the night went along fine. Pleasant jazz music played in the background while a pleasant wait staff brought us food and drinks. They were so accommodating that they even brought a heat lamp when Kimberlye began her usual bitching and moaning about being cold. Buntawan gave us a special appetizer (not on the menu, only we can get it). It was a plate of shrimp chips with brown chile sauce. "The shrimp chips sizzle in the soup!" exclaimed an excited Kimberlye. But hey, why am I even writing about this? You can't have any.

Buntawan must have known I was from Long Island because she proceeded to bring us duck (Ped Sa-wan, which is roasted duck marinated in honey-soy sauce; served on a bed of spinach and cabbage with chill vinaigrette, for a mere $8.95). "The duck is fatty, but duck IS fatty," observed my dinner companion. Well put. We enjoyed it.

Yahoo Sushi (or whatever it's called by the time this issue comes out)
360-C West Portal Avenue
San Francisco, (415) 665-3909

"I've got to change the name of this place because Yahoo! told me I have to."

So says Julio Kim, the owner/chef of this West Portal sushi restaurant. Can you believe that? Hey, change the name to Google Sushi (Better than Yahoo Sushi) just to piss them off. Actually, it's all for the best. Yahoo Sushi would never catch on in San Francisco as it's too happy sounding. In this town you have to be cool and depressed. How about Sushi Noir? I know, Dada Sushi! Goth Sushi. Whatever. If you can think of a better name stop by and visit Julian. Order something, though. Don't just stop by and mouth off your idea for what he should rename the place. He's got enough troubles.

Kimberlye and I had a great time here. The food was fantastic!   We sat at the sushi bar and started talking to this other couple, Marcia and Jim, who come to West Portal all the way from Cole Valley regularly just to eat here. "I love Grande Ho in our neighborhood, but this place is even grander." (Yes, that's an actual quote.) "Julio is the most creative sushi chef I've ever met."

Then this other couple, Kim and Greg, heard Marcia and told us that they come all the way from the Richmond District just to eat here. Everyone kept mouthing off sound bites about how much they love this place. It was a real-life version of a cheesy cable TV commercial for a sushi bar.Kimberlye puts it this way: "The enthusiasm of the regular customers, anxious to gush about the place and the distance they drive on a regular basis to get there told me everything I needed to know before I took my first bite. Every taste was unique and flavorful. The sushi was fresh and I especially appreciated the attention to detail in the presentation. The Golden Gate Bridge Roll ($12.50) is built with carrots and green onions to actually look like the bridge! So cute you almost don't want to eat it. But you're so glad you did." Julio has been making this dish for fifteen years.

We also had the No Problem Roll (also $12.50). Julian calls it the "No Problem Roll" because some people can't eat raw fish, and this is all cooked, so it's "no problem" for them. It had soft shell crab in it and Kimberlye called it "delicious, tasty, fun."

Earlier, we had the house salad ($1.99), with delicious house dressing g, and the Albacore Tartar Salad ($14.50), which had the same delicious dressing, mixed greens, raw onion, and very tasty tuna with sesame seed capers.   Also great was the Cucumber Salad ($4.50) with octopus, shrimp, and crab that Kimberlye found "very traditional". The Edamame was great and only $3.00.

Arguably the highlight of the evening was the Ocean Trout (a steal at $4.50). That's when it became like a commercial again...

Marcia: "That's so cheap! He must have caught this trout a few minutes ago -- it's so fresh!"

Kimberlye: "I worked in a sushi bar for a year, and I've been eating sushi for a long time, and I've never seen trout in a sushi bar before! And it's darn good! Very fresh tasting!"

The evening sure was fun. And what made it even more fun for me was a 21.4 oz. bottle of Asahi beer (only $5.50). Ms. Gold had a glass of plum wine ($4.50) and the house Sauvignon Blanc ($7.50) -- she raved about them both.

Julio also brought us 2 flavors of ice cream; Red Bean and Green Tea, both delicious. I can't find them on the menu, though. Maybe he made it just for us. Hey, another perk of writing a column like this.

Julio's from South Korea and says they eat a lot of Sashimi there. "I worked on a fish boat. My parents owned it."

Sashimi Dinners are served with soup and salad and run from $19.95 (tuna) to $25.95 (flounder). Sashimi is also available as appetizers. 8 pieces of tuna cost $12.50. $14.50 gets you 8 pieces of yellow tail and 10 pieces of flounder, or 12 pieces of assorted (chef's choice). 6 pieces of fresh oyster go for $7.95. Shrimp Cocktail is $6.75 and a Seaweed Salad is only $4.50.

This place is a must visit.

Okay, now pretend it's the end of the cheesy cable TV commercial and we're all outside Yahoo Sushi (or whatever it's called) waving and smiling. Cut.

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