Kaizuka Teppanyaki A Little Slice Of Nirvana

------------------------------------------------------------------ Restaurant review

XX 1/2 Kaizuka Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar, 1306 S. King St. ($$) Dinner only, 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday. Major credit cards accepted. 860-1556. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Months ago I noticed that the faded red torii gateway at the old Nikko Restaurant had been spruced up, and I idly wondered what was going on. The restaurant had been closed for two years, since sushi wizard Shiro Kashiba moved to flossy new digs at the Westin Hotel.

He's long since retired. So what could be breathing new life into the old spot?

I should have investigated sooner. Last week, when a trusted friend raved about a new Japanese restaurant, Kaizuka, the light bulb went on over my head. The freshly painted torii marked the spot. Two days later I was ensconced at the sushi bar of an enterprise that's an easy candidate to become a Seattle favorite.

Months of work and an incalculable amount of money have transformed the interior of the former Nikko into a bright room with six teppanyaki tables, where customers trade banter with the chef as he flash-grills their food. The old dark bar has metamorphosed into a light-drenched sushi bar.

Sushi, anyone?

As we slid into the sushi bar we were presented with bowls of crisp cucumber crescents in a miso-mustard dressing. We promised to limit ourselves to a few sushi to leave room for a teppanyaki main course. As any aficionado will testify, trying to choose sushi can be like choosing from among one's favorite children.

Could it be time for an annual contest for new sushi? The inventive varieties popping up suggest it could be. Spam sushi has appeared in Hawaii; now there are several sushi dishes with Northwest origins. We went for them.

Salmon, cucumber and avocado are sprinkled with crunchy flying-fish roe in the Washington Roll. The Roseanne roll combines crab with scallions in ultra-rich Japanese mayonnaise, topped with flying-fish roe. And we couldn't resist the Dynamite Roll: yellowtail tuna and green onions with hot sauce. Tasty, yes. But traditional wasabi mustard is a better seafood match.

All were impeccably fresh and deftly assembled. And all came direct from the hands of the owner, Jeff Kaizuka. The evening we dropped by, he was doing it all, filling in for the vacationing sushi chef and manning a teppanyaki grill.

Kaizuka is a former executive chef and assistant director of the company that operates Benihana, Kamon of Kobe and Kamon on Lake Union. He opened his namesake restaurant last November. Probably because of its off-the-beaten-track location off Rainier Avenue, its discovery has been slow.

That's a loss to everyone, because on all counts - food, service and ambience - Kaizuka is a knockout. Not only is it the only Japanese restaurant I know of that willingly makes its tatami rooms available for as few as two people, the prices are pleasantly modest.

A New York steak flash-grilled at the teppanyaki bar can be had for $9.95, including an appetizer, salad, grilled vegetables and rice.

Family atmosphere

Kaizuka and his wife, Lisa, the restaurant's hostess, are good-natured and chatty. Kaizuka is the kind of place where regulars quickly are adopted as family, judging by one who shared our teppanyaki table. Lots of warmth and good humor were going around, even on a night when business was slow.

The food is the entertainment at a teppanyaki bar. Kaizuka presided in a spotless white chef's coat and scarlet toque and neckerchief, whirling the flashing knives to chop, slice and dice his way through zucchini, Walla Walla sweet onions and shrimp. The tails fly away from shrimp, which are swiftly deveined on the grill.

The juice of a lemon, artfully concealed behind a knife held high overhead, is trickled over the simmering chunks. Flicks of black and white sesame seeds, a drizzle of soy sauce, and the shrimp are ready to dip into ginger sauce as a piquant appetizer.

A steak falls under the flashing knife, and nearby, an order of plump scallops. A heap of bean sprouts goes onto the grill, with a handful of yakisoba noodles, and a swoosh of water that sends up a hissing column of steam. Kaizuka's knife and spatula never stop moving.

The results were splendid - and more than we could finish.

We sipped green tea and chatted, enjoying the look of the fresh, pale wood of the new interior. Everything looks contemporary Japanese, except for dozens of seat cushions with patchwork stars that seem classic Pennsylvania Dutch. Surprise - they come straight from Tokyo, an opening gift from the owner's mother, who chose them because they looked "American style."

Seattle Times reviewers visit restaurants anonymously and unannounced. They pay in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. They do not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.