Satsuma Serves Up Full, Fine Sushi Menu

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

Satsuma, 14301 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien; 242-1747. Hours: lunch, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner, Sunday 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.; closed Mondays. Bank cards accepted. Wheelchair accessible. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Apple sushi? Why not?

Behind the wooden sushi bar at the Satsuma Japanese restaurant in Burien, chef-owner Takeyuki Suetsugu rolls sushi rice and seaweed around slivers of red Washington apples.

For the flavor of the sea he inserts smoked salmon.

For richness he adds crab.

Then he grabs his razor-edged sushi knife.

Suetsugu slashes five times. The long roll, or maki, parts into six smaller rolls.

Voila! "Washington Rolls." That's the name for Suetsugu's answer to California Maki, another stateside sushi concoction.

Suetsugu charges $5 for all 6 pieces.

Traditional Tokyo sushi connoisseurs might burn their chopsticks at the mere thought of putting apples in their creations.

But it tastes OK.

Munching on a Washington Roll, we ponder the Satsuma menu. Listed are all sorts of Japanese dishes from sauteed oysters ($5.50) and deep-fried pork tenderloin ($13.95) to kaiseki haute cuisine ($50 and up).

The chef? He knows his onions.

A graduate of Tsuji, Japan's premiere cooking school, Suetsugu cooked in Japan and France and at the Mikado restaurant in Seattle before opening 65-chair Satsuma in Burien 18 years ago.

How to find the hits on Suetsugu's menu? Ask his refreshingly frank wait staff.

They concede that the three-course beef sukiyaki dinner ($14.50) is nothing special.

We agree.

Far more delectable are the steamed and broiled fish and meat dishes ($13 to $15.75).

We especially like the broiled salmon koganeyaki ($13). Suetsugu smothers the fish in a rich, juicy egg and oil sauce. Then he bakes it in foil.

The broiled, steamed and deep fried dishes all come with a selection of pickles or a platter of tempura. That also includes soup, rice and - only if you ask for it - green tea.

Helping behind the sushi bar these days is Shuichi "Andy" Hagomoto. His credentials? A 10-year sushi-making apprenticeship on Kyushu, Suetsugu's home island.

Count on fine traditional sushi.

A scrumptious 9-piece selection of Hagomoto's tuna, yellowtail, octopus, squid, shrimp, sea bass and other delicious raw sea creatures on rice is $13.

Tippling tips: Satsuma's sake cellar is a worthy one. The house sake, Kikumasamune ($4.50) is a quaffable brew.

Loss thrilling is Shochikubai ($3.75). A bit drier and more appealing than that is Harusika ($4.50).

Sake mavens find it worthwhile to spend a bit more for cold, bone dry Otokoyama ($6) and fruity Momokawa ($8).

Sake being an acquired taste, most Satsuma diners opt for Japanese beer ($3) or local lagers ($2.50).

For diners interested in learning more about this cuisine, once or twice a month, Suetsugu conducts one-day Japanese cooking classes at the restaurant. Typical classes focus on slicing fish, frying tempura or making sushi rice.