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The big, quiet locomotive makes its way slowly into the kitchen. As it disappears from sight, the soft wailing of its horn is heard as though from a long distance. As it reappears, its 30 flatbed cars are loaded with fresh sushi—albacore, sweet shrimp, abalone, yellowtail and salmon. It rolls past folks seated at the U-shaped bar, enticing them to lift off a favorite dish. The sushi chef, in a serving island surrounded by track, nimbly presses glossy rice, sweetened with rice vinegar, around thin slices of seasoned raw fish (nigiri sushi) or into sushi rolls (fotomaki or hosomaki), placing them on the passing train.
The scene at Sushi 2-2 Train in Saratoga's Quito Center is familiar enough to folks who like Japanese fare, except the train is chef/owner Sang Lee's idea—a twist on the conventional little sushi boats that many restaurants employ.
"Since I opened with the train idea," Sang says, "it's been copied by two others in San Jose."
Sang and his wife, Sung, opened their restaurant on Cox Avenue just two years ago. They bought out two other partners after just four months of operation. It's a family place, employing folks the Lees think of as kin, like alternate sushi chef John Kim, and waitress Suki Namwon, who first met the Lees when she came to the restaurant's opening night in 2001.
For many restaurants, a two-year anniversary is a milestone of survival, and the Lees are marking the occasion—Saturday, March 15th—with the live band Yugi, featuring vocalist Janny Choi, followed by an evening of karaoke—the opportunity for aspiring vocalists to sing along with video. That includes Sang.
"I really like to do it," he grins. And he gets to do it often, because karaoke begins every night once the band finishes playing soft jazz at 8:30 p.m.
They're attracted not just by the music but by the food, such as Sang's own creation, the tuna uke ($13.75, not on the menu). It's a plate of delicately slivered cucumbers over strips of tender tuna, but the genius is in the sauce—a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, lemon, Asian pears and a little sugar. The result is a spicy but gentle trail of warmth down the throat. "I try to make this plate famous, because I love the sauce," Sang says proudly.
He also recommends the yellowtail. "My customers say it is the best in town." The big fish has a firm, tuna-like texture to its meat, which cuts like butter. It's served only occasionally, when one of Sang's three vendors is able to get it from the Japanese fishermen with whom they work.
"I'll have some," pipes up Saratogan Harry Hendon. He and his wife, Pat, and granddaughter, 10-year-old Alana Conant of Los Gatos, have been customers of Sushi 2-2 Train since it opened. "It's my wife's favorite," Hendon adds.
Alana favors the kappa—a cucumber roll—which has a certain place in Japanese folklore. As Hendon, a frequent traveler to Japan, tells it, "A kappa is a little boy with a tortoise shell growing on his head. He lives in the bottom of the river and comes out at night to raid the cucumber patch." It's worth ordering kappa just to envision the legend.
In addition to the more than 40 items available at the sushi bar, chicken, pork, beef and seafood dinners are on the menu, from $8.95 for kids up to $12.95 for adult portions, including soup, salad and rice. There are appetizers, like giant grilled calamari, shrimp tempura and yakitori—skewered chicken in teriyaki sauce that Sang grills on his little barbeque.
The Lees met and married in their homeland of South Korea before emigrating to California, where he studied the art of sushi-making. They live in Campbell with their daughters, Lanhee, 15, a Prospect High School student, and Soojin, 12.
Sushi 2-2 Train, located at 18802 Cox Ave. in Saratoga, is open for lunch Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5:00 to 9:30 p.m. For more information, call 408.376.0244.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad