Sushi chef opens new downtown restaurant

Sushi chef opens new downtown restaurant
By Sarah Rohrs/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 05/03/2009

Sushi Art -- the name says it all for a new restaurant that fills a former "fish and chips" eatery on Vallejo's Georgia Street.

In a light and airy room filled with fresh flowers and Oriental art, Sushi Art opened Monday at 306 Georgia St.

Sushi Art features the cuisine of chef Wang Xun Liu, 27, who learned the art of making sushi at Hamano's Sushi, a premiere restaurant in San Francisco's Castro district.

After serving as a sushi chef for the last eight years at many urban restaurants, Liu decided to open his own eatery. He saw an ad for the empty Georgia Street restaurant in a Chinese newspaper and is leasing the space.

Liu prides himself on presentation, ultra fresh ingredients and affordable prices.

On a rainy Friday afternoon with a few customers on hand, Liu used a long-handled knife to cut precise squares of seaweed, cucumber slices and thin pieces of yellowtail and salmon.

After several minutes of cutting and rolling, he presented a spider roll -- an assortment of makis or rolls filled with crab, shrimp, avocado, lettuce, and spicy mayonnaise. The mixes were rolled up with sticky sushi rice, and served with ginger slices and horseradish.

Ed and Wendy Palma of American Canyon spotted Sushi Art on a drive down Georgia Street and decided to give it a try. They chose Bento boxes that came with miso soup, salad, gyoza (pot stickers), tempura and several makis or rolls.

Both are sushi lovers and are grateful a new spot has opened up in Vallejo.

"Hopefully this will bring more foot traffic to the downtown," Wendy Palma said.

Ed agreed. "The city needs to bring back a lot more small businesses out here for the downtown and job creation," he said.

So Sushi Art has the freshest fish and vegetables on hand, Liu often picks up ingredients himself on his commute from San Francisco. He said some companies won't deliver to Vallejo. After several months, he intends on securing a permit to serve alcohol.

Sushi Art is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@thnewsnet.com or (707) 553-6832.