The ghost kitchen phenomenon could have diminished considerably because the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, however the thought of a supply and to-go-only restaurant nonetheless attracts gifted cooks who wish to concentrate on meals at a decrease overhead than a standard brick-and-mortar. A type of cooks is Sunny Bertsch, whose restaurant Kaisen Sushi Houston is already drawing buzz from interior loopers in search of a extra reasonably priced, at-home sushi expertise.
Positioned on the Blodgett Meals Corridor in Third Ward, Kaisen Sushi serves typical nigiri, maki, and temaki (hand rolls), together with a steak bowl. Costs are slightly decrease than what somebody would discover at a typical sushi restaurant, with an eight-piece nigiri set priced at $18.99 when ordered by way of the Blodgett Meals Corridor web site (count on to pay extra if ordering by way of a third-party supply service similar to Uber Eats or DoorDash).
Whereas Bertsch’s meals could also be acquainted, his story just isn’t. The diners who’ve rated Kaisen with 4.9 stars on Google could also be shocked to study that he’s solely been cooking professionally for 2 years. As Bertsch tells CultureMap, previous to turning into knowledgeable chef, he labored in fields as diversified as aerospace and canine strolling.
“I’d at all times been occupied with cooking,” he says. “I used to be blessed to be born into an amazing Korean American household. My dad and my grandparents at all times cooked nice meals. I realized by osmosis.”
Bertsch started his profession as a non-public chef by working for associates. He constructed his enterprise by catering lunches to powerhouse regulation agency Vinson & Elkins. Finally, his purchasers requested for personal sushi dinners, and he needed to determine issues out.
“I received a chance to do a sushi omakase. It was brutal. It was messy. However I knew as soon as I did that, I wished to dedicate my life to sushi,” he says. “Since then, I’ve studied and practiced. I threw some huge cash and time and fish at it.”
Bertsch improved his velocity and knife expertise by taking a $13-per-hour job at Japanese grocery retailer Seiwa Market. Whereas there, he says he made 1000’s of items of nigiri, rolls, and sushi bowls. That have, together with meals from related to-go-only ideas in New York and San Francisco, satisfied him to open Kaisen as a ghost kitchen.
“To date, I’ve spent $90,000. That’s greater than the common funding for a meals corridor kitchen,” Bertsch explains. “I’m a clear freak. I’m a expertise freak. I’m an authenticity freak. I outfitted my kitchen in the way in which I assumed was essential for long-term success.”
Simply as he spared no expense in specing out his kitchen, Bertsch places considerate touches into his meals, too. For instance, each order of nigiri comes with a dipping sauce Bertsch makes himself from low sodium soy sauce, kombu, vinegar, and sake.
“It’s a fancy sauce that’s much less salty and tastes good,” he says. “ if you don’t have it and also you’re given low-cost soy sauce.”
Equally, his California rolls use imitation crab (as do most eating places), nevertheless it’s seasoned with a housemade, Japanese-style kewpie mayo, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sesame oil for extra umami and fewer sweetness. For the reason that chef makes use of extra crab combine than different eating places do of their rolls, Kaizen’s California roll not solely tastes higher — at $11.99, it’s a greater worth, too.
The chef showcases Japanese strategies and Korean influences along with his $25 steak bowl. A USDA Selection ribeye or strip is cooked sous vide with a marinade comprised of garlic, tamari, and seasoning salt. As soon as a diner orders the entree, the steak is seared in a pan, basted with Kerrygold butter, seasoned with furikake and sesame oil, and served with short-grain sushi rice and microgreens from native farm Zero Level Organics.
Phrase of mouth has been constructing. Regardless that it’s solely been open for a month, Kaisen already has over 2,000 followers on Instagram. As soon as he’s capable of rent a full roster of cooks, Bertsch plans to broaden the menu and supply lunch service. Regardless of some challenges, he’s happy with the restaurant’s progress.
“The help I’ve gotten on social media has blown me away,” he says. “It’s been wonderful. I couldn’t have performed it with out Instagram. It blows my thoughts.”
