Road to Kohnami is Brutal, But Food's Worth the Trip
By Anne Hillerman/
For the Journal
I called to make sure Kohnami, located on the commercial disaster strip known as Guadalupe Street, was still open. A friendly voice answered the phone, assuring me they were in business. I could hear her smile over the phone.
My friend and I discovered that Kohnami’s loyal customers had mastered the dual challenge of the endless paving project on Guadalupe and parking when all the on-street meters are blocked. The reason Kohnami inspires diners to brave the road repair gauntlet? The sushi is great here, some of the best in town. If you sit at the sushi bar, you get entertainment with your meal as you watch experienced chefs transform fresh raw salmon and tuna into food art. For those who don’t eat raw fish, the menu is rich with tempura, teriyaki, an assortment of noodle plates, rice bowls, stir fries and even classic sukiyaki. Servings are generous and the food arrives freshly prepared.
My friend and I started with three kinds of sushi from the specials board: halibut, Japanese scallop and yellowtail. The halibut and yellowtail each came with a “bonus” — a small slice of warm seared yellowtail and slivers of translucent halibut rib meat rolled in seaweed without rice in addition to the delicious sushi. Everything was exquisitely fresh. The Japanese scallop, which I had never seen in a Santa Fe sushi bar, had a texture like cold silk and a flavor that reminded me of a fresh oyster, but more subtle. Superb. The scallop sushi arrived atop a large round slice of fresh lemon. Sushi prices range from $3.50 to $14.95 for some of the fancy rolls. We also tried the dolsotbob ($15.95), an interesting Korean-inspired dish somewhere between a stir-fry and fried rice. We added chicken and could have also had beef, tofu or seafood. Mark, our gracious and well-informed waiter, brought a wooden platform with a large black stone bowl heated to the point where the carrot and onion shreds, rice and bits of chicken inside sizzled. He stirred it, then broke an egg into the mixture, which he cooked on the spot. Last came the sauce, a chile gravy with some heat to it. I liked the concept of this dish better than the result, because the texture of everything in the bowl was similar and the sauce drowned out the distinctiveness of the other flavors. Still, it was light, healthy and something I’d never make at home. The seafood tempura ($14.95) came with ample servings of shrimp, scallops and white fish. It also offered a beautiful assortment of vegetables, including broccoli, sweet potatoes, green peppers, eggplant, squash and a giant onion ring. Mark brought it to the table sizzling hot and stacked like a pyramid, with many of the pieces cut into long, graceful strips. The batter, however, was too heavy for my taste. Both dinners included miso soup and a crisp green salad with a delicious creamy dressing that reminded me of Thousand Island with less sugar and some sesame. If you can’t decide among the appetizers, soups, salads, sushi and the rest, Kohamini offers Bento box specials which provide a nice sampling of the menu. We finished with a simple, classic dessert of Japanese ice cream.
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