You can read some of the backstory as well as blowback hilarity by the San Diego cognoscenti previously on Chowhound.
Interesting takes on CH. I’ll just chalk it up to the surfer connection/WTF factor and move on. One thing… I won’t likely forget the name. Job well done!
Wrench & Rodent (actually Wrench and The Rodent) a Seabasstro Pub, also have a sister Ramen restaurant, Whet Noodle, which Chef Davin Waite has opened right next door. Food at both places is very good and you can share between restaurants. BTW many of the regulars and staff just call it, “The Rodent”. Here’s a cool article about Waite and the Whet Noodle etc.(so IPSE are you the lawyer with Waite?)
Around San Diego, Waite is known as a “chef’s chef.” Within the industry, he’s widely respected for his sushi-making skill, commitment to quality local products, sustainable seafood and zero waste. And because he’s known as a culinary artist, friends say he’s the only guy in town who can get away with running a successful restaurant named after a rat.
Waite, 37, said the kooky name was inspired by his bi-national upbringing in England, where rural pubs often have bizarre and amusing names.
Over at Land and Water, chef Rob Ruiz is a supper talented sushi chef in his own right. I have it on very good authority from several of the folks at Catalina Off-Shore that Chef Ruiz, who apprenticed under Japanese sushi master chef Etsuji Umezu, is currently one of the most talented and innovative sushi chefs in the county. Like Waite he’s dedicated to using the whole animal and showing gratitude and respect towards the animal.
Waite is also one of San Diego’s most philanthropic chef/owners. I’ve seen him donate a LOT of time, effort and hard work at Mama’s Kitchen’s 25th anniversary event last year as well as many other charitable organizations.
Great guy.
Good to hear that and to send out some love for this local Chef!
Perhaps I should clarify, FWIW I’m not making a recommendation for Tadokoro - as popular as it seems I just didn’t find it very good. If pressed for a second rec then I’d add Shirahama after Kaito, but still Kaito’s the place to go.
And price? Before drinks and tip I say Kaito typically ranges from $35 to $70, but then again I’ve become a light eater in my old age. But by any measure very reasonable, and for their quality that puts it at the top of my list where they’re unmatched in SD.
Wow, I never gotten out of there less than $100/person ex. tax, tip, drinks.
Looking over my own records over 111 visits I’m averaging $56 with (for the nerds) a sigma of $18, so my off-the-cuff guess is pretty close. Ipsedixit, are you including drinks? (Asian flush means that I rarely have a drink, perhaps having a single beer on 1 out of every 10 visits… 
)
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100/person is before tax, tips and drinks.
I guess I’m just a pig.
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Well it probably has more to do with how I eat Sushi. I almost never go to eat Sushi, (or Japanese food for that matter), if I’m hungry, as for me Sushi (and Japanese cuisine in general) is about savoring the tastes and not leaving full but energized. There’s a saying in Japanese that goes “Hara hachi bu” which refers to the practice of eating 'til 80% full. It’s funny as for me it stops being a Japanese meal if I actually feel full afterwards, though I tend not to do this for any other cuisine.
I also will usually be served a piece per order rather than two, (not that I ask for it but it’s implicit in my Omakases with them unless the Omakase selections for that day are few), and will always be served last behind any other newer or even most regular customers for a very slow and relaxing meal.
Another thing that I’ll often do is to drop in “just for a taste” on a day where I’d otherwise skip dinner, something that I only do with Sushi as it’s often the only thing I crave even when I’m not otherwise looking for a meal.
Haha. I just imagine, me “just dropping in for a taste” of sake bombs and a chewy roll made with slightly undercooked subpar rice and cheap nori doused with dynamite sauce. So Tadokoro will probably do. Not looking for atmosphere. Just decent sushi. I will take your rec for Shirahama as well. Sounds simple and just what I’m needing.
Nice write up on Tadokoro from one of our most sushi savvy hounds. And here’s another thread dedicated to Tadokoro. Both threads linked above have some really great sushi porn pix.
A cheap date you are!
Not sure where you’re getting the idea that any of these places are places for “sake bombs and chewy rolls” etc. As to Shirahama it’s an “if pressed for” recommendation which for various reasons I rate it behind Kaito. …and my point on Tadokoro was to note that it’s what I call a “movie set” Sushi bar - looks the part enough to fool the locals but found their Sushi to be pedestrian but par for what passes for SD Sushi.
I think the sushi bomb and chewy rolls was a reference back to her original post…that seems to be the norm in Denver where she is now.
Hello cgfan,
Tadokoro pedestrian . . . hardly? I love Kaito, but think Tadokoro is simply a class above. Did you read JL’s report? After Tadokoro he wont even go back to Kaito . . .“I’m politely saying “Sayonara” to Kaito for now.”. JL is a serious sushi aficianado with in depth sushi reviews from all over the globe. Great reads over on the LA, Taiwan, and Japan boards
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Ummm…you do know cgfan is Japanese…with a pretty deep understanding of sushi and Japanese cuisine?
Yes I did know that cgfan was Sushi/Japanese cuisine aficionado and greatly value his opinions, did not know he was Japanese. It’s good to have these discussions and everybody has their own personal tastes, but saying Tadokoro is pedestrian, really?
Just had a sushi discussion this past weekend with a Japanese local from Encinitas. He.and his wife both love Kaito (that’s their go to place), but drive to Tadokoro every chance they get (special occasions). Both places are very good, especially for San Diego!
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Shirahama is great too. Maybe the most traditional edomae place in SD, but not the best place to go with kids or non-serious sushi eaters.
Just to be clear. (1) You’ve been to Kaito 111 times, but (from the sound of your remarks), you visited Tadokoro once – and didn’t like it. (2) We locals are easily fooled into thinking that the food at Tadokoro is great (whereas it’s actually pedestrian) because: (a) the place looks like it could be in Tokyo (which should be a major turnoff – it looks like a movie set); and (b) none of those who post here and/or to CH could possibly have developed a taste for outstanding sushi because we live in San Diego where there’s none to be found. We’ve been eating what passes for sushi here in SD, but not the real thing, including at Tadokoro.
Correct?