Restaurants

Shackle Up

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SanSai, where there is no dessert, handsomely embodies the "quick casual" concept. Orders are placed at the counter, and trays of food are then picked up by name, à la Bread Co. As this setup leans more toward fast food, the teenagers working the register have needed some time to figure out how to keep things rolling, but as of my last visit the process was going off smoothly. The menu is Japanese: sushi, tempura, teriyaki, miso and dumpling soups. You can even buy a little bottle of sake or a big can of Asahi. SanSai's look borrows heavily from fast food -- Formica tabletops, trash receptacles with designated space on top for used trays, soda machines on the floor for refills -- but Burns knew what he was doing when he chose this location. With a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows running along the exterior wall and a fountain outside, it's quite lovely for what it is. The food at SanSai is clean, simple, fresh and worth a visit. The delicious sashimi tuna salad -- served on a bed of baby greens and frisée with rice and miso soup and a true bargain at $7.99 -- is my favorite thing I've eaten in the past month. I also found a new food to love in their sumi salad, which I'd never heard of before, couldn't find in any of my food reference books and would liken to an Asian-inspired coleslaw: a shredded cabbage salad tossed with almonds, green onions and crunchy ramen noodles in a sweet but not saccharine dressing.

Though this may get me put before the food-critic firing squad, I like Stir Crazy and SanSai. I like SanSai more: Its location in downtown Webster Groves beats out office-park environs easily, it's filling a more significant niche with its menu and it's got that great tuna sashimi salad. And if its founder is a local who just wanted to share the love back home, tell me, is that really so wrong?

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