Photo by: B.A. Nilsson

Winning Combinations
By B.A. Nilsson

Daikon
236 Washington St., Saratoga Springs, 583-9175. Serving dinner Wed-Sun 5-close. AE, MC, V..
Cuisine: Japanese fusion
Entrée price range: $12 (ahi burger) to $20 (champagne shrimp)
Ambiance: gently Asian
Clientele: the curious and the hip

Stephen Caruso’s journey to the Asian-fusion cuisine at Daikon was a gradual one. He owned Margarita’s in downtown Saratoga for a decade, and had hired the daughter of the owners of Miki, a nearby Japanese restaurant, to work for him. He became friendly with her family. They wanted to get out of the business. He wanted to stay in the business but change his scope. He’d already been flirting with fusion in a south-of-the-border context.

“I’d go visit them at Miki,” says Caruso, “and I’d always bring them food: Italian food. And everything I brought, he wrapped in nori or did something sushi-esque. And it was delicious. I mean, it sounds crazy, spaghetti sushi, but there it was. And he said, ‘You know, you should do something like this.’ ”

So Caruso went to work for him. “I spent almost a year at it, working there on my nights off, learning the cuisine. By the time I bought the place, we’d become good enough friends that some of his staff—including his kids—stayed on to work with me here.”

Daikon has been open for a scant month now, touched up on the inside (wait’ll you see the bathrooms) and boasting a menu notable for its emphasis on freshness, flavor and unique combinations.

It’s on the western approach to downtown Saratoga, in a building with a Japanese look of simple lines that’s carried into the interior design, which includes a pleasant bar and a tatami room for more traditional Japanese seating. The options inside are comfortable, but you might be lured by the tables on the outdoor deck. I settled at one during a recent visit and enjoyed dinner as the sun descended.

That evening was low on business and thus light on employees, but our server, Sty (short for Stuyvesant), had an impressive knowledge of the menu and helped make that meal as enjoyable as it was.

“East Meets West Fusion Cooking,” boasts the menu front, although a quick look inside suggests something very Japanese—but wait. Seafood portobello? This $16 entrée is described as grilled mushrooms “stuffed with an exquisite assortment of fish and Japanese breadcrumbs drizzled with soy ginger honey.” And the teriyaki salmon salad ($14) is served over mesclun and garnished with chèvre. There’s tilapia ($15) marinated in soy sauce and maple syrup, served with risotto.

As my dining companions enjoyed green tea, I sipped sake—there’s an impressive variety here—and enjoyed what there is of a view, the breeze across the deck and a bowl of pickled cucumber chunks.

Miso soup ($4), as always, makes an excellent starter, and here it hews to tradition. Similarly, the steamed dumplings ($5), stuffed with shrimp and chopped vegetables, are a familiar sight, served with a piquant ponzu sauce in which the soy flavor is livened by mackerel-like bonito.

An avocado salad ($7) puts fresh strips of the chunky fruit over fresh mesclun; it was served with a sweet ginger-flavored dressing.

Don’t forget to order an edamame appetizer ($4) for the table. This is a bowl of steamed soy pods, dressed with sea salt. Pop open the hull and enjoy the beans—they’re a great sake companion.

You can get tempura, teriyaki and sukiyaki dishes, but you’ll find they’ve been nudged to non-traditional directions. Sukiyaki ($13), for instance, puts tofu and shredded vegetables (carrots, scallions, daikon and such) in a soy broth that’s slightly sweet, the flavor picked up by your choice of soba or udon noodles (the Asian version of spaghetti and fettuccine, respectively).

Edamame also shows up as a component of a dish that features a reimagined pesto in which mint leaves take the place of basil; it’s served over glass noodles with crunchy cashews alongside ($15).

Curried chicken ($14) also sports the flavor of peanuts; its spiciness is set off by some sweetness that makes the flavors really dance in the mouth.

Fusion extends to the sushi, which al ready has been livened by other cultures. Take, for instance, the Buffalo roll, which wraps appropriately seasoned chicken in sushi-vinegared rice ($5). The tri-color roll that we sampled—at the insistence of my daughter, who horrifies her mom with this raw fish affinity—fills the roll with tuna and salmon and that pressed whitefish entity known as kanikama or crabstick ($6).

For something a little spicier, try the maguro roll ($4), with a spicy tuna filling. And for something more exotic, the mushroom-shaped stuffed sushi ($7) begins with a tempura nori roll, which is a deep-fried combo of tofu and vegetables topped with a mound of breaded seafood.

The list goes on, including rolls of mixed seaweed ($5), cream cheese and salmon ($4.50) and even barbecued eel ($14).

Presentation is stark and simple, on a wooden board with accompanying wasabi and candied ginger flakes.

Figuratively and literally, it’s a lot to digest. Caruso is an enthusiast who waxes most eloquently about what he’s doing, with an obvious love of food and the business shining through. The result of his new experiment is exciting both to the imagination and to palate, and that’s what fine dining is all about.

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