FIVE THINGS: Kamikaze 7

We told you about Kamikaze 7 coming into Downtown, from chef/Frank’s Red Hot sauce spokesguy/TV star/man-with-nice-teeth Kevin Roberts. He found sushi restaurants too quiet and sanctimonious. So he, not unlike Harney Sushi, is putting a little party pill in its sake with help from a super-designer who worked with Jay Z. “If Sushi Ota and Quentin Tarantino had a baby, it would be Kamikaze 7,” says Roberts.

Now, it’s open. You should check it out. (Yes, that’s a pretty woman with sushi all over her. K7 is not coy about what kind of fun they like.) When you’re there, here are five points of conversation to impress your unimpressable friends:

THE JAPANESE WHISKEY

Maybe you’ve heard of Japanese whiskey. It’s all the rage in the brown crowd. K7 is serving some of the top in the world, including Suntory, Hibiki 12-Year and Yamakazi 18-Year. The latter is supposed to blow your mind and make you a better human. (The dubious pink creature with the cigarette is a “labbit,” from artist Frank Kozik.)

THE BATHROOMS

Going with the kamikaze theme, Roberts had them made out of riveted gun metal to resemble Japanese fighter engines. The facilities are perfectly circular. “One customer from the Midwest said it was exactly like being inside a corn silo,” says Roberts.

THE SUSHI

Roberts is using Ocean Fresh—the same seafood purveyor used by SD’s famed sushi chef, Master Ota—for daily deliveries of bigeye tuna and Japanese yellowtail. He’s also using top local seafood guy—Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore—for live uni, live shrimp and live halibut. “My guys are killing the halibut as we speak in the kitchen,” says Roberts.

THE SPAM

Roberts is deep-frying Hawaii’s staple meat-in-a-can—a natural evolution of musubi (SPAM sushi). “I can’t keep it in stock,” says Roberts. “People are going crazy for it.” God help you people.

THE SWORDS

The Hattori Hanzos that make up chandelier hanging over the communal table were used as prop swords in the movie Kill Bill. Weapons and sake bombs, a classic combo.