Small Clawson restaurant named one of Bon Appétit's '50 Best New Restaurants 2022"
Photo courtesy of Sozai Restaurant Facebook
CLAWSON, Mich. (FOX 2) - Narrowing down a list of the best new restaurants that an entire country can offer isn't an easy task. But the foodies at Bon Appétit have taken on the challenge and come up with their 50 favorite.
Among all the fanfare sits Sozai in Clawson, a little sushi spot nuzzled in a strip mall in the Metro Detroit city.
The brain child of Hajime Sato, he started his journey to becoming a chef in Michigan in Japan before he moved to the U.S. as an exchange student. After moving to Washington and opening his first award-winning restaurant, he committed to a sustainable seafood method.
That promise now guides the practices at his latest restaurant in Clawson.
"You might savor invasive snails fragrant with sake, incredibly tender abalone (that was too small to sell elsewhere), and lightly fried shrimp heads we can only describe as fluffy—each dish was another reason we can’t wait to go back and see what owner Hajime Sato has sourced next," Bon Appétit's blurb on the eatery says.
Even the menu harps on the sustainable practice of Sozai, noting the importance of traceability of seafood, sustainable fishing methods, and healthy farming.
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For anyone that finds themselves seated at the sushi bar, they'll also have the chance to take a bite out of choice course meals. They include three seven-course meals, an 11-course meal, as well as a four-hour "culinary journey" that has "no limits" on the number of meals that can be ordered. Only one party is accepted per night for Kappo. Reservations must be made three weeks in advance, along with a non-refundable deposit.
Sozai is located at 449 W 14 Mile Road, Clawson, MI 48017