Week in Reviews

Bauer unearths "a cult hit in the making" at 18-year-old Akiko's in Union Square, where a young new owner (Ray Lee), a new chef (Ricky Yap), and some interior updates "immediately impressed" him. Highlights included "excellent" tonkatsu, "delicate" yellowtail, and an omakase "using all the latest equipment and mix[ing] together unlikely ingredients." Overall, "Akiko's is a worthy alternative to [Sausalito's] Sushi Ran. I appreciated that Yap gives credit to a long-time benchmark, while paving his own road to distinction." Three stars. [Chron]