I don't pretend to know every small detail when it comes to sushi, but I do know first-rate sushi when I experience it. I also can tell when a sushi master is the master of his domain. The signs are all there: the focus on the creation at hand, his head bent down, his fingers working with the dexterity of a surgeon. This is talent that goes beyond the ordinary, and the results are quite impressive. Talent is what Kaze Sushi and the three chefs of the Chan clan -- Hari, Kaze and Macku -- are all about.

Kaze Sushi is, however, an enigma wrapped in seaweed. Though offering a complete menu of sushi -- hand roll, makimono, nigiri -- it also delves into a few dishes that, when I first saw them on the menu, had me muttering a silent "Whoa!" What's with the venison? The seared bison? The alligator (provenance Florida according to the menu)? What's the deal with the battered black cod? I can get with the idea of tempura as it pertains to vegetables, but battered fish in a sushi house is, well, a bit off the charts.

And mashed potatoes? Entree choices of chicken, salmon, filet mignon come with mashed potatoes. Sorry, folks, but the thought of ordering any of those entrees in a sushi restaurant was out of the question for me.

Nevertheless, I make most of that to be a positive move. Sushi restaurants by the numbers (and the numbers are plenty) can be counted on (most of the time) to be boring. The menus don't differ all that much (much like it happens in Greek restaurants), so the ultimate test of goodness has to do, first of all, with the freshness of the seafood. After that it is up to the sushi chefs to weave their special brand of creative magic.

So, yes, I got dragged into the creative Kaze Sushi net. A nut for cod, I could not resist trying the black cod. "Atlantic black cod," the menu points out, and this fine fillet of cod got together with a bittersweet chocolate glaze, baby bok choy and slivered almonds. I have no idea how the chefs here came up with that rather strange arrangement, but when all was said and eaten, it was quite interesting. Would I order it again? Probably not, but for a first-time experience it was quite satisfying. I suppose what got my taste buds was the contrast in flavors -- sweet, bitter, salty (just a touch) -- and that the batter on the cod was light. Also, I am crazy about bok choy.

Before the cod, there were a couple of first courses. Kaze Sushi is big on soups. Four are on the menu -- sweet potato, noodle, carrot and miso. Miso is miso, so skip it. Better to go for the carrot, which was a fine-tasting arrangement in which the carrots were pureed, giving the soup a texture that was thick to the spoon and gently flavored with white miso (shiro miso, which has a sweeter flavor than regular miso, which tends to be salty). Two crowning touches that made this soup royal tasting were the pieces of Alaskan King crab and a very delicate rice cracker.

Presentations here are gorgeous. The attention to detail and the fact that the eye triggers taste receptors were in full glory with a scallop salad. In this artistic rendition, meaty scallops (fried so perfectly) were nestled in a thatch of mixed greens with a wrap of cucumber. A kiwi dressing -- elegant, delicious -- added just the right counterpoint of flavor and brought out the beauty of both the scallops and the greens.

Now it is on to some makimono and nigiri. Makimono has to do with "rolled things" -- maki (rolled), mono (thing). In the process of creating this sushi classic, nori (seaweed) plays an important role. Simplicity comes with the clean taste of the ubiquitous California roll. Kanikama (crab stick) got cozy with cucumber, avocado and smelt roe, and the results were very satisfying. An even simpler, yet no less delicious, rendition is called "Negi hamachi," a creation that combined chopped scallions with yellowtail. For sushi fans who cannot live without their unagi, Kaze Sushi offers straight-up unagi (barbecued eel wrapped in nori), which was fine, provided you like the intense flavor of eel. An easier unagi to deal with is "spicy tuna eel" in which eel and tuna were combined with avocado and cucumber, and that combination provided elements of taste and texture that went beyond the ordinary with great results.

I can sing the praises of the fine selection of nigiri. Nigiri involves a slice of fish (cooked or uncooked) that is pressed by hand onto a pad of rice. I needed to go no further than the lead-in choices, which were all about tuna. You can go with blue fin or big eye tuna, but give me the blue fin anytime (more expensive than big eye, but the texture and taste are incomparable). Kaze Sushi (Kaze translates as "wind") offers blue fin in three cuts -- akami (lean), chutaro (from the belly part of the tuna), and otoro (fatty tuna). Otoro is the sine qua non of tuna, the finest tuna going (it is cut from the fatty portion of the tuna belly). Rich, lush, luxurious, silky, there's nothing quite like it. After the tuna, there was nothing else in the nigri choices that tempted me. But the choices are great and include yellowtail, amberjack, shrimp, sea urchin and, yes, freshwater eel.

Kaze Sushi works, too, from a seasonal menu that includes an impressive array of choices that include bonito, snapper and salmon. About that alligator offering. I provide this as information only, because I did not try it. Here is the menu description: "Homemade alligator sausage, pan-fried, served with a vegetable-stuffed bell pepper and Macku's cranberry reduction." You go try it and let me know how it is.

After all that, should I need to cleanse my palate with a dessert, there is nothing better than mochi, that ice cream dessert that sushi restaurants favor and which I happen to enjoy immensely.

Pat Bruno is a local free-lance writer, critic and author.