Restaurant: Kemo Sabe Location: 3958 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA Phone: (619) 220-6802 Price Range: $12.00-$26.00

Number of visits: 1
Last visit before review: May 19, 2001

Randy had: Smoked duck wonton soup (with fried scallions), Indonesian soy rack of lamb (with sweet potato tempura, eggplant slices, and Brussels sprouts skewer), iced tea.

Jeff had: Ancho-sesame barbecue free range chicken (with currant, apple, and walnut wild rice, and watermelon-jicama-lime salsa), iced tea.

Rating 10 (of 12) Excellent

Randy says: The smoked duck wonton soup mixes sour (from tamarind) and sweet (from what appeared to be red currents or sun-dried cherries), and offsets them with chopped scallions. In the soup were soft wontons filled with smoked duck. Outside the soup were crispy versions of the same ingredients — two fried wontons filled with smoked duck and drizzled dark sauce for dipping occupied the plate around the bowl, and a heap of fried scallions overflowed from the edge of the bowl onto the plate underneath. This made the dish a little messy and hard to eat. The different flavors in the soup were pronounced, making the combination intense.

Jeff says: The smoked duck wonton soup was very interesting. The overwhelming flavor at first was sour, and then as I got used to that the other flavors came through. I liked what was outside the soup better than the soup itself. The crispy smoked duck wontons and sauce were good, and the fried scallions were yummy.

Randy says: Even though I ordered it medium and it came medium well, the lamb was delicious. It had a very good flavor and not gamy as lamb can be. It was well seasoned. The sweet potato tempura was good. The Brussels sprouts were very tasty and fresh, and I often don't like Brussels sprouts. The eggplant was slightly spicy and charbroiled for a very nice taste. There was a dipping sauce that was a little too sweet for me, but it grows on you.

Jeff says: Randy's lamb was good. The sweet potato tempura was wonderful (probably the best thing of the whole meal). My ancho-sesame barbecue chicken was good. Most of the flavor was on the skin which I try not to eat, but it came with the same (unidentified) dipping sauce as Randy's lamb and I made good use of it with the chicken. The apple, currant, and walnut rice had a flavor that at first I didn't like too much, but then I got used to it. The watermelon-jicama-lime salsa was chunks of watermelon and jicama seasoned with lime juice and cilantro for a very tasty combination. Each of our plates also came with one small red pepper which the waiter warned us was HOT, and so we each put it aside and carefully avoided it. The iced tea had a nice flavor and the waiters kept our glasses full at all times.

Randy says: The part of Jeff's chicken that I tasted was skinless and I agree it was bland. The apple, currant, and walnut rice was sweet and had another flavor that I thought was strange. I liked the watermelon-jicama-lime salsa. It was cool and refreshing and went well to offset things that were spicy. The iced tea tasted like there may have been some additional flavor or spice in it aside from the tea, but it was good.

Kemo Sabe is a trendy Asian/Fusion restaurant that uses spices nobody's ever heard of before. The items on the menu are unique creations. Like most trendy eateries the prices are on the high side but the portions are generous. The decor seems to also be a fusion of Southwestern meets Asian — cactus and buffalo meet sumo wrestler. It is mostly hard surfaces so the room does get loud when it fills up, and it filled up when we were there. There is also an outside dining area if you prefer to eat along busy Fifth Avenue or to smoke.