Summer Times Two

Since relocating to California back the late 80’s I discovered Japanese as well as Thai cuisine—now both rank as two my favorite cuisines. I recently had the very good fortune to discover a small but impressive restaurant that features and artfully combines elements of both--both Japanese and Thai cuisines. It’s called Summer Summer. It’s located at the corner of 59th Street and Hollis in Emeryville, CA.

First off--- I love it’s unconventional location: it’s nestled in a corner of a large office building on a very busy bus and car route—it’s entrance, down a short set of stairs, slightly below street level. Despite it’s proximity to the street, the interior feels cozy, safe and rather quiet.  The large windows that line the entire wall abutting the street provide the diner with a wonderful moving portrait –an ever changing composition of passing figures, colors and light—including great people watching opportunities--especially appreciated when I have dined without the benefit of a companion.  The decor is at once fun, unpretentiously cool, edgy and elegant--an interesting marriage of minimal furnishings that could easily “send a chill” but are strongly balanced by an array of natural textures and a calming palate of warm earthy tones. A wonderful example of this happy union occurs at the far end of the long narrow dining room, a space that could become dark and uninviting. Instead, an interesting collection of loose silk throw pillows form a soft, horizontal rainbow of warm muted tones draws your eye and lures you towards it’s offer of casual yet luxurious comfort. Directly above is a richly textural wall mosaic created by pieces of roughly cut wood, end-grain showing, which are intermittently covered in gold leaf, only partially adhered. When I was there I witnessed something I found so simple but very magical-- the wall became an unexpected kinetic sculpture as the light and glittery edges of the unattached gold leaf randomly fluttering with the shifting air currents created by a nearby heating duct. A large-scale vintage Thai movie poster, over sized lights, exposed painted black ceiling and natural colored concrete all add glamour and wit. 

Summer Summer’s diverse menu echoes the surroundings.  Flavors and textures from both cultures are woven through the menu and given wonderful twists. For example, the Tuna Sesame Salad and sashimi have Thai flavors such as lemongrass, lime and tamarind. I found the results both fun and satisfying. They offer seven different roll and wraps-- all have interesting combinations of textures and flavors and in the cases of the Soy Paer Sashimi Rolls, employ tofu instead of the usual nori as the “paper” holding the contents together. As a fan of curry I have tried several of these dishes and found them to be rich, well balanced and possessing a wonderful depth of flavor. Many can be made vegetarian by simply ordering a version with tofu. I love rich --Summer Summers offers a  most unusual and delicious brown/black rice rice  as well as standard white. Summer Summer also has a grill and sushi bar. The most expensive item on the menu is the Garlic Cubed Mignon, a filet mignon that is cubed and served with Sriracha mayo sauce is approximately $20.00