Get ready for something completely different in the world of Asian-fusion cuisine.<\/p>\n At the new, elegant Sora restaurant, you can essentially encounter sea urchin on ricotta pizza and miso sauce in a bowl of garlicky pasta.<\/p>\n Or if you prefer forking separately through the two disparate food cultures of Japan and Italy, the menu flaunts a host of dishes that are fusion-free, allowing you to jump between seared hamachi with quail eggs and asparagus risotto prepared tableside in a Parmesan cheese wheel.<\/p>\n Sora, which translates to \u201csky\u201d in Japanese, is the collaboration of two entrepreneurial Italians and accomplished Japanese Chef, Noriyoshi Teruya, who mastered Asian cooking at the renowned Nobu in New York, Milan and San Diego.<\/p>\n The project landed on the drawing board a couple of years ago, when restaurateur Alessandro Minutella and graphic artist Daniele Visco-Gilardi would visit Nobu in San Diego and order off-menu some of the Italian specialties that Teruya learned to cook while living in Milan.<\/p>\n \u201cJapanese people love Italian food, more so than French cuisine,\u201d says Teruya, whose Waygu beef meatballs spiked with sage will leave you effusing with wild hand gestures.<\/p>\n In a starter of beef carpaccio from the antipasti section, he gives the raw, paper-thin meat accurate Italian flair with shaved black truffles, which combine rather comfortably with dressing made from yuzo, a Japanese citrus fruit.<\/p>\n My dining companion, initially a little skeptical about joining me on this review, quickly threw his trust into the meal when tasting Teruya\u2019s version of caprese salad, served with soft burrata cheese speckled in herbs. Here, the chef employs a French twist by marinating the cherry tomatoes in Grand Marnier, thus hiking their sweetness in a way that tasted natural.<\/p>\n In another salad, Italian-Japanese Caesar, creamy miso dressing bewitched a couple heads of romaine that were gently charred on the grill. We ordered it with chicken, also charry, and noticed along the way hints of anise surfacing from somewhere. All combined, the salad scarcely resembled a Caesar, but we cherished it to the last crouton.<\/p>\n The starter menu makes a pit stop to Switzerland with raclette cheese melted over fingerling potatoes. Having experienced raclette dinners in Europe, I couldn\u2019t resist. Alas, American supplies of the curds aren\u2019t nearly as sharp or nutty as their Old World counterparts. Nonetheless, the basil oil that Teruya adds to the dish provides a rousing lift.<\/p>\n Our entrees centered on pasta, although additional choices extend to seasonal fish with fava bean puree; filet mignon in sake-butter sauce and several different pizzas using robust Italian cheeses such as Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Parmesan Reggiano.<\/p>\n Uni and crab served as the proteins in dish of fusilli, which ranks among the thickest and densest of pastas.<\/p>\n Given the light, shredded texture of the seafood, we wished for a less weighty cut of noodle.\u00a0The flavors and presentation, however, were chic.<\/p>\n![\"Sora:](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Waiter-at-cheese-wheel-web-224x300.jpg\" "\\"Waiter")
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![\"Sora:](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/spaghetti-and-meatballs-web-300x225.jpg\" "\\"spaghetti")
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