Yesterday, chef Joseph Manzare of Globe, Zuppa, Joey & Eddy's and Tres Agaves made public his latest restaurant venture: A meeting of the most brilliant minds, so to speak, it's going to be a highend sushi and robata restaurant with a touch of Mexican (a chile here, a pour of nice tequila there kind of thing). The name is Hecho, which means "made" in Spanish—a nod to the fact that his oldest son Max was "made in Mexico," if you know what I mean. Manzare will be opening the restaurant at the beginning of next year sometime, along with his longtime friend and former Spago co-worker, chef Naoki Uchiyama.


A good omen: One of the construction workers actually showed
up wearing an "hecho" shirt without even knowing the name of the restaurant!

Inspired by a place in Los Cabos called Nick-San, Manzare—an unlikely Japan-ophile who happens to never leave home without a bottle of tequila in his suitcase—was turning heads yesterday as he got out the spray paint to do a little graffiti on the restaurant's construction space. Located just barely south of Market on Stevenson Street (between 1st and 2nd) and directly across from Yank Sing, the beautiful old brick building is classic Manzare (look at Globe and Trés Agaves). The rather intimate space, situated in a forest of financial district skyscrapers, is going to be outfitted with a gorgeous blond wood sushi bar made with special Japanese wood and a beautiful selection of sipping tequilas; the sushi will be made in a classic Japanese style (small and delicate and no kamikaze rolls) and there will be robata, something hard to find here.


Manzare: Caught orange-handed with some nice tequila.

Of course, after doing a little guerilla marketing with his spraypaint, Manzare had to have a sip of tequila to celebrate. Public drinking and graffiting—in the afternoon—you can get arrested for this kind of stuff! But it's also classic Manzare: A lot mischievous, he's always one to let the good times roll. (Pun intended.)