At The Cornerstone, a judo champion transforms R.F. O’Sullivan’s into a showcase for his favorite foods
Where to: The Cornerstone, which replaced the lovable old R.F. O’Sullivan’s in Somerville.
Why: For a roller coaster of fusion cuisine soundtracked to groovy 1970s tunes in a space that looks like your bachelor uncle’s den. Settle in, drink a beer, and let Roberta Flack help you decide whether to get tuna tartare, wings, or scampi. Is that electric fireplace giving off heat, or is it just the good vibes?
The backstory: David Oshima is a sushi chef, judo champ, and Somerville local. He grew up down the street from the restaurant but left town as a teenager to finish high school in Japan, where he completed his judo training.
He placed second in his division at the 2004 Junior Olympics and entered college in Hawaii on a scholarship. Injuries sidelined his athletic career, so he took up cooking: first at a roadside shack in Honolulu to make extra money and then back on the East Coast, first at a Benihana in Key West, Fla., and then home in Somerville. At first, he took corporate jobs at Dig Inn and Earl’s, where he oversaw the sushi program.
“But I got tired of the corporate machine,” he says.
It was onto indie restaurants in Cambridge, like Café Sushi, Yume Ga Arukara, and Yume Wo Katare. And this is the ultimate indie restaurant: Oshima came up with the name when he was signing licensing papers.
“It’s on the corner. There was a stone wall,” he says.
The space still looks a lot like R.F. O’Sullivan’s, right down to the familiar, friendly barflies. The menu sure is different, though.
The food: Oshima’s premise is simple: He tries to replicate his favorite dishes from all over the world.
“I’ve traveled a lot of places in Central America and Asia, and I’ve had a lot of good food. If I have something good, I try to figure out how to re-create it,” he says, even if that means visiting the same restaurants over and over again when traveling instead of branching out.
In Hawaii, he loved loco moco, and he’d prowl the island in search of the best version. It’s a simple, satisfying dish: white rice, a hamburger patty, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and an ocean of thick gravy, topped with a poached egg ($18).
Tuna steak frites ($24) are rolled in a crispy batter and come with an assortment of fun sauces (maple soy, a thin wasabi, spicy mayo), and crispy fries that could fit in well at any pub. Hawaiian chicken salad ($10) has a nutty sesame vinaigrette; it’s light, crunchy, and fun to eat.
But then there’s the seafood scampi ($25), a wan puddle of linguine dotted with a few shrimp, mussels, and clams. It’s a contrast from the amped-up flavors found elsewhere. There are a few other Italian nods (penne in tomato cream sauce; mushroom risotto); some bar standards (a fried chicken sandwich, Nashville hot wings); and a pristine and towering tuna tartare, which showcases Oshima’s sushi-chef past. More sushi, please.
Lightly fried whole red snapper is his other favorite, inspired by Highland Creole Cuisine down the street ($38).
He serves it with Belizean-style seasoned veggies, using a secret mix of spices that he bought from a tiny restaurant on the Belize coast.
“I asked what’s in them, but they wouldn’t tell me,” he says. “But they were the best seasoned veggies I ever had.”
Now I’m curious. I’ll try that next time and skip the pasta.
What to drink: Longtime Plough & Stars bartender Paul McGowan handles the cocktails (and that sultry playlist); Derek Luangrath, Oshima’s pal from Hawaii and later from Café Sushi, created the beverage list.
The cocktails are priced just right for a neighborhood bar (where else can you find a $9 ginger martini?); the wine list has descriptions for civilians (or colognes): “seashells”; “mineral sensations”; “whisper of vanilla.”
Beer is local: Jack’s Abby, Lord Hobo, et cetera. Also, a shout-out to the nice selection of tropical juices: pineapple, guava, grapefruit. The bar attracts youngish, oldish, and even a couple of babies.
The takeaway: Quirky. Charmingly unpolished. Lots of hits (both from the 1970s and from Hawaii). A couple of misses. But that’s almost beside the point. It’s nice when an independent business moves in when another one leaves, and doesn’t try too hard.
282 Beacon St., Somerville, 617-9451551, www.thecornerstonesomerville.com