Fusion Infusion: Seasonal Peach Sake at Beacon

Through the construction at the Helms Bakery building in Downtown Culver City, Beacon's executive chef Kazuto Matsusaka, famous for his innovative Asian fusion cuisine, continues to draw people to the restaurant with an infusion that utilizes one of this season's favorite stone fruits: peaches and sake.

With clouds of peach descending from robust vermilion at the top, to delicate sherbet at the bottom, Beacon's peach sake is sunset in a glass. An infusion of market fresh yellow peaches, from Regier Farms in the first half of the season, then Tenerelli through September, is "ripe but not too juicy," according to Vicki Fan, Beacon's general manager. "Diced skin and all," and infused with a medium bodied sake over three days in the refrigerator, depending on the peach. "The smell will tell you it's done."

Aaron Stein-Chester

Matsusaka's peach sake at Beacon

Chilled, the blush of rice wine is as easy on the palate as it is on the eyes. Lovely and smooth, and all the more so because it's available only as long as the peaches are (usually until the end of September). Though the grapes they're considering for next season's sake will surely be delicious, this is one you don't want to miss.

Beacon 3280 Helms Ave. Los Angeles, CA (310) 838-7500