The Biz Beat: San Jose restaurant Trifecta serves more than sushi

While working at Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant Nobu in San Jose, Bradley Gallego learned some of the hard-edged discipline of making sushi. 

“He would come by and check out your knives,” Gallego told San José Spotlight. “He’d go up to a random station and chop some stuff to see if they were good. And if he didn’t like the knives, he’d throw them in the trash and walk away.”

Sharp knives are critical to the profession, particularly when making Toro Toast, a signature dish at the newly opened Trifecta where Gallego is a co-owner. The dish — originally created for an Oscars party — is a ping-pong-sized mound of finely minced bluefin belly topped with a creamy mentaiko aioli and roasted jalapeño truffle soy and served balanced on brioche toast. 

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San Jose restaurant @Trifecta serves more than just sushi. 🍣 🍱 🍽️ Read our next Biz Beat article on SanJoseSpotlight.com to learn more. #bayarea #bayareafoodies #bayarearestaurants #sanjose #sanjosefoodie #siliconvalley #sushi

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Gallego had already undergone a trial-by-fire initiation into the craft in 2010. He was fresh out of high school when he received an emergency call from his older brother, Ryan, who needed help.  

“My cousin Leon who worked with my brother at a restaurant broke his foot,” Gallego said. “Ryan asked me, ‘Would you come and do sushi?’ I said, “Why not?’ I didn’t know anything about cooking, much less sushi.”

Inspired by his father, whom he describes as a “great cook,” Ryan has been in the business since graduating from the California Culinary Academy in 2005. Cousin Leon got him a job cooking rice and prepping fish and tempura, and when Leon didn’t show up for work one day Ryan was asked to cover the sushi bar.

Loving the work, he began working with Japanese cuisine everywhere he could, from buy-one-get-one-free joints to an airport Asian fusion restaurant. A three-year stop as head chef at Sushi Confidential ended when he was hired to work for Morimoto at his eponymous restaurant in Napa.

“They said, ‘If you’re gonna work here, you’re gonna start from the bottom,’” Ryan said. “They would bring in a whole tuna, 500 pounds, for us to break down. I had eight years of sushi experience, but this was at a completely different level.”

After helping open several other restaurants, Ryan landed at Nobu with his brother, where he met Jason Artajos and Lai Chao. They formed the first version of Trifecta in 2016, primarily hosting pop-up dinners and running a small restaurant until the COVID shutdown.

Ryan, Bradley and Artajos became the new “tri” in the rebranded Trifecta which opened in March at a location on Silver Creek Valley Road in San Jose.

The trio’s skills are apparent in the restaurant’s flagship dish, the Hon Maguro Chili Garlic. Bluefin tuna is wrapped around peeled cucumber sticks, embellished with fried chilis and garlic and a sauce made from yuzu and la-yu topped with micro-greens.

The presentation of the Wagyu Ishiyaki — another standout — can’t be beat. It features slices of steak served on a hot rock, matched with seasonal vegetables and roasted truffle soy, then flambéed at the table.

First-time customer Marwin Sales ordered both items and said he had difficulty choosing a favorite. He described the Hon Maguro as “melt in your mouth tender” and said the flavors of the Wagyu were on-point.

“I know my stuff in NBA terms,” Sales told San José Spotlight. “The Wagyu steak was Michael Jordan, and the Hon Maguro was LeBron James. It’s hard just to pick one, they were both great.”

In addition to sushi, Trifecta also offers a selection of hot dishes. Of particular note is the Miso Black Cod, which features portions of tender cod on a bed of steamed spinach surrounded by a miso-bell pepper sauce. 

For Bradley, making sushi is a never-ending process of learning and said he looks forward to Trifecta having an impact on the local food scene.

“The most important thing to me,” he said, “is using my skill set and putting all my passion and time into the dishes I give to our customers. Having them express their feelings about the food is really what makes sushi something special for me.”

Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].