It is not enough to simply attend Azie, celebrity chef, Jody Denton's nine month old sensation. One must be present, for at the pinnacle of the competitive San Francisco dining scene, with a hot, new dot.com crowd, and their desire for sense heightening experiences, this provocative concept chef has created The Nine Bites, and everybody wants one.

An element of delicious danger permeates the concept of The Nine Bites Appetizer. One intense moment and the subtle infusion of flavors is a memory. Focus on the artful synergy. A deep French theme countpoints subtle Pan-Asian influences. Denton is a virtuoso, and true to form, his genius is grounded in practice.

"The interesting thing about this dish are the comments we heard from the kitchen staff when we were going through out grand opening. They were all cringing and saying, 'Oh, no. We're going to die.' It went on the menu anyway, and it was very hard the first couple of weeks until we ironed out some of the ways to make it easier. Then, other chefs would come in and I'd hear their comments through the grapevine. 'The Nine Bites is really great but, I guarantee it won't be on the menu in two months.' Denton smiles. "Here we are nine months down the road and it's our number one selling appetizer. I love seeing sixty of those fly out of the kitchen on a busy night."

Among the Nine Bites' ardent fans, favorites have emerged. Tuna Sashimi Roll with Truffle Ponzu with its whisper thin layers of sashimi quality tuna over shiso and basil leaves, avocado slices and radish sprouts rolled in a translucence of Japanese cucumber and embellished with truffle ponzu is most noteworthy. "The unlikely pairing of truffles and soy in the ponzu happens to work as well as any combination that I know of. It's like tomatoes and basil. It just works." Denton comments. Parfait of Spicy Hamachi Tartare with Wasabi Mousse also express a french/japanese fusion carrying over elemental details, the avocado and shiso leaves, details both in a 3" x 2" circlet of delicately seasoned sushi rice, hamachi mixture and wasabi mousse. Atop, a dollop of caviar and a drizzle of lemon olive oil and a moment to anticipate the remaining seven delights including Crispy Shrimp and Sweet Sausage Noodle Bundles; Beef Carpaccio with Sprout Salad, Peanuts and Lime; and Grilled Baby Back Ribs with Green Onion, Chilies and Lime.

The style and direction of the menu at Azie is the brainstorming collaboration of Jody Denton and his Chef De Cuisine, Donnie Masterdon. Over the course of a year a privileged group of tasters were feted with their independent experiments. Denton is firm believer that the product of two minds is better than one. "This is definitely true of my cooking relationship with Donnie."

"In the beginning, Donnie's food and mine were night and day, completely different styles and completely different flavors. They were in different directions." Over the year's time the two chefs found common ground. "The interesting thing was, it really didn't bear any resemblance to what either one of us had started with. It was a metamorphosis into something new."

Denton and Masterdon play with dualities and perform in unison. Their French based cuisine reflects a pronounced Japanese influence, a predominant Chinese influence from Hong Kong, Szechwan and Cantonese, and one subtler from Thailand. Denton's passionate interest in Asian cooking has been consistent throughout his career.

"Authentic Asian food is fantastic. The flavors are just phenomenal. There's not a lot to improve on in a perfect Chinese steamed fish. What I find some chefs trying to do is to recreate these authentic Asian dishes and they throw in a little butter, foie gras,lobster and different things that are more associated with western cooking. They are trying to do this authentic thing with a little bit of western influence. I went at it from an entirely different angle and took a very solid French/Western base and threw in some subtle Asian influence. I approached it from a different foundation."

Inspiration also flowed from Denton's travels through France with managing partner, Rowena Wu. A turning point was reached somewhere between stops in Nice, Provence and Paris. "We had some really phenomenal meals in French Three Stars that blew me away. Really floored me." says Denton.

The partners had originally conceived an Asian supper club next door to Denton's classic French restaurant., Lulu. Finding that zoning prohibited live music forced a reforming of concepts. They intended to retain the French/Asian theme in a much more casual, downscale way. But that was not to be. The project, already in progress, was further impacted by Denton's dining experiences of Le Cirque and Jean Georges in New York City, both of which left lasting impressions.

With further imput from architect, Cass Calder Smith, Azie's visual identity took shape. "We decided to try an upscale dining establishment that was at the same time catering to the new dot.com money. There are so many young energetic people out there with the money to spend on the most extravagant meals but don't really like going to the most extravagant places because they tend to be very staid, mellow and stuffy. We wanted a fine dining restaurant with some good energy to it."

The ambiance at Azie is doubly seductive. Two dining floors, two kitchens, two bars, moodily lit in a metropolitan Japonais/Parisian style. High glossed Brazilian hardwood tables catch the light and contrast the delicate, sculptured glass and china place settings. Jody Denton knocks a tabletop saying, "We are very, very lucky, the response has been overwhelmingly great. We've changed minor aspects to the service style here and there. The restaurant's not quite as formal as we originally thought it would be, and the pace is a lot faster. Its always different from what you originally thought, but in this case, it hasn't been dramatically different, and most of the changes we've made have been menu changes and we'll always try to keep those going." Denton is also a businessman who understands his audience.