Next to the main stove, a bubbling cauldron of that "secret sauce" slowly simmers all day long with ingredients that only the "sansei" knows.

"I just look at it," smiled owner Mieko Usami, while pointing to the vat. "We make a new pot every day."

This sauce is the primary basis upon which most dishes here are built. Touted as a fusion between Italian and Japanese flavors, Bistro Sun's cuisine finds its origins from Osaka, Japan, where Usami's family has owned a similar bistro for the past 35 years.

"She does everything, from scrub dishes to sweep the floor," said manger Michael Franzen of Usami. "As you can see, this is a family-operated business."

Opened in June, Bistro Sun's dishes range from pasta to nikomi (stews) to okomi (rice pilaf dishes).

Although it may have a "Fear Factor" appearance, the black ink squid spaghetti ($12.95) is an absolute must-try. Skeptics' ewwws will quickly turn to mmms after a single bite. This is a delicious dish and comparable to what you would find at trattorias in Italian seaside towns.

The cuisine here is proving to be a tasty reprieve from the ordinary. For example, the hamburger steak ($8.95 for lunch) looks like the everyday patty, but this one is covered in a slightly sweet sauce and not drowned in brown gravy.

By the way, all lunch set entrees come complete with soup, a simple salad and garlic bread or rice. Prices range from $7.95 for the fresh fish of the day to $9.95 for a steak-and-deep-fried-shrimp combination.

In the evening, the menu expands to include an a la carte list of appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, pilafs, gratins, beef and chicken, and seafood.

Most notable as a starter is the maguro carpaccio ($12.90 for a full order or $6.45 for a half) that's drowned in what's called a "Lacoste" sauce, which turns out to be a melange of olive oil, a zingy balsamic vinegar and crushed tomatoes.

"I always tell people who ask for wasabi just to try it first," said Franzen, who works the room like a pro. "And when they do, they cancel the wasabi."

For vegetarians — and even non vegetarians — the Bistro Sun combination salad ($8.95) offers a mound of lettuce surrounded by paper-thin slices of onions, slices of tomatoes, cucumbers and asparagus, all topped with a zesty orange vinaigrette.

"All our sauces, dressings are original and homemade," Franzen said. "You won't find blue cheese or Thousand Island anywhere in the kitchen."

But you will find chef Shita braising beef tongue ($12.95), which is fork-tender and covered in yet another "secret sauce." Again, this is a dish that's rarely offered at other restaurants, so it's worth trying.