Category Archives: Restaurants

Sean Brock Dinner at Plum

Plum Restaurant Oakland

We’ve been meaning to check out Plum for a while.  Having visited Daniel Patterson’s Coi on a couple of occasions and Il Cane Rosso for lunch several times, we were fans, but Plum remained distant, literally and figuratively.  We are ridiculously lazy, and – perhaps psychologically – find it difficult to make it over to the other side of the bay. But when I heard that Sean Brock was coming to cook at Plum, I immediately booked a reservation.  Chef Brock’s reputation, it seems, has been growing in leaps and bounds, first garnering accolades for taking the helm at South Carolina’s McCrady’s, bringing modern techniques (à la Ferran Adrià) to the genteel old American South, and then opening Husk which is dedicated to using historically southern ingredients:

“At McCrady’s, Brock uses exotic ingredients such as tonka beans, soy powder and liquid nitrogen. At Husk, there will be strict rules about what can be served. Every item must be grown in and have historical relevance to the South. That means no salmon, no olive oil and no balsamic vinegar, among other things. But there will be sarsaparilla-glazed pork ribs with pickled peaches, wood-smoked chicken with Rev. Taylor butterbeans and chanterelles, and breads made with antebellum flours. “I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m trying to educate,” Brock said. “But I need rules. Otherwise, I’ll be reaching for the olive oil. And if they taste olive oil, they’ll think that’s what Southern food tastes like.”

–By Jane Black, Washington Post Staff Writer, “Sean Brock re-imagines Southern cuisine.”

In 2010 Chef Brock won the James Beard award for Best Southern Chef. Continue reading →

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Roan Kikunoi in Kyoto

Chef Maruyama-san and Chef Yoshihiro Murata-san.

“For whatever reason, modern Japanese have maintained their deep emotional linkage with the annual shifts in climate, ingrained from ancient times whether cultivating crops or fishing on the coast.  So much is this connection the heart and soul of a cuisine, that when I am asked, “What is kaiseki?” I often have  a very simple answer.

“It is eating the seasons.”

— Yoshihiro Murata, Kikunoi

Roan Kikunoi, according to the 2011 Michelin Guide for Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, was created by Chef Murata as a somewhat more  affordable option for the younger set as compared to Kikunoi Honten, his flagship fine-dining restaurant that’s garnered 3 Michelin stars.  His other outpost in Akasaka, Tokyo, won 2 stars and admittedly Roan Kikunoi has 2 stars for itself.  Though quite a high bar, lunch here is also possibly one of the best deals for sampling kaiseki in Kyoto.  Chef Yoshimi Murata has been something of an international celebrity, recently receiving accolades from Noma’s Rene Redzepi (best meal), providing consulting advice to Singapore Airlines for in-flight meals and releasing a gorgeous English cookbook that garnered him a James Beard nomination.  He also appears to somewhat controversial in Kyoto, as evidenced by this discussion string on Chowhound. Continue reading →

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Bar Agricole Brunch

Bar Agricole Interior

Bar Agricole is on 11th street, in a somewhat seedy area largely known for its nightlife and late-night post-drunk binging from the mobile crepe truck rather than farm-to-table dining and craft cocktails.  But it’s there, hidden cleverly behind a blocky slate wall, blue lettering on black hiding its identity in a smart understated industrial camouflage.  If you didn’t know where to look, you’d easily miss it, and one might think Bar Agricole actually doesn’t want to be known or found.  But once you step inside, you’re confronted with a lovely oasis (a bit incongruous for this area) of exposed wood, high ceilings, and striking light fixtures which hang down like cascades of frozen water.  It’s a restauarant that doesn’t quite match the immediate neighbourhood. Continue reading →

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Nojo – Hayes Valley

Nojo interior

To my delight, and cautious anticipation, we returned from Japan to a number of Izakayas opening in San Francisco.  We loved these establishments in Japan, known for providing beer, sake and small noshing plates to their patrons.  Roughly translated, the kanji for Izakaya 居酒屋 indicates sake-selling establishment (酒 – sake-ya).  We already have Nombe in the Mission, Bushi-Tei Bistro and O Izakaya in Japantown, Halu in the Inner Richmond and Izakaya Sozai in our neighborhood, the Inner Sunset.*  And perhaps because Izakayas are the New Big Thing, there appear to be a number of these bar-and-small-plates restaurants opening in our area over a fairly short span of time.  And I of course want to check them all out.  Kasumi is in the Outer Sunset on Ocean and has, thus far, received some somewhat tepid reviews.  Chotto, in the Marina, is in a part of the city we don’t much like to frequent.   So Nojo — in our old stomping grounds of Hayes Valley — won out.  Chef Greg Dunmore reached the Bay Area by way of Atlanta, a graduate of the CIA in Hyde Park, NY.  Dubbed a rising star chef in 2006 by the SF Chronicle, he first worked at the Michelin-starred Terra with Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani who mentored  him in Japanese cuisine.  Sone soon asked him to become executive chef of Ame (Asian fusion at the St. Regis Hotel), where he stayed for 4 years and also earned a Michelin.   After realizing he had a passion for Japanese yakitori and izakaya-style cooking, he’s now opened his own Izakaya-style establishment.  Nōjō, the japanese word for farm (農場), brings together this passion and reflects his commitment to small farms and seasonal ingredients.  It’s important to note however, that the food at Nojo seems to be distinctly Californian and heavily influenced by Japan, not the other way around.  Continue reading →

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The Monk’s Kettle

Excellent Fries and Beer

I’ll admit it.  I’m a total beer nincompoop.  Yes, there are beers I do like, though, and are high on my list of favourite beverages.  Might I be called an aficionado? That seems to imply a level of knowledge and savvy that I definitely don’t possess.  Beer enthusiast? I don’t drink enough beer for that.  To own that I practically know nothing about beer (except that it some of it tastes good) seems a bit retarded if one is going to a place like Monk’s Kettle, where there could be as many as  28 options of draught beer alone and pages and pages and pages of different kinds and styles of the liquid, from Lambics to small beer to porters and dubbel, tripel, and quadrupel Belgians!  My visit to Monk’s Kettle felt rather tantamount to casting pearls before swine, or cream-of-mushroom bean casserole before Thomas Keller, or er… something along those lines… you get the drift…   Anyhow, despite all this, I will still have the temerity to say that Monk’s Kettle is currently high on my list of Happy Places (and by this I mean awesome establishments in my hometown that serve amazing food and drink). Continue reading →

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Ippudo Ramen Osaka

Ippudo Ramen

We had perused the archives of Ramen Tokyo most assiduously in preparation for what to expect at a Ramen-ya in Japan.  We had read of the interminable lines and of the push-button Nihongo-only ticket pre-ordering with no photos whatsoever.  We read of tiny shops with only counter seating, and of patrons who dined solo, heads-down, looking and interacting with no one until their bowl is thus rapidly consumed.  We read of instances where couples and friends may not necessarily get to sit next to each other. We read of having to procure your drinks prior to arrival, or at least while waiting in line (usually there is a vending machine or two nearby), of the need to  bring a packet of tissues or your hankachi (handkerchief) since no napkins would be provided. Continue reading →

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Kichisen, Kyoto

Kichisen Counter

We should have asked.  We had noticed the young man standing by the sidewalk – not so much in the middle of the walkway, but on the edge, somewhat nonchalantly, looking around – crisp cream shirt, black trousers.  He stood in front of a quiet, understated entrance whose signage we did not initially see; we also didn’t want to gawk and only glanced in its direction (we thought it could have been someone’s residence).  We should have just asked, “Sumimasen, Kichisen wa, dochira desu ka?” (Excuse me, where is Kichisen, please?)

It took us an hour by Kyoto’s city bus to get to Kichisen on the other side of the city, approximately the same time estimated by Google walking directions.  It’s a good thing that we left the Shunkoin Guest House with plenty of time.

Kichisen was our first truly fancy meal of the trip, selected because of Michelin, recommendations and accounts by Kyoto Foodie, and some research on Chowhound. Continue reading →

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We love the Alembic

The Southern Exposure

We interrupt this stream of Japan-related posts to bring you this note from a much-beloved cocktail bar in the Upper Haight.  We returned from our 3 weeks in Japan to somewhat stressful workplaces; then just as we were about to leave work for the weekend on Friday afternoon, we received emails from DD’s grandmother reporting that DD’s dad and stepmom had been in a car accident in Florida.  (They were both injured but are recuperating.)

After DD was able to get as much information as he could from family members, he decided he needed a drink.  I met him at the Alembic and we ended up having dinner there.

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Last night in Tokyo

About to play with Liquid Nitrogen

Chef Jeff Ramsey, Molecular Tapas Bar, Tokyo

And so we’re back from Japan, and feeling a bit depressed not only at the prospect of coming back to the daily grind, but also at leaving a wonderful, magical, astounding and vibrant country and people.  This is not to say that we didn’t feel some travel fatigue at the end of our trip, having had our good fill of various temples and shrines over first 2 weeks.  By the time we reached Tokyo, the urge to see these lovely and ancient structures was definitely not as strong as it initially was at the beginning of our journey.

The Tapas Molecular Bar at the Mandarin Oriental was a perfect last dinner for us.  We had spent this last day running from Tsukiji Fish Market in the early morning to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.  The next day, we would head out for Narita and for home.

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is a swanky establishment, and it seemed that virtually every staffperson there spoke excellent English.  We were a little early for our scheduled 8:30pm dinner slot (every evening there are only 8 seats for 2 dinner slots – one at 6pm and one at 8:30pm) and thus were able to peruse the cocktail menu, which contained a nice selection of original as well as classic cocktails.  Alas, I can’t remember the name of the cocktail I eventually chose but it contained gin, yuzu liqueur, ginger ale and sudachi juice – my kind of drink — light, refreshing, gently acid.

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But What About the Food?

Beautiful way to start our meal - Kikunoi Roan

Hassun course at Kikunoi Roan: skewer of miso-marinated avocado, smoked salmon and Tai liver; grilled squid with nori seaweed and egg yolk; fava beans, mountain yam “butterfly;” poached egg-bearing octopus; Tai sushi with Kinome pepper leaf; Yurime lily root petals; Udo stalk petals; ikura.

Indeed, what about the food?  The trip was planned after all, in CCDD fashion, around food.  It’s been absolutely glorious – from the high-end to the low, from street food or market stands to Michelin-starred establishments and smoky izkayas, train station ekiben or small ramen-yas filled with salarymen… we’ve been eating very, very well.

In Osaka, I think I quite had my fill of takoyaki; DD kept wanting to sample these wherever we went, and we ended up tasting some from 4 different vendors.  We also loved sushi fresh from Kuromon market and Endo Sushi in Osaka’s Central Wholesale Fish Market, similar to, but not as big as Tsukiji.

Okonomiyaki in the Dotonbori

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