Yoko and I are here for Portland Cocktail Week, where we were on a panel about import/ export/ distribution yesterday (it was great!). We have been here for three nights, and it’s been a total blast. Portland has changed so much since we were last here — Yoko in 2004 and 2007 for me. It’s […]
Author Archives: Kayoko Akabori
October 16, 2013
Lazyass Cookin’: Goya Champuru
I don’t know what’s going on in your neck of the woods, but what is going on with the weather in the Bay Area?!?!? We are experiencing really schizophrenic weather patterns — it will go from warm to cold in an instant. Take today, Tuesday 10/15. It was quite chilly in the morning, then we […]
October 14, 2013
Umami Mart Heads to San Francisco!
We have some very exciting news: Umami Mart will be popping up in San Francisco for the holidays! Our friend Kelly Ishikawa and Rod Hipskind, owners of The Perish Trust, came to us a couple of months ago with a proposal to pop-up in the back of their shop. Yoko and I couldn’t believe the […]
October 9, 2013
Upcoming Event: Koji Workshop with Sonoko Sakai
Koji is a rice mold that has been used in Japan to ferment sake and shoyu for hundreds of years. Recently, shio-koji (salt koji) has been discovered as a miracle cooking ingredient that pumps up the umami factor to any ol’ dish. We’ve talked a lot about shio-koji on Umami Mart in the last year – it’s all […]
September 10, 2013
Upcoming Event: Umami in Spice with Oaktown Spice Shop
UPDATE: A SECOND CLASS HAS BEEN ADDED! Wednesday 9/25 at 7:30pm. This will be the same class as the one on Monday. Get your tix here! We are extremely excited to co-host an event with Oaktown Spice Shop. All about U M A M I ! Ever wonder what exactly umami is, or what it […]
September 9, 2013
Event Recap: First Annual Umami Matsuri
Umami Mart’s Oakland HQ turned one year old this last month. What a wonderful year it’s been! To celebrate (as we do), we threw a big matsuri (festival) in the street — Broadway hasn’t seen anything like this! We gathered many of our food-tastic friends from San Francisco and Oakland to help make our one-year […]
August 26, 2013
Kayo’s Kitchen: Final Days of Janky Eating
I’m in a flurry of packing at the moment. Actually, Yoko and MOTO had to come over and help me pack since I just can’t seem to get it together. The movers come tomorrow and my days of single living are about to become a faint memory. I am 33 years old and have lived […]
August 22, 2013
One Year of Umami Mart Oakland
Our first year as Umami Mart in 3D has zipped by. We opened our doors at 815 Broadway on August 3, 2012, and what a year it’s been! It seems like only yesterday that Yoko and I were having one of our weekly meetings at the original Hopkins Buffet, wondering how we could find a […]
August 14, 2013
Lazyass Cookin’: Steam-Baked Salmon
Last night Johnny and I had plans to watch the season-premiere-of-the-same-season of Breaking Bad. It was a few nights delayed but I had been looking forward to it nonetheless. For this, I wanted to make a nice-ish dinner without slaving over it. I’ve been too busy lately to spend serious quality time with my kitchen. […]
August 13, 2013
Upcoming Event: Matsuri Festival (It’s Our Birthday!)
August is our birthday month! It’s been one year since we opened our doors at 815 Broadway in Oakland, and indeed it’s been an enriching, exhilarating year. Thank you everyone for supporting our vision as America’s premier Japanese bar and kitchenware shop! We could not have come this far without all of you. On Saturday 8/24, we’ll […]