Last week we teamed up with Blind Tiger for Sake Gumi Underground, our second annual Sake Gumi Social. We had a blast! We love bringing together our Sake Gumi members with other Bay Area sake enthusiasts for a night of eating and drinking. Blind Tiger opened in Oakland’s Koreatown district this last year, and is a large bar located […]
Author Archives: Kayoko Akabori
December 7, 2016
Go Here Now: Onsen, a Japanese Bathhouse in San Francisco
A labor of love has finally been realized after nearly two years in the making: a Japanese-style bathhouse and restaurant in San Francisco! Opened in the Tenderloin neighborhood by husband and wife team Sunny Simmons and Caroline Smith, Onsen is a relaxing oasis in the middle of the city, in a location that was once an […]
November 22, 2016
A Visit to Kitaya Brewery in Kyushu
As we celebrate Scorpios this month in Sake Gumi, our sake club selections are centered around yamahai and kimoto-style sakes. One Sake Gumi offering is by Kitaya Brewery called Souden, an earthy, yogurty brew that is a current staff favorite. Yoko and I (along with Johnny, Anders, and TB) were fortunate to visit Kitaya on […]
November 14, 2016
Cooking with Sushi Kuni: Dobinmushi
Autumn is my favorite season. I love the foliage, the chill in the air, the shift in sunlight. In Japan, it is a great time of year to EAT! Mushrooms, grilled sanma (saury), shinmai (new rice), persimmon, and satoimo (Japanese taro) abound, and certain dishes begin to pop up on menus that signal the change in season. Japan is a place […]
November 8, 2016
Sake Caliente Pop-Up at Azasu NYC
The sake scene in New York City is dynamic. When I lived there from 2002-2008, the sake trend was definitely in development, and as a worker-bee in Midtown Manhattan, I was fortunate enough to spend many a late-nights at Sakagura, one of NY’s famed sake bars and other Japanese watering holes in the area. There were […]
October 25, 2016
Where to Get Japanese Breakfast: Cassava
I’ve heard a lot about Cassava in the last few years and finally made it over to the Avenues in Outer Richmond for the Japanese breakfast. To my knowledge, it is the only traditional Japanese breakfast offered in the Bay Area, and absolutely worth the trip. Cassava opened in 2012 (just like Umami Mart!) by […]
October 19, 2016
Happy Hour: Aunt Judy’s Passion Fruit Cocktail
Around this time every year, Yoko’s aunt Judy starts bringing around bags of passion fruit for us. She has a very healthy and giving tree in her backyard, which produces plenty of fruit. Judy has been talking about the cocktail she makes with these passion fruit for some time now. Before we said goodbye last […]
October 17, 2016
Yoko: Shochu Lover and Umami Mart’s Playmate of the Century
Shochu is finally getting some big love Stateside, thanks to a well-written piece in Playboy about the Japanese spirit. The article features an interview with Yoko!!! Shochu is Japan’s distilled spirit. It is not sake, nor a wine. Think of it this way: Mexico has its tequila, Russia has its vodka, the Caribbean has its rum, […]
October 5, 2016
Meet the Man Behind the Best Yakitori in Oakland
Recently, I got into a discussion about all the restaurants that have been popping up in the Bay Area. The constant stream of new, hip restaurants is never ending in the East Bay and San Francisco, and it’s hard to keep up. Of all of those restaurants that have opened in the last year, Hina […]