Author Archives: Kayoko Akabori


December 3, 2009

Umamiventure #21: SD Fish Taco Crawl, Stop 4 (El Zarape)

by Kayoko Akabori

PRELUDEStop #1: South Beach Bar & Grille (Ocean Beach)Stop #2: Tin Fish (Gaslamp Quarter)Stop #3: Mariscos German (Normal Heights) Our last and final stop was El Zarape, in University Heights. Let’s be real: by this point, we’re all fucking stuffed. Passing-out-behind-the-wheel, stuffed. Take-me-home-so-I-can-take-a-crap-then-nap stuffed. What started out at South Beach all giggles has slowly (but […]

December 1, 2009

Packaging Whore: Gone Bananas!

by Kayoko Akabori

Trader Joe’s. Cupertino, CA. Do you see all the little silhouettes of monkeys everywhere? The whole thing is so cheesy, I couldn’t resist buying a box (only $1.99 for four bananas!). Just in case you were interested: Everything about this excites me.

Umamiventure #21: SD Fish Taco Crawl, Stop 3 (Mariscos German Taco Truck)

by Kayoko Akabori

PREFACE Stop #1: South Beach Bar & Grille (Ocean Beach) Stop #2: Tin Fish (Gaslamp Quarter) After Tin Fish, we started losing steam– I was about five tacos and three beers in, and god, that San Diego sun is so intense! I was getting sleeeepy, and I knew I needed to slow down. Two more […]

November 30, 2009

Umamiventure #21: SD Fish Taco Crawl, Stop 2 (Tin Fish)

by Kayoko Akabori

PREFACEStop #1: South Beach Bar & Grille (Ocean Beach) Wow, I totally fell off the fish taco train, didn’t I? SORRY!! Last week was just kinda nuts, with Tday and everything– I hope everyone had a delightful holiday! It’s just the most important day of the year, as far as I’m concerned. How could a […]

November 26, 2009

The Umami Reader, vol. 074: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

by Kayoko Akabori

– My dear friend and expert cheesemonger Amy Thompson is famous!!! “Cheese is a mysterious force.” GENIUS. (Serious Eats NY) – Above video: Taking you back to ’92, when Kevin Nealon was the Weekend Update man and Adam Sandler gave us some wonderful tunes. Best SNL era ever, IMHO. (via @eatmedaily) HAPPY TDAY, EVERYONE!!! It’s […]

November 25, 2009

Brooklyn Takeout Twofer: Khao Sarn and Kyoto Sushi

by Kayoko Akabori

Sometimes when I’m lazy, I order delivery. And sometimes when I’m lazy, it will be during the middle of the day. When these powers combine, I seek comfort in the lunch special. KHAO SARN My love affair with Thai food began in 2001, when I first tried pad thai and since then, has blossomed into […]

November 24, 2009

Umamiventure #21: SD Fish Taco Crawl, Stop 1 (South Beach Bar)

by Kayoko Akabori

It was a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon (everyday in San Diego is like a warm Sunday afternoon, isn’t it?). Besides our morning coffee, we were on an empty stomach, fully prepared for what would be a four-stop fish taco extravaganza all over town. Let’s do this. First stop: South Beach Bar & Grille, in […]

November 20, 2009

PDT Cocktail Time at Beretta (SF)

by Kayoko Akabori

Photos by Travis LoDolce. Now tell me: why oh why would I ever move back to NYC when all of its wondrous gems can come to ME!!! When I heard last week that PDTman John Deragon would be guest bartending at the popular SF joint Beretta for ONE NIGHT ONLY, I screamed a silent hooray […]

November 19, 2009

Kitchen Improv (Borderline Gross Edition): Kimchi Pasta

by Kayoko Akabori

Remember when I made kimchi fried rice? It has become my staple meal when I feel ultra lazy. Read: ALL THE TIME. So how panicked was I when I went to the kitchen yesterday to take out all the precious ingredients out of the fridge, but then realize that I was missing RICE. Epic FAIL. […]

November 18, 2009

burritoporn: Juanita’s Taco Shop (SD)

by Kayoko Akabori

Years ago, Kristi took me to Juanita’s for a burrito and to this very day, I still fantasize about it. So of course it was the first place I asked her to take me as soon as I landed in San Diego. They put fries in the burrito!!! Reason #1 to move to SoCal. You […]