February sakes ship today for Sake Gumi, our monthly sake subscription club. If you like what’s on deck here, you should probably join! Every winter, we take a trip to Niigata Pref. where sake and rice are king. Coincidentally, it is also where we source our barware and copper kitchenware items. After the end of […]
Author Archives: Yoko Kumano
January 15, 2016
Sake Gumi News: Bold Brews (Jan 2016)
Happy New Year! In 2015, we expanded our Oakland shop to include sakes and the largest selection of Japanese craft beers in the U.S. Then, we launched Sake Gumi in August in an effort to spread the joy of sake to those in the Bay Area and beyond. We felt that this club would be […]
January 13, 2016
Tokyo JUNKtion: Oreno Dashi in Akasaka
For the past few years, I’ve been hoping to get into an Oreno restaurant in Tokyo. Established in 2011, their mission is two-fold: 1. Serve dishes prepared by Michelin-starred class chef, at one-third the price you would pay in a high-end restaurant; 2. Food costs make up 60% of expenses. To make up for the […]
December 28, 2015
Sake Gumi News: Cold Weather, Warm Gatherin gs (Dec 2015)
December is when the warmth of friends and family is there to balance the cold weather. The contrast of the cold weather outside and the toasty home-comings during the holidays is what we want to reflect in our sakes this month. Our theme for Sake Gumi this month is “Cold Weather, Warm Gatherings.†For our […]
December 14, 2015
Sake Gumi News: Turkey Times (Nov 2015)
It’s heartwarming to know that the holidays are around the corner, until the madness hits you like a ton of bricks — holiday parties, road rage and lines, lines, lines. This is Sake Gumi’s first holiday season, and we are having lots of fun selecting special edition sakes that will ease the shock and stress […]
November 23, 2015
Japanify: Yuzu Kanten
It’s yuzu season! When my sister starts giving me yuzu, I know it’s official: the holidays are here and yuzu is in abundance to help me cope. Berkeley is the queen of Meyer lemons, but I’m beginning to think it’s also one of the best places for someone to grow yuzu as friends and family are […]
October 18, 2015
Sake Gumi News: Just Junmais (Oct 2015)
It’s been three months since starting Sake Gumi. Frankly speaking, Kayoko and I have been overwhelmed by the reception, with members joining from coast to coast. The Sake Gumi love is alive and thriving across America. For October, we wanted to celebrate the end of the rice harvest season in Japan. The last harvest usually […]
October 5, 2015
The Road to Becoming a Certified Sake Professional with John Gauntner
It’s been almost a year since I took John Gauntner’s Sake Professional class in San Francisco. Time flies! Attended by industry, sake enthusiasts and wine and spirits professionals, this was a three-day course that, as Gauntner says, “Leaves no sake stone unturned.” The classes were held in the ornate San Francisco Federal Bently Reserve Building. […]
September 21, 2015
Noraneko Ramen in PDX
Kayoko and I rolled into Portland at around 3pm from Seattle during the first days of summer — and Portland delivered on their end of the summer deal. It was dry, hot and there was no escape from the sun. After attending a meeting and feeling pretty beat overall, we headed over to Noraneko, a new […]
September 10, 2015
Best Kept Secret: Old Oakland Farmers Market
Every Friday, half a block away from Umami Mart along 9th Street at Broadway, the Old Oakland Farmers Market attracts all the locals. With Chinatown across the street, we are lucky to have a farmers market with a lot of Asian produce. From Thai basil to winter melon, the Old Oakland farmers market meshes together […]