Eat Out


January 7, 2010

New Favorite Bar: 15 Romolo (SF)

by Kayoko Akabori

15 Romolo is in a little hotel in North Beach that’s been around since the early 1900’s, owned now by the Rye guys who have recently renovated the space. It’s got a kickass juke, a menu of classic cocktails and a kitchen cranking out some downhome apps. It’s my little SF version of Hotel Del […]

January 4, 2010

NYE 2009: Flour + Water (SF)

by Kayoko Akabori

Rang in the new year (well, almost) at the mucho-hyped, impossible-to-get-a-reservation, must-wait-over-an-hour-for-a-table Italian spot/pizzeria Flour + Water, in the Mission district, SF. Four-course prix-fixe menu, A Night in Emilia-Romagna, dedicated to THE SUPREME food region in Italy. Bologna, holler! Above: Tortellini en brodo with parmesan truffle & house cured meats, amuse bouche style. A shot […]

December 27, 2009

Chez Panisse: Petit Four (Berkeley)

by Kayoko Akabori

Chocolate ganache | Almond shortbread thumbprints with meyer lemon peel and icing. Find my meal in pictures here.

December 24, 2009

Tokyo JUNKtion: Usaya

by Yoko Kumano

Update May 10, 2012: This location has since closed.  Shimokitazawa is hands down my favorite part of Tokyo. It’s teeming with youth and the elderly, shopping for knick knacks in a part of Tokyo that has no high-rise buildings — preserving a quaintness that is absent in the major hubs of the city like Shibuya […]

December 14, 2009

Postcards from Japan, XI: Unnecessarily Large Bowl of Udon

by Kayoko Akabori

Kumiko and I walked into a relatively fancy-looking noodle shop off of Dotonbori in Osaka. We ordered; the food arrived; we were stunned. Were they for real??? The bowl was literally wider than her torso– this is NOT an optical illusion. She looked this awkward the entire time she slurped her noodles. It was all […]

December 10, 2009

El Barrio Love: Las Cuatro Milpas (SD)

by Kayoko Akabori

The day after the epic Fish Taco Crawl, Nate asked me, “Do you want to get lunch at one of the best Mexican joints in San Diego?” Uhhhh… I was still stuffed to the chin from the holy trinity of fried fish, cabbage, and tortillas, and had absolutely no plans to consume a bite of […]

December 8, 2009

El Barrio Love: Patty’s Fruitland (SD)

by Kayoko Akabori

Nate took me to the Barrio Logan section of San Diego, which I adored. Colorful houses and storefronts dotted the streets, signs were in Spanish, and grocery shops boasted three avocados for a $1. BARGAINTIME. It’s that sort of neighborhood– still predominantly catering to the Mexican community (it’s dubbed El Barrio for chrissake) and won’t […]

December 7, 2009

Umamiventure #21: SD Fish Taco Crawl, Last Stop (Small Bar)

by Kayoko Akabori

PREFACEStop #1: South Beach Bar & Grille (Ocean Beach)Stop #2: Tin Fish (Gaslamp Quarter)Stop #3: Mariscos German Taco Truck (Normal Heights)Stop #4: El Zarape (University Heights) There’s something about walking into a bar and having a dozen beer taps against a wall that excites me. It’s doubly thrilling when I’ve never heard of half the […]

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

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 […]