Umamiventure

Umamiventures are organized monthly, traveling far and wide to find good, cheap grub off the beaten path.

October 26, 2010

Umamiventure #29: Bitters Tasting with A.B. Smeby Bittering Co. (NYC)

by Kayoko Akabori

Photos by Erin Gleeson. On a balmy, quiet Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn, we had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Louis Smeby, founder of A.B. Smeby Bittering Co., for a tasting of his extensive line of bitters. When we all settled down in Quarter Bar‘s charming back yard, there was one glaring question on […]

September 20, 2010

Heads Up – Umamiventure #29: A Bitter Cocktail Hour with Louis Smeby (NYC)

by Kayoko Akabori

Bitters, bitters, bitters. I remember my first encounter with a bottle of Angostura was at The Royal Oak in Williamsburg about four years ago. I asked the bartender, “What the hell is that?” as he added a few drops into a mixing glass. He then tirelessly tried to explain to me what it was, but […]

September 17, 2010

Umamiventure #28: San Tung Restaurant (SF)

by Kayoko Akabori

Sometimes, I pick a place for an Umamiventure just to regroup with friends, their friends, and loyal Umamimart readers. That’s what these trips are for, afterall: to meet + eat. Choosing a place, however, it is never an easy task– the restaurant must be delicious, relatively cheap (ideally $20 per person) and can handle a […]

August 22, 2010

Heads Up – Umamiventure #28: San Tung Restaurant (SF)

by Kayoko Akabori

Confession: This Umamiventure has been created solely for the purpose of sating my own obsession for San Tung‘s chicken wings. San Tung is no secret in the SF dining community– it’s got like 1700 Yelp reviews and is a mob scene at all hours of the day. My dear friends Khoi and Sarah took me […]

July 22, 2010

Umamiventure #27: The Trappist (OAK)

by Kayoko Akabori

Met up with fellow Umamimartians last week at The Trappist, a Belgian beer bar in “Old” Oakland, downtown. I made SF folks come out to the East Bay– and they actually did! On a school night! Such trickery. The thing is, The Trappist is so much more than just a specialty beer bar. Oh, so […]

July 9, 2010

Umamiventure #26.5: Candytown (LA)

by Kayoko Akabori

Omg, I totally forgot to write about Candytown, right next door to the San Pedro Fish Market! Silly me! After gorging ourselves with shrimp, oysters and ceviche, we finally called it quits and all walked over to Candytown. Yes, we saved room for dessert. Candytown is super cute and looks like Willy Wonka barfed all […]

July 7, 2010

Heads-Up! – Umamiventure #27: The Trappist (OAK)

by Kayoko Akabori

Can we just be lazy this month and have a low-key Umamiventure? YES! Let’s meet at The Trappist Belgian beer bar in downtown Oakland for their Taco Tuesday, next 7/13 at 7pm. Yes, SFers, I’m asking you to trek over the bridge. Deal with it. The Trappist is awesome. They have nearly 30 different beers […]

June 24, 2010

Umamiventure #26: San Pedro Fish Market (LA)

by Kayoko Akabori

Photos by Alda Ly, Moet Hashimoto, and myself. Sara wrote a post two years ago about the San Pedro Fish Market, and I’ve fantasized about visiting since then. All that sunny, surfside seafood looked like paradise. So that was the obvious choice for Umamiventure #26, since I was coming into town. Also, with all the […]

June 10, 2010

Umamiventure #25: Severely Stoned in Berkeley

by Yoko Kumano

The 25th Umamiventure took place at Hida Tool and Hardware in Berkeley. After writing about sharpening Carbon and Stainless Steel knives on Umamimart and receiving a lot of questions, I thought it would be good to take these questions to the source. Chika, the knifemaster, at Hida Tool and Hardware. Chika has been working with […]

June 6, 2010

Heads Up – Umamiventure #26: San Pedro Fish Market (LA)

by Kayoko Akabori

I’ve been dying to visit the San Pedro Fish Market since Sara wrote about it a few years back. It’s the perfect summertime Umamiventure! Although it’s always summer in LA, isn’t it? Sigh. Since I’ll be in LA this week, let’s all get together and gorge on fresh oysters and crab and shrimp and drink […]