Umami Mart

It’s happening. Ippuku, the East Bay’s premiere yakitori and shochu bar is opening on Monday 7/5! HOLLA! I was lucky enough to get a tour of the restaurant before it opens and talk with the owner/chef, Christian Geideman. Located in the heart of Berkeley, the restaurant space is quite breathtaking (read: epitome of cool) and […]

PREQUEL Umamiventure #22: St. George Spirits & Hangar One Vodka (SF Bay Area) What’s the best accompaniment to whiskey? BBQ all the way! As I’ve already told you, the very first time I tasted St. George whiskey was at Fette Sau, a barbecue joint in Brooklyn. So it was only appropriate that we complet the […]

My father has one sister and four brothers- all of who are in the restaurant business. The Akaboris are destined to work with food, what can I say?? My brother just spent some time in a hoity-toity restaurant in Barcelona, and I just started a job at a Spanish restaurant in Menlo Park. As LOST’s […]

There’s a little Korea-town in the Akasaka section of Tokyo, just a little side street filled with Korean-owned and operated restaurants. Here, my friend Maho took me to one of her favorite spots, Ton-chan. There are a few Ton-chan’s scattered all around Tokyo- it is bbq, but they specialize in pork (ton, in Japanese means […]

Many say that Dinosaur is the best bbq in town- nestled deep into the northwest corner of Manhattan, borderline Harlem/Morningside Heights, under the rumblings of the West Side Highway. It’s quite a trek, which made for the perfect Umamiventure. I made a reservation for 10 people on a Sunday night. THANK GOD. When we got […]

My buddy Ray recently had his birthday gathering at Tomales Bay Oyster Company. It was genius. We headed north from SF over the Golden Gate and about another hour and a half on highway 1 winding through Stenson Beach to Tomales Bay. The place is simple. They sell super fresh oysters from a stand and […]

Aren’t you drooling? (As always, I forgot to take pictures of mine, and this is not from my kitchen) Recently there are quite a few BBQ restaurants popping up in New York, including Justin Timberlake’s Southern Hospitality (let’s bet how long it lasts). Pork ribs, its sweet and juicy meat, and the flavor of summer […]

There aren’t too many things I enjoy doing more than grillin’ outside with friends. I take great pride in my BBQ skills. More importantly I enjoy the look of satisfaction on people’s faces after each bite of my mouthwatering hamburgers. So now that we have all the rain far and gone it is time to […]

I don’t care what Time Out thinks. They ridiculously passed up the The Smoke Joint for Blue Smoke in Manhattan in their Eat Out Awards last week for Best BBQ, and all I have to say is: BAD CALL. I’d like to testify that The Smoke Joint is far superior to Blue Smoke, in taste […]