Umami Mart

I had so much fun illustrating this map of all the farmers markets in Silicon Valley for the current issue of Edible Silicon Valley magazine. My local market is the Mountain Goat/4 corners (see it? Click here for a bigger image of the map). There is also an article about Maggie, the woman who spearheaded that market, […]

We said our tearful farewells to foie gras this weekend in California. This fucking blows. *Stewed daikon topped with foie gras and kaiware, in a soy-miso sauce. Kiraku. Berkeley, CA. 

Two long tables that seat about 40 guests Harry Potter-style, line the walls of Camino in Oakland. These dramatic slabs of wood sum up the restaurant itself – friendly and warm. Adding to the drama are two stone grills at the back of the restaurant in full view of the guests and four huge chandaliers […]

Natto is the one of those foods that elicits strong reactions. I get overwhelmed with a sense of joy and excitement, but the response I hear from most people (who aren’t from or aren’t descendants of the eastern regions of Japan) is pure disgust. I remember how clueless I was junior year in college when […]

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

Erin was in town for a few weeks and I went up to see her in her hometown near Santa Rosa. What a trip! We killed some roosters together, ate her first meat meal together, and enjoyed the gorgeous Sonoma County sun. One day we decided to go “into town” to Calistoga- which is a […]

I took a much-needed trip back home to California in May for two weeks. I risked contracting the swine flu to indulge in my second passion after eating – photography with my grandma’s 1970s Nikon EM film camera.I love taking photos of food in Tokyo, but there’s something about the California sun that saturates food […]

We ventured out to Pescadero a few weeks back, which is about an hour south of San Francisco, to visit Harley Farms Goat Dairy. It was such a special Umamiventure- Yoko was here from Tokyo, and Jenny and Mitch from NYC! It was the first time on a goat farm for many of us, and […]

Drove down to Palm Springs last weekend for Sashe‘s fabulous wedding weekend. It was to be a fun-filled weekend of old friends, celebrating love, excellent food, tanning by the pool, and dancin, Dancin, DANCIN! The bad news?? Getting there. The only thing standing in the way between me and my Palm Springs tan was the […]

Went over to Google HQ in Mt. View for lunch today. The plethora of food there is just mind-blowing- not to mention FREE!!! Doesn’t have the views like the NYC offices, but on this warm sunny Norcal day where outdoor seating is practically a requirement, I ain’t complaining. Google offices are scattered all over Mt. […]