April 26, 2012
Here is Part Deux in our Tokyo-SF Bartender Salon Series. Meet Monsieur Tomokazu Kai, bartender at Heuga Bar in Gifu, Japan. Mr. Kai won the 2011 Suntory Cocktail Award, and his prize was a trip to SF and NYC. Gifu is a way’s away from Tokyo, a city just north of Nagoya, but clearly it is […]
April 19, 2012
If you can recall, Umamimart helped organize a special bartender event back in March, with Suntory and Prizefighter bar. Bay Area bartenders came together with a couple of talented bartenders from Japan, for an afternoon of cultural exchange and cocktail knowledge sharing. By now, I’m sure you’ve seen all the photos from the event, and […]
March 21, 2012
On Sunday 3/11, the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Northern Japan, Yoko and I helped organize a cross-cultural exchange between bartenders from Japan and San Francisco. Held at Prizefighter Bar in Emeryville, it was an intimate gathering of old friends, and new. Tomokazu Kai (Heuga Bar) and Masako Ikegami (Bar Shake) had won […]