Feast Blog

The occasion of Lisa’s birthday was the reason for heading to my now-favorite San Francisco restaurant, Nombe.

Hakuro Suishu – Junmai Ginjo (winter water). A very, very smooth sake.

First course – Suimono; a salad sashimi-based salad with amazingly fresh and vibrant vegetables. Fresh, raw trout sat atop purslane, tofu, arugula, sea beans, chanterelles, squash blossoms, fresh pickled ginger, spinach, sunomono, radish, and a very light seafood broth. It would have been a perfect dinner for two and a more-than-ample meal for one. The chanterelle mushrooms were tender and provided a rich texture against the clean, brightness of the vegetables. The trout — which I thought was salmon based on the color — was rich with an ample amount of marbling to give enough fat to the entire dish to balance out all the healthy goodness in the vegetables.

Kubota Maju – Dai Ginjo. Luxuriously super clean and flowery sake. This was offered as an intercourse as Gil had a few sips left from a tasting a few days prior. He admitted this was the Cadillac of sakes and usually too expensive for most. A lovely gesture that it was comped for Lisa’s birthday.

Tengumai Jikomi – Yamahai Junmai. A richer, more lingering sake to accompany the rest of the meal.

Hano Okazu – So many dishes at once. Served in small, 3″ plates, following our glorious salad came a veritable Japanese smörgåsbord:

• Wagyu Beef ~ Ever so lightly grilled as to preserve the integrity of the marbling. Served with sliced scallions and shredded daikon, this tender offering proved rich and satisfying.
• Squash ~ Fresh yellow squash and zucchini were very thinly sliced, marinated in a light rice wine vinegar and served with fresh greens.
• Bitter Melon ~ Contrasting flavors to all the other vegetables, here chunked bitter melon is served alongside caramelized onions which gave a level of tender sweetness to the crunchy melon.
• Chicken Livers ~ Chicken livers are coated with a sesame-studded spicy breading that was just slightly hot enough to entice without being overpowering. Served with fresh cilantro, I pushed those greens aside but Lisa enjoyed that element. I was just happy with the crunch of the exterior which yielded to the tender interior.
• Chicken Gizzard ~ Yet another slightly spicy offering, the gizzards are marinated with bits of red pepper and white and black sesame seeds. Perfectly chewy (the way a gizzard should) with a tangy bite to counter-balance the spice and crunch of the livers.
• Pickles ~ Chef Nick makes his own pickles and these are not to be missed. Not just a palate cleanser, these become an integral part of the meal.
• Minnow ~ Little miniature fish, deep fried and tossed with diced peppers and a chili paste, I was anticipating a mouth-burner, but they were not too hot at all. Lisa particularly enjoyed these little morsels.
• Kimchee ~ Probably one of the hottest offerings, I had to relegate most of this dish to Lisa who has a higher tolerance than I do. I tried a portion and preferred the remnants of the flavors which existed on the sliced zucchini pickles.
• Pig’s Ears ~ Hidden under wafer thin radish slices were ribbons of sliced pig ear. Hands-down the favored dish of the evening, neither Lisa nor I had ever tasted such a uniquely tender preparation. Usually it is the consistency of hard, chewy rubber bands, we were both astonished at how flavorful the thinly sliced ears were but also how delightfully tender.
• Seaweed Salad ~ I purchase a very similar concoction to this at Nijiya market, but what comes pre-made in plastic containers in a grocery store is not nearly as savory and flavorful as this. Uniform slices of seaweed, carrot, and daikon is all lightly dressed and garnished with white and black sesame seeds.
• Eggplant ~  Hidden under bonito flakes and scallion were freshly roasted, seasoned eggplant. This was a favored dish of mine as the saltiness from the bonito countered the sweetness in the eggplant.
• Rice with Fresh Nori ~ My consistent favorite that I usually always save for breakfast.

All of these tiny plates surrounded a giant platter of pork shoulder from Llano Seco Farms. Here the pork is presented as both succulent slabs with heavy rivers of fat to be negotiated in its consumption, but also golden fried chicharrons (fried pork rinds). Served with a rich dark sauce and creamy mayonnaise, we topped the meat with a bit of lime juice. Seared to give just enough to give a dark, rich crust, the interior was tender and moist and while a little difficult to eat with chopsticks, ripping the luscious meat with our teeth was primal and satisfying.

Dessert courses finished out this more-than-ample meal. The waitress behind the counter started opening a half-bottle of pink sake and we were both intrigued. I’m sorry I didn’t get its name, but a few moments later, Chef Nick arrived with a small clay dish of house-made Ume and Coconut sorbet and proceeded to pour the sweet sake over the frozen delight. Almost a palate-cleanser this easily could have happily finished the meal for us, but there was more. Bedecked with birthday candle was a mochi cake and knowing what a Fried Dough Ho I am, a smaller serving of his infamous Seagull Eggs with strawberry jam. The mochi cake gave that classic chewy texture with hints of sweetness and a bit of creamy topping. I love the beignets that Chef Nick produces but believe they are better when made larger and stay fluffier; the smaller versions get a bit tough but are still well-loved by yours’ truly.

Six weeks ago, I got a text message from Lisa stating simply, “Just found us a new restaurant!!!!!!” That means a lot because both Lisa and I have become bored dining around San Francisco. She was excited at having found an establishment that is like those she discovered while traveling around Japan; authentic, intimate, and unlike anything else we have here in the Bay Area. There is a sign in the front window that warns the philistines: No Sushi. No Combination Plates. This is not your standard, Westernized Japanese restaurant. With an expansive ten-page menu, this is a restaurant based on the concept of lots of small plates. Not like an izakaya with a bar setting, the dark wood room is effectively serviced by attentive waiters and waitresses who are quick to offer suggestions.

The reason behind the lengthy menu is its layout; each ingredient with the descriptions of how that ingredient is prepared. For example, Gindara (black cod) has eight preparations: sakamushi (steamed with sake), oroshi-ni (simmered with grated daikon), teriyaki, yuan-grilled (soy sauce and sake marinade), sakekasu-grilled (sake less marinade), butter grilled, and panko-fried. With ingredients like eel, pork, duck, beef, chicken, shrimp, eggplant, tofu, krab, flounder, etc., it is easy to see why the menu is so extensive. And that does not include the fact that there is also shabu-shabu and sukiyaki offerings (with Wagyu beef for $80!). That’s okay, we’ll be back for those because there is so much to try…

With the help of our waitress, we managed to pick a selection of tastes, starting with a special that evening, toro sashimi served with fresh wasabi. More than just exceptional fish, the plating and offering was a cut above with shredded daikon and an interesting micro green served alongside the wasabi. Some of the best, melt-in-the-mouth tuna I have tasted. Being an uni fanatic, the preparation that Lisa wanted was served in a bowl with crab, an agar sheet, shredded vegetables, sliced chestnuts, and more than we could determine. It was clean and engaging with more gelatinous goo added for texture.

Another texturally-challenging dish (for those who have problems with gooey things — which Lisa and I don’t), was Mekabu-Su, vinegared sticky wakame (seaweed) topped with a raw quail egg. Served in a small, celadon green lotus bowl, here was a mouthful of viscous goodness. A dish we probably would not have considered had our waitress not been so passionate about suggesting was the butter-grilled scallops; four large, tender scallops in nothing other than simple brown butter. But the preparation was enhanced by its offering on top of a selection of grilled vegetables; sprouts and greens which were a delightful juxtaposition to the intensely rich scallops.

Another surprise was an offering of grilled oysters with egg yolk. It was actually a fresh grilled oyster encased in an omelet-like preparation, topped with toasted pine nuts and a sliced, crisp lotus root. We had debated ordering the chawan-mushi and was glad we didn’t; this was more than enough rich egg flavor which was definitely enhanced by the pine nuts. Best of all, they were very careful to not lose any of the oyster liquor in the preparation.

We finished our meal with their preparation of Japanese sweets, wagashi, three small offerings of delight; two red-bean based. The square wagashi was topped with lightly toasted rice bits and stuffed with a chestnut. The round, azuki-based wagashi was topped with a square of gold leaf and stronger than the square version. The last, round delight was an anmitsu, a chilled gelatin with fruit; large, golden raisins, orange peel, and a surprisingly different hint of celery which provided that surprise flavor.

Much of the joy of this type of dining is a sensation that many Westerners seem to miss: TEXTURE. There are complaints about some dishes not having enough TASTE when the cultural bias in Japanese food is often about the feel versus a strong flavor. That is not to say that there is no flavor to the courses, but that many times the dish is not about presenting a strong component of tastes, but a strong component of texture. And if you are willing to experiment and enjoy all that is offered, I can guarantee a stupendous experience. Personally, with a menu as expansive as Kappou Gomi is offering, I am anxious to go back and work my way through all of it.

Shame on me for not writing this up sooner. My birthday present to myself this year was a trip to Los Angeles to see old friends and to finally dine at the mythic Urasawa. There was as much anticipation in approaching this meal as there was in going to the French Laundry for the first time; so much has been written about it and its masterful chef, that one can almost anticipate disappointment. I mean, how special and remarkable can ultra-expensive hunks of raw fish be after all? Suffice to say, that nary a meal in my past can surpass what I experienced at the hands of Hiro Urasawa. Yep, its true. It is the best meal I have ever eaten in my entire life, bar none. No mis-steps, every taste a revelation, every offering better than the last.

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