Japanese Sake : All Japan News,Inc

By Elli Sekine

During the last half of the nineties in San Francisco, people were enjoying the economic growth, and traditional washoku such as high-end sushi, kappo, and kaiseki-style Japanese cuisine was beginning to gain attention. Corporate businessmen were the main target demographic, and "Kiku of Tokyo" in the Hilton Hotel, and "Kyoya" in the Palace Hotel in downtown where the convention center is located, were enjoying their popularity as the typical restaurants of that type. In the year 2000, the washoku boom entered into the fusion phase, and after 2010, the "Sushi Kaiseki" and "Omakase" era began. Now, such high-end washoku culture has settled in, and non-business people are also acquainted with the culture. Such achievements made by legendary chefs who triggered the washoku boom, are still thriving in San Francisco's restaurant industry, decades later.

In 2008, after "Kiku of Tokyo" closed, Chef Gomi opened the freestanding "Kappou Gomi" in the Richmond District, and entertained us with authentic Japanese cuisine at a reasonable price. Unlike the restaurants in the downtown hotels, there was no feel of a high-end place, private tatami rooms, etc., but Mr. Gomi seized the hearts of business people who used to know him, and of local American regular customers as well. However, finally, in October of last year, the long-lived washoku legendary restaurant in San Francisco came to an end. While everybody was reminiscing and missing the legend, Mr. Son Minh, Mr. Gomi's former favorite disciple during his "Kiku of Tokyo" days, opened "Akira", the only restaurant where his master's teachings have been inherited, and it became a popular topic of conversation.

The owner/chef, Minh was born in Vietnam. The co-owner and wife, Ms. Judy Young, was born in Laos, and came to the US as a refugee in the seventies. They met through a refugees' circle activity, and later got married. They both overcame discriminations and hardships in life. Since graduating from college, Judy has been working as a counselor for poor people and immigrants. On the other hand, Son met his master, Gomi at a washoku restaurant, "Kiku of Tokyo" where he worked as a temp while going to school. Son was working diligently, and got noticed by Chef Gomi, who told him, "If you like to cook, I can teach you how to cook washoku, starting from the basics." After the training was done, he worked as a sous-chef for a while.

After that, he worked at "Hanazen", and "Kiji" as head chef. The mater/disciple relationship between him and Mr. Gomi continued over the next 20 years, and still ongoing even now.

The name "Akira" was also given by the master. The name represents a positive and progressive approach. "Akira", which has been open for one year, is located in a residential area slightly away from Japan Town. "Akira" meets neither conditions for what a successful washoku restaurant should have, a "good location" and a "Japanese chef", but it has gotten off to a good start as if overturning such cliché. The first reason is its price setting.

Minh's transpicuous personality and diligence that shows in his words: "I would like my restaurant to be the kind of place for everyone to be able to have a reasonable meal", seem to be reflected upon how he runs the restaurant. The second reason is its menu structure. It is unbelievable for a restaurant with a mere 38 seats to have such a rich variety of items. Its line-up of popular items from the eighties such as traditional style sunomono, karaage, donburi, tempura, noodles, sashimi etc. can accommodate any customer. The third reason is the service. Every staff member is friendly, and although they are not Japanese, they have the right knowledge, and the omotenashi spirit is embedded into theirs.

While increasing the number of his original menu items, Mr. Minh always maintains traditional items as well. For example, they offer items like Shokado Bento ($17, lunch only), Chawan-mushi ($10), and Matsutake Dobin-mushi, which you don't see anywhere else. He makes dashi delicately as he has been engaging in Japanese cuisine for a long time.The fluffily strained chawan-mushi, dobinmushi with fully extracted shiitake mushrooms' flavor and umami, etc. satisfy the customers who remember "Kiku". The Shokado-Bento is one of their popular joyful lunch choices. It contains plenty of fresh sashimi, and the price is reasonable, and has become a very popular item for the Japanese people who live in a nearby residence community for Japanese Americans. At dinner time, an omakase course ($65) is offered in addition to the a-la-carte dishes. It is a kappou-style washoku course with 7 items including a small bowl of appetizer, sashimi, and fruits.

Lately, in the Bay Area of San Francisco, older Japanese owners/chefs are retiring one after another, closing the restaurants, and the generation is transitioning to non-Japanese chefs. In such a time, I can say that Mr. Minh one of the lucky ones who were able to inherit traditional Japanese cuisine techniques from a craftsman chef. I can see that a new era of washoku culture is beginning to rise at the same time while the good-old days are carried over.


割烹レジェンド店を継承する新レストラン

90年代後半、好景気に沸いていたサンフランシスコでは、寿司なら上ネタ、割烹、懐石料理といった伝統和食が注目を浴び始めていた。そのターゲットとなったのはビジネスマン達で、コンベンションホールがあるダウンタウンに位置するヒルトンホテル内の「キク　オブ　トウキョウ」、パレスホテル内の「京屋」はその代表店として人気を誇っていた。2000 年になると、和食ブームはフュージョン期を迎え、2010 年代に入ってからは「寿司懐石」や「オマカセ」時代となる。今やハイエンド和食は定着し、ビジネス以外の客も引き込んでいるが、その火付け役となった伝説のシェフ達が残した功績は、時代を超え今でもサンフランシスコレストラン業界に息づいている。

2008 年、「キク オブ トウキョウ」の料理長だった五味シェフは"Kiku" の 閉鎖後、リッチモンド地区に独立店舗「割烹五味」をオープンし、正統派の和食料理がリーズナブルな値段で味わえると話題を集めた。ダウンタウンのホテル内とは異なり、プレミアム感や個室の座敷などはないが、五味氏を知るビジネス客と地元アメリカ人の常連客を掴んでいた。しかしついに去年10 月、長年に及んだSF の和食伝説は幕を閉じた。誰もがその存在を惜しんでいたところ、「キク オ
ブ トウキョウ」時代、五味シェフの愛弟子だったソン・ミン氏が師からの伝授を継承する唯一の店「アキラ」がオープンした。

オーナーシェフのミン 氏はベトナム生まれ、共同オーナーで妻のジュディ・ヤング氏はラオス生まれで、70年代、難民としてアメリカに移住してきた。二人は難民サークルで出会い、やがて結婚をした。お互い差別や生活苦を乗り越え、ジュディは大学を卒業した後、現在まで貧しい人や移民のカンセリングをしている。一方ソン氏は、同時代にアルバイトをした和食レストラン、「キク オブ トウキョウ」で師匠の五味氏と出会った。真面目に働いていたソン氏に「料理が好きなら和食を基本から教えてあげよう」と声がかかった。修行後はスーシェフとして２軒の店を支えた。その後ソン氏は、「花膳」、「キジ」の料理長を勤めている。しかし五味氏との師弟関係は、20 年以上に及ぶ今でも続いている。「アキラ」という店名も師からの授かりもの。明るく漸進的な姿勢を表している。

開店から一年となる「アキラ」は、日本町からは少し離れた住宅街に位置する。成功する和食レストランの法則である「良いロケーション」と「日本人シェフ」のどちらも持ち合わせないが、それを覆すかのように幸先の良いスタートをきっている。その第一条件は価格設定だ。

「誰でもリーズナブルに食事がでる店にしたい」とソン氏の気取らない性格と勤勉さが店作りに反映されているようだ。第2 はメニュー構成にある。メニューの多さは38 席の店の規模からは想像しがたい内容だ。昔ながらの酢の物や唐揚げ、丼、天ぷら、麺類から寿司など人気アイテムの数々が並びどんな客にも対応できる。第3 にはサービスが挙げられる。スタッフは皆フレンドリーで、ノンジャパニーズでありながらも日本食の正しい知識を持ち、おもてなしの精神も継承されている。

ソン氏はオリジナルメニューを増やしながらも、伝統メニューも必ず残している。例には、松花堂弁当（$17 ランチのみ）、茶碗蒸し（$10）、松茸土瓶蒸しなど他店には見られないアイテムがある。日本食に長年携わったシェフらしく、出汁の取り方は繊細だ。フルフルとした茶碗蒸しのこし方やしいたけの香りと旨味を引き出した土瓶蒸しは"Kiku" を懐かしむ客を喜ばせている。松花堂弁当はランチタイムのお楽しみの一つ。新鮮な刺身も含めた盛りだくさんの内容でお値打ちとあって、近隣の日系施設に住む日本人の人気メニューとなっている。一方、夜はアラカルトの他、オマカセ（$65）も提供している。小鉢からお造り、水菓子まで７品目提供する割烹風和食コースだ。

今やサンフランシスコベイエリアでは、往年の日本食オーナーシェフ達が続々リタイヤで店を閉め、ノンジャパニーズの世代へと推移している。そんな中、ソン氏は職人シェフから伝統的な日本食を受け継いだラッキーな一人かも知れない。古き良き時代を追随しながらも新しい和食時代を築き始めている。

Akira
1634 Bush Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 800-8498
http://www.akirasf.com/

Lunch
Mon.-Fri. 11:30am-2:30pm

Dinner
Mon.-Thurs. 5:00pm-10:00pm
Fri.& Sat. 5:00pm-10:30pm

By Elli Sekine

A new ramen phenomenon is happening again in San Francisco’s Japan Town, a highly-competitive district for ramen restaurants. Over the last few years, the popularity of “tonkotsu style ramen” has grown even bigger due to the appearance of “Mensho Tokyo,” “Ippudo”, etc. Moreover, a Hakata style ramen specialty restaurant which nobody else had the title for, called “Marufuku” opened there in February of 2017. Hakata style ramen is new to Americans, and it is attracting a lot of attention. Ever since the opening day, people have been forming a long line to taste their soulful bowls of ramen. What is the difference between
“tonkotsu style” and “Hakata style”? There was a record showing that tonkotsu style ramen was born in “Hakata” Fukuoka, the place of origin, in 1941.

It is said that the tonkotsu style ramen began as follows: some noodles were used to be served as the last ingredient of the “Hakata nabe” a chicken stock based hot pot dish. Then, tonkotsu (pork bone based stock) was added to the soup, and Chinese noodles were thrown in the soup to be combined, and form the “tonkotsu ramen.”

Back then, there were no buildings in the Hakata district like now, and ramen which was served at the street carts by the river is the origin of “Hakata ramen.” The soup served then was mostly murky-white and rich, but light tasting tonkotsu-based, and the noodles were the very thin, straight kind, and topped with Hakata benishoga (red ginger shreds). After the war (1945), due to the idea that ramen was for bluecollar workers, the noodles were very thin for quick cooking, and a small amount was served at a time to retain the texture, and more noodles (kaedama) could be ordered to be added to the soup while you eat. This tradition still continues until this day. Now, in Fukuoka’s ramen restaurants, it is very common that you can select your favorite hardness of the noodles from extra hard to extra soft by adjusting the duration of cooking time. Variation of ramen styles such as “Kumamoto ramen”, “Kurume ramen”, etc., have been born in various.

Kyushu areas since, but “Hakata ramen” has been the favorite soul food for the people of Hakata through the ages. Meanwhile, the broth, which used to be so simple, the quality of the noodles, and the toppings have been perfected, but who could imagine that Hakata ramen would become a gourmet food known to the world like now? “Marufuku” which challenges itself at the reproduction of such Hakata style ramen, is a very important restaurant in the Bay Area.

“Marufuku” heavily values “teamwork” to run the restaurant. They have a purpose which is “to offer uncompromising genuine ramen to create a huge boom” in the Bay Area where cutting-edge information transmission is launched, and major IT companies such as Google and Apple have settled in. They built the foundation of the team by hiring someone who has extensive experience in working in the ramen industry, both in Japan and Los Angeles, to become the manager. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the Kinokuniya Building, which is an ideal place. After many trials and errors, the very first Hakata ramen specialty restaurant in San Francisco, “Marufuku” opened in 2017. The Hakata style, which was new to the US, was well received by the local Americans, and “Marufuku” quickly became very successful.

I recommend “HAKATA DX” ($14.99) first. Their proud soup which has been slowly cooked for 20 hours defines its Hakata style taste by the added housemade special sauce. You never get tired of its rich, deep, yet light tasting soup. The volume is perfect, and served in a classy milky-color bowl made by a Japanese craftsman, which gives a nice contrast. The extra-thin straight noodles specially ordered from a local noodle maker, are original and hard to find anywhere else. The noodles mix and match well with the soup.

The Hakata style tradition, kaedama, can be ordered for $2 each, which allows you to enjoy the noodles at their best texture until the end. Rich topping selections include large pork kakuni, flavor enhanced boiled eggs, corn, cloud ears, mushrooms, and Hakata benishoga (red ginger shreds). Other menu items include “Hakata Tonkotsu” ($10.99), “Chicken Paitan” ($10.99), “Chicken Paitan DX” ($14.99), etc. The Paitan ramen dishes are so popular, and about 30% of the customers order them. However, for the multi-cultured San Francisco, they also pay special attention to some customers who do not eat pork for religious reasons. One of the popular toppings, the juicy kakuni, can be ordered separately as an a-la-carte menu item as Kakunidon (bowl) ($7).

The drink menu includes draft beers, shochu, Japanese sake, etc. At night time, more customers drink sake, but the rotation is rather quick. However, you need to be aware that some waiting is inevitable on weekends.

“Marufuku” is striving to make a strong team by raising the motivation of the staff members who have various backgrounds and share this strong belief, that “a strong enough wish can surely be conveyed to our customers, overcoming language or nationality barriers.” I would like to see “local” food cultures spread in the way that this restaurant is doing, which offers ramen that is customized to the local area.


「博多ラーメン」がSF日本町でブレーク中！

ラーメンの激戦区、サンフランシスコ日本町にまた新たなラーメン現象が起こっている。

この２、３ 年、「豚骨ラーメン」は「Mensho Tokyo」や「Ippudo」の出現で益々その人気は高まっている。しかし、まだ誰も看板をあげてない博多ラーメン専門店の「Marukufu」が2017 年2 月、日本町に新開店した。アメリカ人にはまだ聞きなれない「Hakata」スタイルは話題を呼び、その新食感を味わおうと、オープン以来、長蛇の列ができている。

「豚骨ラーメン」と「博多ラーメン」の違いは何だろう。発祥の地、「博多」（福岡）の街でとんこつラーメンが生まれたのは1941 年という記録がある。元々は鶏ガラ出汁の「博多鍋」のシメとして登場した麺は、その後豚骨を加えたスープに中華麺と組み合わせたのが「豚骨ラーメン」の始まりと言われている。

当時博多地区には今のようなビル群は無く、川端の屋台で作られていたラーメンが「博多ラーメン」オリジナルだ。白濁色でコクがあるあっさりした豚骨スープが多く、極細麺ストレートに博多紅生姜を加えたのが主な特徴。戦後（1945 〜）、労働者向けの食事だったことから、麺のゆで時間が少ない細麺が使われたが、麺がすぐ伸びてしまうため少量に盛り、替え玉（麺だけ食べている途中に追加する）を注文する習慣が今でも続いている。

今では麺の固さも客の好みに応じて「バリカタ」から「バリヤワ」まで茹で時間を変えるのも福岡のラーメン店では一般的。その後九州各地で豚骨は「熊本ラーメン」や「久留米ラーメン」など何種類にも別れているが、「博多ラーメン」は時代を超え博多っ子に愛され続けた庶民食だ。今ではその素朴だったブロスと麺の質、トッピングも極められ、世界にその名を馳せるグルメ食になるとは誰が想像しただろう。その博多スタイルの再現に挑む「Marufuku」はベイエリアでも貴重な
店だ。

「Marufuku」は、“ チーム” を重視した店作りを実施している。グーグルやアップルなどの大手IT起業が集結し、最先端のグルメ情報発信基地になるベイエリアで、「妥協しない本物のラーメンを提供し、大きなブームを巻き起こしたい」という目的を持ち、日本とトサンゼルスでラーメン修行をした豊富な経験を持つ人材をマネージャーに起用し、チームの枠組を作った。場所は紀伊國屋ビルの２階という絶好の場所。あらゆる試行錯誤を繰り返し2017年、サンフランシスコで初めてとなる「博多ラーメン」専門店、「Marufuku」をオープンした。まだアメカでは新しい博多スタイルは、地元アメリカ人に受け入れられ、開店まもなく繁栄店となった。

メニューの中で一番おすすめは「HAKATA DX」。（＄14.99）自慢のスープは、20 時間じっくり煮込んだものに、自家製の特性タレが「博多味」を決定付ける。リッチで味わい深いのにあっさりしているので飽きのこない味だ。日本の職人による上品な和噐に白濁色が映え、量も丁度良く盛られている。ローカルの製麺所に特別オーダーして製麺された極細ストレート麺は、他の店ではなかなか味わえないオリジナル。スープとの愛称が良く絡みやすい。博多ラーメンの伝統である替玉も＄２で追加することができる為、最後までコシのある麺が味わえる。

トッピングは大きなサイズの豚の角煮、味たまご、コーン、きくらげ、マッシュルームに博多紅生姜などボリュームたっぷりの内容。メニューにはその他、「Hakata Tonkotsu]($10.99), 「ChikenPaitan]($10.99)「Chikin paitan DX」（＄14.99) などがある。客の約３割が注文しているというパイタンラーメンも人気がある他、多文化社会のサンフランシスコで宗教上豚を食しない客への配慮もある。人気トッピングの一つであるジューシーな角煮は、角煮丼（＄７）の単品メニューもある。ドリンクメニューには、ドラフトビール、焼酎、日本酒などを揃えている。夜は酒を飲む客も増えるが、比較的回転は早い方だ。しかし週末になると待ち時間は覚悟した方が良い。

「Marufuku」は、「強い想いがあれば、言語や国籍を乗り越え客に伝わる」という信念を持ち、多種多様なバックグラウンドを持つ従業員のモチベーションをあげ、強いチーム作りに務めている。同店のように地方に特化したラーメンを提供する「ご当地グルメ」ブームが広がるのを期待したい。

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Marufuku
1581 Webster St. Ste 235
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 872-9786
https://www.marufukuramen.com/

Tue.-Fri. 11:30am-2:00pm
5:30pm-9:30pm
Sat. 11:30am-3:00pm
5:00pm-9:30pm
Sun. 11:30am-3:00pm
5:00pm-9:00pm

By Elli Sekine

“AEDAN”’ tent shop in the Saturday Farmer’s Market held in the very popular Ferry Building in San Francisco, which sells fermented foods such as miso and koji that are not sold at any other shops, is attracting attention. “Miso” and “Koji”, which are the typical products in San Francisco’s unprecedented fermented food boom, have been adapted in menus by America’s top chefs. Lately, you even see the word “Koji” in some restaurant menus. Like setting fire on such a boom, Aedan Fermented Foods, a manufacturer of all hand-made miso and koji-- indispensable ingredients from ancient Japan-- is creating a movement.

The founder, Mariko Gledy, launched this business initially to donate the profit from the sales of hand-made miso to her friends to 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake victims, thinking what she could do to help from the US. “Before that time, I was making miso for my own family. I got an idea of selling it to my friends so I can donate the money from the sales,” says Mariko. She started to make miso at home to inherit a Japanese tradition to her children. “I felt the great power of miso once again when I learned that you can basically survive for a few days with only miso and water.” As she was studying further on miso and koji for the future business opportunity, she felt a strong hope for conveying this wisdom of Japan to as many people as possible, especially to American children who are responsible for the next generation. This hope of her is reflected on the company name, Aedan (wisdom transmission), and has also become the The founder, Mariko Gledy, launched this business initially to donate the profit from the sales of hand-made miso to her friends for the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake victims, thinking of what she could do to help from the US. “Before that time, I was making miso for my own family. I got the idea of selling it to my friends so I can donate the money from the sales,” says Mariko. She started to make miso at home to pass on a Japanese tradition to her children. “I felt the great power of miso once again when I learned that you can basically survive for a few days with only miso and water.” As she was studying further about miso and koji for the future business opportunity, she felt a strong hope for conveying this wisdom of Japan to as many people as possible, especially to American children who are responsible for the next generation. This hope of hers is reflected on the company name, Aedan (wisdom transmission), and has also become the company mission as well.

In the following year, 2012, the company started a full-fledged sales activity by joining an incubation kitchen, “La Cocina”, which supports female and minorities to start businesses. From then on, the variety of merchandise production and the business structure continued to expand by receiving business advice and support from La Concina. The company steadily gained more recognition through catering of cuisines using house-made fermented condiments, and workshops, lectures, etc.

In 2016, she founded an LLC, and in the same year, the company acquired a regular presence in the Saturday Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, which every small business owner in the food industry dreams of. In the tent of the Farmer’s Market, miso soup, amazake ($3 each), and Hakkoh Bento (Fermented lunch box, $15) using miso and koji, etc. are sold in order to let people who do not yet know about miso learn about its attractive benefits. Aedan manufactures and sells 4 kinds of miso, shiokoji, amazake-based marinade called Sagohachi, and amazake, all made with organic soy beans and/or rice ($10 each). They also sell chickpea miso made uniquely with chickpeas instead of soy beans. Their locally-made miso goes through no fermentation-stopping process such as heating, and thus the koji enzyme stays alive, and helps create a deeper taste as it ages. The amazake completed by the Vitamix machine is so smooth, creamy and rich, and gaining popularity for its uniquely profound taste. Not only do they sell, but they also carry out to let people know the delicious ways to eat miso and koji. The Shiokoji kit ($20) that contains mixed raw koji and salt, is popular among travelers because it is easy to carry around under natural temperatures.

Japanese cuisine has well settled into the local scenes lately, and more and more Americans even know what koji or shiokoji are, not to mention what miso is. Helped by such a background, wholesale orders are increasing from long-established San Franciscan grocers such as Rainbow Grocery and Bi-Rite Market, and also from restaurants. The catering menu that includes omelet cooked with amazake, tofu dengaku marinated in shiokoji, koji pickles, etc. is well received, and orders have also increased year after year for its simple yet deep tasting selection of items. Their Washoku Lunch menu which is gentle to your body, is also becoming an important part even for many Americans.

Mariko continues, “My goal is to have everybody make miso at home. Different miso for each family!” In order to achieve this goal of miso making and eating at every household, she is diligently putting efforts in miso making workshops and classes called “Terakoya Aedan”. She is expanding such activities to teach American citizens Japanese traditional food cultures by also having lectures at some museums and health-conscious specialty stores.

The number of fans of Aedan Fermented Foods has grown in the past 6 years due to its diligent efforts in conveying the good benefits of miso and koji. Now Mariko is planning to take a new step. At this point, there is no store fixture, but she is hoping to open a “Miso Café”, which would be a store with a café space.

There, she wants not only to sell miso and koji and serve miso soup and dishes, but also to have a space for miso-making workshops and cooking classes. Such days when you can enjoy body-friendly foods at a San Francisco’s very first fermented foods specialty café may come soon.


健康志向ブームで注目を浴びる発酵食品

サンフランシスコ最大のファーマーズマーケット、フェリープラザの土曜日に出店している味噌や麹などの発酵食品を売る「Aedan」が注目を集めている。

この２、3 年の発酵食品ブームを背景に、家庭の主婦からシェフまで買付が急増し、最近ではレストランのメニューで「koji」の字を時々見かける。日本古来から欠かせないものであった伝統の発酵食品を全て手作りで生産する会社、Aedan Fermented Foods ( 叡伝) が、ムーブメントを起こしている。

創設者の摩利子グレディ氏は、2011年の東日本大震災時、被災地のためにアメリカで何が出来るかを考えた時、味噌を作って、その売り上げを寄付したいとこのビジネスを立ち上げた。「それまでは家族の為に作っていました。その味噌を友人に買ってもらって、売り上げを寄付することを思いついたんです」と摩利子氏。味噌を家で作り始めたきっかけは、アメリカでも子供達に日本の伝統食文化を継承したいという思いからだ。「基本的に味噌と水があれば人間は数日生きていけることを知り、味噌の力のすごさを改めて感じたんです」。販売するにあたって味噌や麹についてさらに探求するうち、この日本の叡智を次の世代を担うアメリカの子供達、もっと多くの人々に伝えていきたいという気持ちが強くなったという。その想いは社名の「叡伝」に表され、会社のミッションになっている。

翌2012 年には、女性やマイノリティの起業を支援するインキュベーションキッチン、「ラ・コシーナ」に加わり、本格的な販売へと乗り出した。そこからラ・コシーナのビジネスアドバイスとサポートを受けながら商品の生産の種類、ビジネス形態も拡張した。例えば自家製発酵調味料を使った料理のケータリングや、ワークショップ、レクチャーなどを通じて地道に認知度を上げてきた。

2016年にはLLCを設立した。同年、食関係のスモールビジネスのオーナーなら誰でもあこがれる、土曜日のフェリービルディングファーマーズマーケットのレギュラー出店を獲得した。このテントでは、まだ味噌に馴染みがない人たちにもその魅力を伝えるため、味噌汁や甘酒（1杯$3)、味噌や塩麹などを使った発酵弁当($15) なども販売している。現在叡伝ではオーガニックの大豆と米を使い４種類の味噌に塩麹、Sagohachi という甘酒ベースの漬床や甘酒（各＄10）を製造販売している。ユニークなものでは大豆の代わりにひよこ豆を使ったChickpea Miso がある。地元で作っているため、加熱処理など発酵を止める処理をしていない味噌は、麹の酵素が生きており、熟成が進むほどに深い味わいになる。バイタミックスでなめらかに仕上げられた甘酒はクリーミーで濃厚と評判がよい。Aedan では、売る為だけではなく、味噌と麹の美味しい食べ方を人々に伝えるのが信条だ。

近年では日本食人気が定着し、味噌はもちろん、麹の認知度がアメリカ人に広がり、レインボーグローサリーやバイライトマーケットなど、サンフランシスコの老舗食料品店、レストラン、ケータリングの注文も増えている。年々増えているケータリングの内容は、甘酒を使った卵焼きや塩麹に漬け込んだ豆腐の田楽、麹のピクルスなどシンプルだが奥深い味わいのメニューが好評だ。体に優しい和食ランチはアメリカ人にとっても貴重な存在になっている。

さらに摩利子氏は、「目標はみんなに家で味噌を手作りしてもらうこと。一家に一味噌！」と、人々にそれぞれの家で味噌を仕込み使えるよう、味噌作りのワークショップ、「寺子屋叡伝」にも力を入れている。また、美術館や健康思考のスペシャリティストアに出向き講義も行うなど、活動を広げながら日本の伝統的食文化をアメリカ市民に教導している。

6 年かけて地道に味噌と麹の魅力を伝えてきた「叡伝」にはファンも増え、同司は次のステップをもくろんでいる。現在のところまだ固定店舗はないが、今後の展望はカフェを併設した“味噌カフェ” をオープンすることだという。味噌や麹の販売はもちろん、味噌汁や料理を提供するのみでなく、味噌作りワークショップ、料理教室も開催できるスペースを備えたいという。サンフランシスコ初の発酵食品スペシャリティーカフェで体に優しい食事を楽しめる日も近いかもしれない。

Aedan Fermented Foods: http://aedansf.com/

By Elli Sekine / Eri Shimizu

New Japanese cuisine projects have been more and more diversified each year, and the trend of the sushi business of the last few years has been high-end omakase style. However, in the Polk Street area where the rent is relatively cheap, there are many restaurants and bars with unique concepts run by young owners and entrepreneurs, which can be enjoyed casually thanks to the reasonably pricing. In this highly hopeful-prospect area, “Kuma Sushi and Sake” recently opened by a collaboration of a Japanese chef and an American chef. They declare “De-omakase style”, which is a rapidly increasing trend, and aim for creating a locally-loved casual dining place. In only 2 months from the opening, they already have earned regular customers.

The co-owners/chefs, Ryo Sakai and Cory Jackson, hit it off with each other while being trained under the same chef, and have worked together in a few other local area restaurants such as “Blow Fish”. After that, the experience in a project they planned together, a popup called “Pink Zebra” made a huge impact on deciding to open this restaurant. Ryo has been living in the Bay Area since his parents moved there from Japan when he was 4 years old. While he was working part-time in a Japanese restaurant during his school years, he was promoted to the kitchen staff, and it opened his eyes to the joy of making sushi. On the other hand, Cory was influenced by his father who loved to cook, and hoped to become a chef at a young age. He was trained in a local Japanese restaurant, and then moved to the Bay Area. He continued his training there in the kitchens of Aqua and Zuni Café.

Once stepped into the restaurant, a natural and modern space opens up, and gray walls and white wood interior under a high ceiling especially attract your attention. Behind the sushi counter on the right are various bottles of famous brand sakes. The interior artwork, murals by a local artist, and the logo by a friend, etc., show their concept of connecting to the local community and crafsmanship. Their “Getas (sushi plate/stand) are hand-made using California wine barrels, with which Ryo fell in love with, and specially custom-ordered them. The Geta’s adequately curved shape and naturally stained color gives a special feeling.

Their particularity about the menu is to offer the freshest, seasonal fish at reasonable prices. In San Francisco, where many sushi restaurants already exist and new restaurants keep opening, it is not easy to survive without being distinctively different from others. In order to be different, they came up with the idea of limiting the numbers of menu items and tables, but increasing the local repeat customers. In order to achieve that, many ingenious ideas are used in choosing the distributors, menu items, and even the operation system. For the fish, multiple distributors are used, depending on whether the fish is local or from Japan. For the drinks, whether sake or wine, each category is narrowed down to only 1 or 2 brands. There are no small bottles of sake, and sake is served by a carafe or by a glass poured from big bottles. It is cost-effective not to carry small bottles which take up a lot of storage space. The reason for carrying both sake and wine is for better paring with different sushi. They recommend “Tojikan” made of 100% Yamada-nishiki. The “Sake Flight” with 3 kinds of sake ($14) is also popular. They plan to change the brands periodically. In order to make good rotations by eliminating empty tables, they do not take reservations. You have to wait at the waiting bar area until your table becomes available while drinking and snacking.

Besides the main a-la-carte dishes, there are popular items such as the chef’s special which is the “5 kinds of sashimi plate” ($32), “4-piece nigiri sushi” ($16), and “8-piece nigiri sushi” ($32). The average cost per person with a drink is about $60, which is pretty reasonable. Daily special sushi/sashimi menu items include traditional Edo-mae style sushi ingredients such as tai (Japanese sea bream) with konbu seaweed, marinated tuna, ocean eel, etc. They use red tuna, not fatty tuna, and use its center for sashimi or sushi, and flavorful outside for marinades.

In order to please people who are not familiar with raw fish, they have many original sushi rolls. The most popular roll is the “Hey Girl” ($14), which has tempura shrimp inside, and is topped with tuna and avocado. The secret of its popularity is to show the live shrimp to the customer right before tempura-frying it. They also offer items like vegetable sushi for vegetarians, to accommodate many customers of different preferences.

Both Ryo and Cory disclose that in the future, they would like to see the restaurant become a friendly neighborhood place which cherishes not only their customers, but also other nearby restaurants and businesses. I would like to continue to keep an eye on the future activities of this restaurant which should turn out to be a sustainable business model that raises community values.


脱・オマカセ、地域密着型寿司店がオープン

新しい日本食プロジェクトは年々多様化し、寿司はハイエンドな「オマカセ」がこの何年かの潮流となっている。ポークストリート界隈では、家賃が比較的安いこともあり、若いオーナーや起業家がチャレンジするユニークなコンセプトで手軽な価格で楽しめるレストランやバーが多いエリアだ。今後さらに注目を集めそうなこの地域に、日米の寿司シェフがタッグを組んだ寿司レストラン、Kuma Sushi and Sake が新しくオープンした。近年急増中の“脱、高級オマカセ寿司”を宣言、カジュアルで地元に愛される店作りを目指し、オープン2 ヶ月で早くも常連客を獲得している。

オーナーシェフのリョウ・サカイ氏とコーリー・ジャクソン氏は、同じシェフの元で修行をしていたことから意気投合し、その後市内の「Blow Fish」など数件の寿司店で共に働いてきた。特に今年まで協働していたポップアップ、「Pink Zebra」 での経験が今回の店のオープンに大きな影響を与えた。リョウ氏は両親とも日本からの移住で、４歳からベイエリア在住。学生の時、日本食レストランでアルバイトをしていた際、キッチンスタッフに抜粋され、寿司を握ることの楽しさに目覚めたという。一方ジャクソン氏は、料理好きな父の影響で幼い頃よりシェフを目指し、地元の日本食店で修行。その後ベイエリアに移りAquaやZuniCafe のキッチンでも修行を重ねた。

店内に一歩足を踏み入れると、ナチュラルモダンな空間が広がり、中でも高い天井にグレーの壁と白木が目を引く。右手の寿司カウンターの背後には各種名酒がずらりと並んでいる。インテリアは、ローカルアーティストによる壁画や友達がロゴを制作するなど、地域と繋がりとクラフト感を大切にしている。寿司を乗せるゲタはカリフォルニアワインの樽を使った手作りで、リョウ氏が特に気に入って特別に注文したらしい。絶妙な丸みと使い込んだ色合いが風合いを持たせている。

メニューのこだわりは、旬の最高の魚を手頃な価格で提供すること。もともと既存の寿司店が多い上に近年新規参入も続くサンフランシスコでは、他店との差別化なしでは生き残りは難しい。そこで考えたのが、アイテム数と席数を抑え、地元のリピーターを増やすという方向性だった。そのため仕入れ先からメニューの決定、運営システムまで様々な工夫をしている。魚はローカルのものと日本からの魚を中心に扱う業者を複数使い分け、ドリンクリストは酒、ワインともそれぞれのカテゴリーから１〜２種ずつに絞り込んでいる。酒は小瓶は置かず一升瓶で仕入れた物をカラフェとグラスで提供する。保管スペースを取る小瓶を置かないことでコスト削減となるという。酒もワインも選ぶポイントは寿司とのペアリング。おすすめの銘柄は山田錦を100％使用した「杜氏鑑」。３種の酒フライト（$14)も人気がある。今後銘柄は定期的に入れ替えていく予定。空席を減らし回転率をあげるため、予約はとらない。客は席が空くまで店内のウェイティングバーでドリンクとつまみを楽しみながら待つ。

料理はアラカルトが基本だが、シェフおすすめの刺身５種盛り合わせ($32) や寿司4 貫($16) または8 貫($32) のセットも人気。価格は平均ドリンクを含んでも$60程度と手頃な価格設定だ。日替わりの寿司・刺身メニューには鯛の昆布締めやマグロの漬け、穴子など伝統的な江戸前ネタもある。マグロはあえてトロは置かず赤身のみだが、芯の部分はそのまま、外側は旨味が強いので漬けになど素材を活かす工夫をしている。生魚に抵抗のある客も楽しめるようにと、オリジナルのロール寿司の種類も多い。一番人気はエビの天ぷらを巻きマグロとアボカドをトッピングした「Hey Girl」($14)。揚げる前に客に生きたエビを見せるパフォーマンスも人気の秘密だ。またベジタリアン向きにも野菜寿司があり、様々な嗜好の客をターゲットにしている。

また、両氏は今後の店づくりとして、地元経済が発展するよう近隣の飲食店やほかのビジネスも「仲間」と意識する「地域作り」に貢献したいと語る。コミュニティの価値を上げる持続可能なビジネスモデルを掲げる同店の活動を注視していきたい。

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Kuma Sushi and sake
1040 Polk St. at Post
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 962-7400
http://www.kumasf.com/

Tues – Thurs 11:30am to 2pm, 5:30pm to 10pm
Friday 11:30am to 2pm, 5:30pm to 11pm
Saturday 5:30pm to 11pm
Sunday 5:30pm to 10pm
Closed on Monday

By Elli Sekine

The ramen boom of San Francisco sees no end in sight, and continues to enchant local ramen fans. During the past 10-year history of this SF ramen boom, those who took the lead of the first-phase must have been “Izakaya Sozai”, “Katanaya-Ramen”, etc. Among them, the signature dish of “Sozai”, the tonkotsu ramen, was voted as “the meal that you wish to have at least once before you die”, which drove ramen fans to rush in night after night. The truth was that this menu item was something the owner created in his spare time just for fun, but ended up as an item on the menu to finish a meal with. After that, the word “tonkotsu” spread quickly.

In the meantime, in Silicon Valley, “Orenchi” that opened 7 years ago in Santa Clara, had a major impact on the ramen boom by being so popular that people waited as long as 2 hours to get in. Since the “Orenchi” brand had pretty much been established, the second restaurant, stylish, and named “Orenchi Beyond” opened in 2015 in San Francisco, and is attracting a younger generation of people in San Francisco. Some of the restaurants which gathered a lot of attention for their openings in 2016 are “Nojo Ramen Tavern”, the first overseas development of AP Company known for “Tsukada Nojo”, specializing in jidori chicken cooking, “Iza Ramen”, the ramen department of a local popular sushi restaurant called “Blowfish”, and “Mensho Tokyo”, also the first overseas development from Tokyo which is currently breaking through. In Japan Town where the competition is very high, “Waraku” and “Yamadaya” started in LA, and Suzu” used to be the top 3; however, popularity is transitioning to newer restaurants like “Marufuku Ramen” that opened this year, and “Hinodeya Ramen”, also a new overseas development from Japan launched at the end of last year. “Marufuku Ramen” is especially popular; so much so that people form a long line every day. The restaurant that is attracting attention the most among the newly opened ones is “Ippudo”, the Hakata style ramen sanctuary, which is known worldwide, and finally opened in Berkley after a long preparation period.

As a new trend, there is an increase in the number of izakaya-style ramen restaurants which have developed from ramen specialty restaurants by adding a-la-carte dishes and various drinks on the menu. You could spend as much as 40 to 50 dollars per person in such a restaurant. Americans are getting more particular about tastes, and trends are moving toward “local gourmet foods” that offer traditional regional tastes. San Francisco’s ramen business industry is getting more diversified, and competition on a higher level continues to grow.

J-POP Ramen Summit
The “J-POP Summit”, the US’s largest festival of Japanese pop culture, was held on September 9th and 10th at Fort Maison Center. This event was produced by Yoshiyuki Maruyama who triggered the Bay Area ramen culture. The “Ramen Summit” that brought together 5 ramen restaurants, 4 from SF and 1 from Seattle, was a big success, and was very busy throughout with many visitors until the end. People formed a long line in front of every booth, and truly enjoyed comparing bowls of ramen of different popular restaurants, etc., which they can experience only at a festival like this. http://www.j-pop.com/

/////// Introduction of the restaurants ///////

1. Nojo Ramen Tavern
Their signature dish is gorgeous Chicken Paitan ($18.50 at the restaurant), in which a whole chicken leg is in the bowl. The rich thick broth accentuated with ginger and yuzu is profoundly tasty and volumerous. Medium thick curly noodles made of whole wheat flour are custom-made.
http://nojosf.com/

2. YOROSHIKU
It is a popular restaurant in Seattle, and the first time exhibitor of the Ramen Summit. Thier signature dish, made by the owner/chef from Hokkaido, is Spicy Miso ($14 at the restaurant). The broth is an excellent combination of white and red miso with added spicy chilli, and is very well received among Americans.
https://www.yoroshikuseattle.com/

3. Orenchi Beyond
Their signature dish is “Beyond Ramen” ($13.50). Its rich tonkotsu shoyu base with added fish stock and garlic is full of originality, and rich in taste and creates a good balance with medium-thick bouncy curly noodles. As new additions to the menu, they have miso-tamatoe base vegan ramen, tantanmen, etc.
http://orenchi-beyond.com/
　　
4. Marufuku Ramen
Traditional Hakata-style tonkotsu base broth cooked for 20 hours is a good match to its custom-made flavorful straight thin noodles. Their signature dish is Hakata Tonkotsu ($10.99). This restaurant is breaking through by offering the right richness, adjustable spiciness, various topping choices and a rich-variery of a-la-carte dishes.
https://www.marufukuramen.com/

5. Hinodeya Ramen & Bar
This restaurant came to the US for the first time to try to introduce authentic dashi culture. Its delicate flavorful dashi of bonito and konbu coats the medium-thick curly noodles well, and bring out the good taste. Its sophisticated, light-flavored dashi ramen and kappo-style a-la-carte dishes are differentiated from other restaurants, and has established a good reputation.
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SFラーメントレンド2017

サンフランシスコのラーメンブームは止まる所を知らない。次から次へと新しいコンセプトの店が登場し、地元のラーメンファンを魅了している。この10 年のSF ラーメンブームの歴史を振り返ってみると、第１次ブームを牽引したのは、「Izakaya Sozai」や「Katanaya-ramen」だろう。そのうち「Sozai」の名物、「豚骨ラーメン」は、ローカル誌の「死ぬ前に一度食べたい一品」に抜擢され、夜な夜なラーメンファンが駆けつけた。しかしこのメニュー、実はオーナーが趣味で作ったシメのメニューだった。それから「tonkotsu」のキーワードは一気に広まった。

一方、シリコンバレー、Santa Claraに７年前に登場した 「Orenchi」は、最長２時間待ちという盛況ぶりでラーメンブームに拍車をかけた。その“Orenchi”ブランドが確立した事もあり2015年、サンフランシスコにお洒落な２号店、「Orenchi Beyond」を開店し、SF の若年層を惹きつけた。2016 年のオープンで注目を浴びたのが、地鶏料理の「塚田農場」で知られるAP カンパニー初の米国進出になる「Nojo Ramen avern」、地元人気寿司店「Blowfish」のラーメンバージョン、「Iza ramen」と、東京から初米国進出でブレーク中の「MenshoTokyo」だ。そしてラーメン店の激戦区、日本街にはそれまで「Waraku」、LA 発祥の「Yamada-ya」、「Suzu」の３強だったが、今年オープンした新店舗「Marufuku Ramen」と去年暮れにオープンした日本からの初進出店、「Hinodeya Ramen」に人気は移行し、中でも「Marufuku」は、連日長蛇の列を成している。新規オープンで最も注目されているのが、長年の準備期間を経てバークレーに新オープンした、世界にその名を轟かす博多ラーメンの殿堂、「Ippudo」だ。

最近の傾向としては、ラーメン専門店から一品料理を加えドリンクの種類も揃えたRamen Izakara が増えている。中には一人の会計が＄40 〜50 という店も少なくない。アメリカ人の舌も肥え、流行は地方伝統の味を提供する“ ご当地グルメ” へと移行している。多様化が進むSF ラーメンビジネス業界は一層レベルアップした激戦が続いている。

J-POP ラーメンサミット
全米最大の日本ポップカルチャーの祭典、「J-Pop Summit」 が先日9 月9 日、10 日にFort Maison Center で開催され、 ベイエリアラーメンカルチャーの火付け役、丸山良幸氏がプロデュースした「Ramen Summit」は、SF ４軒とシアトルから１軒の計５店舗が結集し、終始大盛況で幕を閉じた。各ブースにはラーメンファンが長蛇の列を作り、祭りでしか体験できない人気店の一杯を食べ比べするなど堪能していた。http://www.j-pop.com/

/////// ラーメンサミットにラインアップした店舗紹介 ///////

1. Nojo Ramen Tavern
看板メニューは、チキンレッグが丸ごと丼に入ったゴージャスなChickenPaitan（店頭価格$18.50)。こってり濃厚なブロスはジンジャーやゆずの味のアクセントがあり、味わい深くボリューミーな絶品。全粒粉を使用した中太縮れ麺はカスタムメイド。　

2. YOROSHIKU
　シアトル一の人気店で、今回ラーメンサミットは初出店となる。北海道出身のオーナーシェフが作る看板メニューは、spycymisho（ 店頭価格＄14）。白味噌と赤味噌の絶妙な合わせでピリ辛チリを加えたブロスでアメリカ人に大好評。サンフランシスコへの進出を考慮中。

3. Orenchi Beyond
看板メニューは「Beyond ramen」（＄13.50) で、濃厚な豚骨醤油ベースに魚だしとニンニクを加えたオリジナリティ溢れるリッチな味わいで弾力がある縮れ中太麺とのバランスが良い。新作メニューには、味噌トマトベースのビーガンラーメン、担々麺などが揃う。

4. Marufuku Ramen
正統派、博多スタイル豚骨ベース。20 時間煮込んだブロスとカスタムメイドの風味良いストレート細麺との相性が引き立つ。看板メニューは、HakataTonkotsu ($10.99) で、こってりすぎず好みに合わせた辛さや追加トッピングを選べる。一品料理も豊富でブレーク中。

5. Hinodeya Ramen & Bar
本格的な出汁文化を紹介すべく挑んだ米国初進出店。風味豊かなカツオと昆布の繊細な本格和風だしと中太縮れ麺がブロスと程よく絡み美味しさを引き立たせている。代表ラーメンは、HidenyaRamen ($14) で、割烹風な一品料理も人気。「出汁ラーメン」は他店と差別化され、定評を得ている。

By Eri Shimizu

In the Mission District where many restaurants loved by gourmet eaters gather, an authentic omakase-style Edomae sushi restaurant, “Sasaki”, to which many such foodies give attention, opened toward the end of last year. This restaurant that is located on Harrison Street, just off the center of the District, is a compilation of the achievements of Masaki Sasaki, an experienced sushi chef who has helped Japanese restaurants in San Francisco gain a Michelin star or a Bib Gourmand status. There is no obvious sign board in front of the
restaurant, but only a small sign near the door. However, once you open the door, a sophisticated-looking space that resembles a high-end sushi restaurant in Ginza opens up.

Mr. Sasaki has been building his career as a sushi chef for nearly 40 years in the US. After working in notable restaurants in New York, the Bay Area, etc., he opened the sushi restaurant, Maruya, in the Mission District in 2013 with a partner, and gained Michelin star status. Only a year later, he left Maruya to pursue his own ideal sushi making style, and got involved in the launching of some popular restaurants in the news such as “Omakase” and “Delage”, as a sushi consultant. This is the first restaurant owned and managed by Mr. Sasaki, where you can taste authentic non-Americanized Edomae-style sushi.

They serve only one course menu at $180. The course consists of 3 parts starting with 3 or 4 kinds of small appetizers followed by 14 pieces of Nigiri-sushi, Akadashi miso soup, and dessert. Mr. Sasaki says that he does not serve assorted sashimi, meat dishes or roll sushi. In the course which is full of his particularity, a bite-size appetizer in a ceramic bowl is served first, and then Nigiri-sushi of seasoned tuna (which is the base of the Edomae-style sushi) is served. Red-meat tuna’s umami is enhanced when marinated, and its texture is viscous and rich. For the sushi rice to match such flavor, red vinegar made with aged sake leek is used. Red vinegar that has mellower umami compared to rice vinegar is typically used for Edomae-sushi. No sugar is contained. He says that the most important thing in sushi making is not fish, but rice. It is unusual in the US that different sushi vinegar is used depending on the menu. For the middle part of the course, regular rice vinegar is used for the sushi rice for
delicate flavored whitemeat fish and shell fish toppings, and red vinegar rice is used for more fatty or silverskinned fish toppings. After the seasoned tuna, a few appetizers including steamed abalone and cooked octopus are served, and then the course moves to the main nigiri part. Generally, many restaurants tend to serve light-tasting dishes such as white-meat fish before serving more fatty and rich ingredients, but this restaurant starts with 4 pieces of rich, heavy tasting neta (fish toppings) sushi such as fatty tuna and splendid alfonsino on red-vinegared rice. Then, after the miso soup, 4 pieces of light-tasting sushi such as shell fish and vinegar-marinated red snapper are served followed by extra fatty tuna, anago, Japanese shad, and a hand-roll. To finish the course, 2 egg dishes, Japanese style thick omelet and grated shrimp omelet cake are served for you to enjoy until the very end of the course.

The characteristic of Edomaestyle sushi is its concentrated umami and taste of seafood which are created by carefully combined work of Kombu seaweed, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. It is the technique developed by the wit of regular residents in Edo to cook locallycaught fish in the Tokyo Bay in the best way possible. The fish directly airtransported from Tsukiji are treated in the best way to concentrate its umami and to be preserved, and served in the most delicious state. Only 2 chefs, Sasaki and another kitchen chef, do all these preparations. It is understandable that the number of reservations are limited to 6 per day (18 on weekend with 3 rotation), dinner only. All the reservations are set at the same time, and everything starts at once when all the people have arrived. The rather low cypress wood counter designed specifically to make it easy to communicate with the customers does not have the usual refrigerated case. The ingredients are transported in a white wooden case from the kitchen in the back right at each change of the part of the course. The chef Sasaki explain each piece of
sushi they serve, and move the course smoothly in perfect harmony.

Sasaki’s aesthetic value is also reflected on the plates and bowls, and interior decorations. The plates and bowls are made by Mr. Yamanaka, Sasaki’s acquainted Buddhist temple priest in Odawara. Mr. Yamanaka’s creations are used at some San Franciscan Michelin-starred restaurants including Saison, Benu, and Manresa. Blackcolor plates are used for sushi so they stand out on the light-colored wooden counter. Besides carefully selected Japanese sake, champagne and wine that go with sushi are also offered. The $180 per course is not cheap, but the customers seem to understand the added values to the food, conversation with the artisan chef, performance, and ambience. I asked Mr. Sasaki about his future prospects. He wants to open a place like a hotel that serves specialty Japanese dishes. The legend of Edomae-style Sushi by an experienced artisan, Sasaki, who has been involved
in the history of food trend in the Bay Area for a long time has just begun.


ベテラン職人が作り出す真の江戸前鮨

食通に人気のレストランが軒を並べるミッション地区で、彼らが注目する本格的な江戸前寿司おまかせ店、「Sasaki ] が昨年の暮れオープンした。ミッションの中心から少しはずれたハリソンストリートに位置する同店は、サンフラ ンシスコの和食店をミシュラン星やビブグルマンに導いたベテラン寿司シェフ、佐々木 雅喜氏による集大成である。外観には　看板は無く、ドア部分に小さくのサインがあるのみ。しかし そのドアを開けると銀座の高級寿司店の ような洗練された空間が広が広がる。「Sasaki」は、純正の江戸前鮨のコースを味わう サンフランシスコ屈指のレストランだ。

佐々木氏はアメリカで寿司シェフとして40年近くキャリアを積んできた。ニューヨークやベイエリアの名店でシェフを務めた後、2013 年にはミッション地区に寿司店Maruya をパートナーと共にオープンしミシュランスターも獲得した。しかし自らの理想とする寿司スタイルを貫く為、１年後に同店を離れる。その後は寿司コンサルタントとして「Omakase」や「Delage」など、話題の店の立ち上げに携わってきた。そんな佐々木氏が今回初めて経営者となる店では、アメリカナイズされていない江戸前寿司が味わえる。

提供されるのは＄180のおまかせ１コースのみ。３～４品のおつまみに続き、握り寿司14 貫、赤だし、デザートという３部構成。「刺身盛り合わせや肉料理、揚げ物、ロールは出さない」と佐々木氏。こだわりのコースは、陶器の小箱に入った一口前菜に続いて、江戸前の基本である漬けマグロの握りが出される。マグロの赤身は漬けにすることで旨みが際立ち、食感もねっとりと濃厚な味わいだ。そのフレーバーに合わせたシャリは熟成させた酒粕を原料とした赤酢を使用している。江戸前鮨では伝統的に赤酢が使われ、米酢に比べてまろやかな旨みがある。そのため砂糖は使用しない。「寿司の中で一番大事なのは魚ではなくシャリ」とすし酢を変えて提供する店は全米でも珍しい。コースの中ほどに出される白身や貝類など繊細な味には、通常の米酢を使用し、脂の乗ったネタや光り物には赤酢のシャリと使い分けている。漬けマグロの後は蒸し鮑や煮だこなどのつまみが数品続き、メインの握りに移行する。一般的には白身など味わいの薄いものから脂の乗ったネタへと移行する店が多いが、ここでは赤酢のシャリを合わせた中トロやキンメなど濃厚な魚の寿司４貫から始まる。そして吸い物の後、貝類や酢じめの春子鯛などのさっぱりした握りが４貫、その後再び赤酢のシャリで大トロや穴子、コハダ、手巻きと続く。締めに出される卵焼きは、卵のみの厚焼き卵とエビのすり身を使ったカステラ卵の２種類が提供され、最後まで楽しませてくれる。

江戸前鮨の特徴は昆布や塩、醤油、酢などを用いた「仕事」で魚の旨みや味わいを凝縮するところにある。東京湾で上がった魚をいかに保存し、美味しく食べるかという江戸庶民の知恵から始まった技だ。築地から直送された魚には全て「仕事」が施され、最も美味しい状態で提供される。佐々木氏ともう一人のキッチンスタッフの２人だけで行うのだから、１日限定ディナーのみ６席（２回転12 客）（週末は３回転で18 客）の予約のみというのもうなずける。予約時間は決まっており、全員が揃ったところで一斉にスタートする。客との対話がしやすいようにとあえて低めにデザインしたヒノキのカウンターの下には通常あるはずの冷蔵庫がない。握り寿司のネタはシャリを変えるタイミングと同時に奥のキッチンから白木のネタケースに入れて運ばれる。コースは佐々木氏の料理の説明と共に流れるように進んでいく。

器やインテリアにも佐々木氏の美学が反映される。器は知人の小田原の住職、山中氏の手によるもの。山中氏の器はSaison やBenu、Manresa といったSFのミシュラン星レストランでも使われている。鮨を乗せる「ゲタ」も白木のカウンターに映える黒の正方形スレートが使用されている。ドリンクメニューは、厳選した日本酒だけでなく、鮨に合うシャンパンやワインも提供。コースで＄180は決して安くはないが、お客には料理だけではなく、職人との対話、演出、雰囲気を全て揃えた価値観は伝わっているようだ。佐々木氏に今後の展望を尋ねると、いつかは料理旅館のような宿を始めたいという。長年ベイエリアでトレンドの変遷に関わってきたベテラン職人、佐々木氏による「江戸前寿司」の新たな伝説が始まる。

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SASAKI
2400 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 828-1912
http://www.sasakisf.com/index.html

Tues.-Thurs./ 6:00pm-11:00pm
Fri.-Sat./ 5:30pm-11:00pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday

By Elli Sekine

“Hitachino Nest Beer”, known by its red owl logo, is gaining popularity in the US. The number of fans of this premium craft beer is growing, especially among foodies. The “Red Owl Phenomenon” seems to be appearing wildly in and out of the metropolitan areas of the US cities. For example, at “Whole Foods”, one of the specialty store chains, the space for the colorful owls (various kinds of the owl brand beer) has constantly been increasing each year, and in New York, you see its unique delivery trucks all over the city. The “Hitachino Nest Beer”, which was born in a small brewery in the Ibaraki prefecture, has now become one of the leading Japanese craft beer brands. Subsequently, this spring, the first US captive restaurant, “Hitachino Beer + Wagyu” opened in the downtown area of San Francisco. It is an exclusive restaurant where you can enjoy the first directly-imported Japanese draft beer, which has been long-awaited by many Nest Beer fans, along with the Hitachino brand wagyu.

The “Hitachino Nest Beer” is made by “Kiuchi Brewery”, a brewery with over 200 years of history in Hitachino city. There, a traditional way of saké making has been carried over multiple generations, and they still make saké. However, as years go by, saké making has been decreasing every year in Japan, and currently, there are only about 1,200 breweries compared to 3,500 in 1962 (by National Tax Agency).

A seventh generation sake-maker of Kiuchi Brewery, Toshiyuki Kiuchi, the Senior Executive of Kiuch Brewery Company, suggested to take on a brand-new beer brewing business to survive in the industry by taking advantage of the craft beer boom happening at that time. The “Hitachino Nest Beer” was thus born in 1996. The craft beer boom died down in two years, but Kiuchi Brewery survived. Not only did they survive, they started to expand to the rest of the world. “We were making beer anyway, so we wanted to make the kind of beer that can be accepted world-wide,” said Mr. Kiuchi, reminiscing. They were so determined.

They hired a beer brewing specialist from the US, and succeeded to earn the “World Beer Cup” title within 2 years from the start of the sales in 1998. They have been looking 10, 20 years ahead since, and strengthening the overseas export business. Now, 20 years since the start of the sales, Mr. Kiuchi’s strategy for overseas has worked out well. The beer branch has been separated from the saké branch of the company as “Kiuchi Brewery N”, and the beer factory in Ibaraki prefecture has been expanded for the production. About 50% of the whole production is exported, and half of it is for the US. New York accounts for the majority of the sales in the US.

However, why was San Francisco chosen for the first restaurant? “In the whole US, they have the biggest foodie population, and their gourmet related information will spread worldwide with no time,” says Mr. Kiuchi. Compared to New York, the California market has only a 15% share, and is still under developed. He said that he did not think twice about choosing this location in order to strengthen the brand power. To prove it right, as soon as the red owl sign got illuminated in downtown, many people gathered right away. Most of the crowd were young Hitachino Beer fans. They looked happy, drinking the draft beer from the 10 different kinds of taps.

There is a large counter by the entrance of the restaurant, and the interior decorated with the furniture which used to be used at Ibaraki’s Kiuchi Brewery has created a serene Japanese ambience. The pub area is around the counter, and the dining area is in the back with tables for relaxed eating. The menu for the two areas are different. For the counter bar, you can choose and take small dishes in a cup (a glass cup as you see in any Japanese vending machine) filled with nikujaga, kakuni, salad, pickles, etc. to your plate to eat. On the other hand, the restaurant space is for reservations only. Hitachino brand wagyu is imported directly, and a wagyu course meal is served.

The executive chef is Noriyuki Sugie, who is also from Hitachino. He is known for his skillful collaboration of Japanese and western cuisine popups in San Francisco. He met Hitachino Beer while he was working at the Mandarin Hotel in New York, and has been doing beer collaborations with Kiuchi Brewery all over the word. The unique course meal using Hitachino brand Wagyu A5 attracts customers with its long-learned international cooking technique with a Japanese twist. The taste of the Japan-produced beef is wonderful, and the price is reasonable.

“Hitachino Nest Beer” keeps moving at high speed from the Ibaraki prefecture to the world, and never seems to stop. In 2014, they built the first overseas large beer factory in South Korea to expand their overseas markets. Whereas in Japan, they opened Hitachino Brewing Labs where anyone can experience craft beer brewing, in Kanda, Tokyo, etc. to establish a new craft beer era. Its rapid growth must be due to their passion for beer making which is particular about using pure Japanese produce (most of it is made in Ibaraki in the efforts to contribute to hometown revitalization), and the branding strategy. I feel proud of Kiuchi Brewery who has demonstrated a real example as to how to have Japanese craft beer be recognized by the world.


茨城県から生まれた「常陸野ビール」レストラン米国一号店がオープン！クオリティーとブランド力を追求する

赤いフクロウのロゴでお馴染みの「常陸野ネストビール」が米国で人気急上昇中だ。特にフーディーの間ではプレミアムクラフトとして愛飲者が増えている。すでに「ホールフーズ」等のスペシャリティーストアでは、年々棚一列に色とりどりのフクロウ（数種類のビール）がその幅を拡張しており、ニューヨークではこの専用輸送トラックが街を走り回るほど、“赤いフクロウ現象”が米国都市部を中心に吹き荒れている。いまやジャパニーズクラフトビールの代表格となったのが、茨城県の小さな酒蔵から生まれた「常陸野ネストビール」なのだ。そしてこの春、全米に先駆け直営第一号店となるレストラン、「Hitachino Beer＋Wagyu」がサンフランシスコ、ダウンタウンにオープンした。“ネストビール”ファンが待ちわびた、米国で初めて日本直輸入のドラフトビールと常陸野ブランドの和牛が楽しめるエクスクルーシブな店だ。

常陸野ネストビールの醸造元は、茨城県、常陸野市で200年以上の歴史を持つ蔵元、「木内酒造」。ここでは代々伝統的な酒造りを継承し、今でも日本酒造りが続けられている。しかし時代の流れと共に、国内では日本酒の消費が年々減り続け、1962年に3,500蔵あったとされる酒蔵も現在では約1,200蔵に減少している。
（日本国税局調べ）その現状を重く受け止めた7代目、木内酒造取締役の木内俊之氏は、当時の地ビールブームを後ろ盾に生き残りをかけて新規ビール醸造事業を考案。そして1996年に生まれたのが、「常陸野ネストビール」だ。ブームは2年後には衰退したが、木内酒造は行き残った。それどころか世界進出を始めたのだ。その時のことを、「どうせ作るなら世界に通用するビールを作りたかった」と木内氏は振り返る。本格的にビール醸造専門家を米国から雇用し、1998年の販売開始から約２年で米国「ワールドビアカップ」でタイトル獲得にまで漕ぎつけた。そこから10年後、20年後を見据え海外輸出を強化した。そして現在がその20年後になるのだが、木本氏の海外戦略は見事に成功している。ビール事業は酒事業と分業され、「木内酒造合弁会社N」とし、茨城県のビール工場を拡張して生産されている。

海外輸出はその内約50％、その半分が米国輸出となっている。米国での販売数はニューヨークが圧倒的に多い。しかしなぜ第一号店はサンフランシスコだったのか。「全米の中で最もフーディーな人口が多く、ここからのグルメ情報はあっという間に世界に広がる」と木内氏。NYと比べるとまだカリフォルニア市場は17％の普及途上にある。ブランド力を高める為、ロケーションに迷いはなかったという。その期待に応えるように、ダウンタウンに赤いフクロウの看板が点灯されると、たちまち多くの人が訪れた。客の大半は若年層の“ネストビール” ファン達。彼らは初めて口にする直輸入のタップ10種類を飲み比べならが楽しんでいた。

店内は入り口には大きなカウンターが設置され、茨城県の「木内酒造」で使用していた家具を設置し、和の情緖を醸し出している。カウンター周りがパブ部門で、奥にはテーブルでゆっくり食事ができるダイニングに分かれる。メニューは異なり、カウンターではユニークなワンカップ（日本の自販機で見られるガラスカップ）に入った肉じゃがや角煮、サラダ、漬物などのつまみが中心だが、最近アラカルトの注文もできるようになった。一方、レストランは予約優先で、和牛も常陸野ブランドを直輸入し、「和牛コース料理」を提供している。

エグゼキュティブシェフには、同じく常陸野出身の杉江のりゆき氏が務める。

彼はサンフランシスコでは和と洋をコラボさせた匠な料理のポップアップでその名を知られている。NYのマンダリンオリエンタルホテルでシェフを勤めていた際常陸野ビールと出会い、木内酒造とこれまで世界各国でビールコラボを続けてきた。独特の常陸野ブランドA ５和牛を使ったコース料理は、繊細な味付けと巧みな食材の組み合わせ。今まで培った国際的な料理のテクニックに和のツイストを加えて客を魅了している。価格設定($78 〜)もリーズナブル。

茨城県から世界に快進撃を続ける「常陸野ネストビール」はとどまるところを知らない。

2014年には韓国に海外発の大規模なビール工場を設立し海外販路を広げている。一方国内では、だれでもクラフト醸造の体験ができる「常陸野ブルーイング・ラボ」を神田や東京にオープンし、新しいクラフトビール時代を築いている。その急成長は、純国産（殆は茨城県産でふるさとの活性化に貢献している）にこだわったビール作りの情熱とブランディング戦略の賜物でろう。日本産クラフトビールが世界に認めらる実例を作った「木内酒造」という小さな酒蔵が創る純国産クラフトビールが、世界に認められた実証がここにある。

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Hitachino Beer and Wagyu
639 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 792-6160
http://www.hitachinosf.com/

Tuesday - Saturday 4:30PM–12AM

By Eri Shimizu / Editing: Elli Sekine

Although Napa Valley, known for its wine producing, is located in the Bay Area where many high-end and high-quality Japanese restaurants already exist, there was no Japanese restaurant in the valley. Finally, last year in 2016, Japanese restaurants such as “KENZO”, a high-end restaurant, started to open one after another. "Miminashi” is the first restaurant which opened there in May, and gained popularity quickly. The name, “Miminashi” was derived from a well-known Japanese folk tale, “Miminashi Hoichi”, which was chosen by the owner/chef Curtis Di Fede. He wished that the restaurant would last for a long time as a good restaurant just like the character Hoichi in the story who endured hardships throughout his life.

Mr. Curtis is from an American family from Napa, which has continued for four generations, which is rare in the US. He also grew up in Napa. After being trained in Michelin-star restaurants in Napa such as “Bouchon” and “Terra”, he became the chef of “Oenotori”, a southern-Italian style restaurant which was opened in 2010. Their casual menu using local ingredients gained a lot of repeat customers, and “Oenotori” grew to be a very popular restaurant loved by the local customers. However, in order to stay with his principle which is to stick to his original techniques, Mr. Curtis left “Oenotori”, and opened his own place for the first time. But, why a Japanese food restaurant?　

For 3 years after leaving “Oenotori”, he went all over the world to eat specialty foods of each country. His first encounter with yakitori was at an outside vendor in Shinjuku. He was shocked to know that so many different parts of chickens were used, and there were so many different textures and tastes. He also fell in love with the lively atmosphere of izakaya-style restaurants, and wanted to bring it back to Napa, which triggered the opening of this first restaurant. In order to break the stereotypical image of Japanese food which equals to sushi, “Miminashi” purposely does not serve sushi. The heavy white wood door with numerous protrusions designed based on the image of Mt. Fuji is impressive.

Once you step inside, you are surrounded by customers who are filling the place in a noisy and lively ambience. There is a bar counter with wine and sake bottes in the middle, which naturally draws you to liquors first. On your left, there is a yakitori counter and tables from where you can see the Binchotan charcoal burning, and on your right are more private booths.
　
The main menu items are Binchotan charcoal broiled yakitori, ramen, and a-la-carte dishes. The chickens are brought in uncut, so in addition to regular yakitori parts such as liver and gizzard, they can serve rare parts in the States such as tail, hearts, and gristle. They even serve grilled skewers with ingredients other than chicken such as pork short rib, Maitake mushrooms, etc. The variety is as wide as they are in Japanese yakitori specialty restaurants. They even serve chicken sashimi when French blue leg chickens are available. For the ramen dishes, they serve different flavors such as rich tonkotsu or light seafood base depending on the weather of the day. As their particularity, Hokkaido konbu seaweed is used for all the ramen soup base as a common ingredient. The toppings such as marinated eggs, house-made kimchee, poached chicken slices, etc. are also offered varied depending on the day. 　

The ingredients are bought at the local markets weekly by the chef. He creates original a-la-carte menu items using local organic and seasonal ingredients that he buys. Examples of these are “Roasted Beets Salad” ($12) (made with popular Californian ingredients such as beets and blood oranges with nori and wasabi dressing), “Grilled Romanesco Cauliflower” ($8.50) (made with roasted cauliflower topped with yuzu, bonito shavings, and fried tempura batter crumbles), etc., which are a unification of local ingredients and Japanese flavors. The sashimi plate that changes daily is served with original condiments such as blood orange pepper, and fresh wasabi aired from Japan, which is an extra charged item.

The drink menu is selected with food paring in mind. The wide variety includes all kinds of sake brands from Hon-jozo to Junmai dai-ginjo, Japanese and local beers such as Asahi, COEDO, and Hitachino, and European wines.

Mr. Curtis is very particular about the soft-serve ice cream ($7). He encountered Hokkaido soft ice cream in Japan, and was so impressed. He wants to make it a popular American dessert that can surpass the boom of frozen yogurt. He is planning to open multiple soft ice cream specialty shops in the future. The restaurant in Napa is already so popular, and people including tourists wait in line to get in every day.

I asked him his prospects for the future. He said that he would like to keep introducing the charm of the collaboration of traditional Japanese tastes with Napa for now. I would like to see the success of this restaurant in becoming a long-lasting and well-loved izakaya which was finally born in Napa.


ナパバレー初！カリフォルニアシェフが繰り広げる本格居酒屋

高級店から庶民派まで日本食レストランが充実しているベイエリアにあって、ワインの生産地として有名なナパバレーは日本食空白地帯だった。

しかし昨年2016年、注目されるハイエンドの「KENZO」を始め、日本食レストランが相次いでオープンした。その先頭を切って去年５月にオープンした「Miminashi」がたちまち人気を集めている。日本人ならお馴染みの怪談「耳なし芳一」からとった店名にはオーナーシェフ、カーティス・ディ・フェーデ氏（Curtis Di Fede)の思い入れがある。同店が道中に「芳一」苦難があった時にも耐え、良き店として長く続くように、と。

カーティス氏はアメリカでは珍しい４世代続くナパ出身家系の４代目で ナパ育ち 。ナパバレーのミシュランスターレストラン、「Bouchon」や「Terra」で修行後、2010年にオープンした南イタリア料理店「Oenotori」のシェフとなる。ローカルの食材を使ったカジュアルな料理はリピーターを呼び、同店は地元客に愛される人気レストランに 成長した 。 しかし、シェフの独自の手法 を貫きたい思いから、同店を離任し、今回初めて独自店舗を構えた。でもなぜ日本食だったのか？　

「Oenotori」を離職後３年間、カーティス氏は世界各地の食を食べ歩いた。カーティス氏が初めて焼き鳥と出会ったのは新宿の屋台。鶏にはこれほど沢山の部位があり、食感や味わいが違うのかと衝撃を受けたという。そして活気溢れる居酒屋の雰囲気をぜひ地元ナパにも再現したいと思いが今回のオープンにつながった。カーティス氏はアメリカ人のステレオタイプである寿司 というイメージを一新する如く、あえてMiminashiでは寿司を提供していない。富士山をイメージしたという無数の突起のついた重厚な白木のドアが印象的な店構え。扉を開け一歩中に入ると、満席の客の喧騒と熱気に包まれる。ワインや日本酒のボトルの並ぶバーが中央にあり、まずアルコールに目に入る。左手には備長炭の炎を見ながら食できる焼き鳥カウンターとテーブル席、右手に個室感覚のブース席がある。

メニューの中心は、備長炭で焼き上げる焼き鳥とラーメン、そして一品料理だ。ここ では、丸鶏を仕入れ、店内で捌くため、レバーや砂肝はもちろん、アメリカでは珍しいボンジリやハツモト、ヒザナンコツなどの部位も使用。さらに豚カルビや舞茸など鶏以外の串焼きもまるで日本の焼き鳥屋のように種類が豊富。さらにフランス原産の鶏ブルーレッグチキンが入荷した時には鳥刺しもある。一方、ラーメンのスープは濃厚な豚骨やあっさり魚介ベースなど、その日の天候によって変える。しかし、どのスープも共通してベースには北海道産の真昆布を使うのがこだわりだ。具材も味付け玉子や自家製のキムチ、ポーチドチキンなど日替わりである。

食材はカーティス氏が毎週マーケットに足を運び、 地元オーガニック食材を使った季節感がある一品料理メニューを創作する。野菜料理はRoasted Beet Salad（$12)（ビーツやブラッドオレンジなどカリフォルニアで人気の組み合わせに海苔やわさびドレッシング）やGrilled Romanesco Cauliflower($8.5)（カリフラワーのローストに柚子や鰹節、天かすのトッピング）など、ローカル食材と日本のフレイバーが融合した料理が並ぶ。

日替わりメニューの刺身には、ブラッドオレンジ胡椒などオリジナルの薬味が添えられ、日本から空輸で仕入れるフレッシュわさびは別注文となる。

ドリンクメニューはフードペアリングを重視したセレクトで、本醸造から純米大吟醸までバラエティに富む日本酒、アサヒやCOEDO、Hitachinoなどの日本ビールとローカルビール、そしてヨーロッパワインも多く揃える。

もう一つカーティス氏がこだわるのはソフトクリーム($7)だ。北海道で出会ったソフトクリームに感動したカーティス氏は、アメリカでソフトクリームをフローズンヨーグルトブームを超える人気デザートにしたいと意気込み。今後のソフトクリーム専門店を複数店舗展開も目論む。すでにナパを訪れる観光客を中心に毎日行列ができるほど賑わっている。

カーティス氏に今後の展望を聞くと、まずは現在の店を地元の人から支持が得られるように日本伝統の味とナパのコラボの魅力を伝えていきたい とのこと。ようやくナパに誕生したIzakayaが多くの人に長く愛される 店になるのを期待したい。

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Miminashi
821 Coombs St, Napa, CA 94559
(707) 254-9464
http://miminashi.com/

Mon.-Fri./11:30AM–2:30PM, 5:30–10:00PM (Fri. until 11:00PM)
Sat./5:00PM-11:00PM
Sun./5:00PM-9:30PM