Uni, burrata, button mushroom, yuzu
Son of a Gun
Los Angeles

Do you guys all know my pops? His name is Kunio, and he is a sushi chef. Classically trained as a tempura chef, he was offered to transfer to Los Angeles where Inagiku, the Tokyo restaurant he worked at, was opening a location in the iconic Bonaventure Hotel. So, the Akaboris all ended up in sunny LA in 1980.

Kuni has a sparkling sense of humor, but you wouldn’t really think so if you saw him working at Sushi Kuni, his restaurant in Cupertino, CA. Handling raw fish is a sensitive matter, so he is all concentration, all the time.

Kuni hates being photographed.

Kuni is a painter, and his artful mind comes out in his dishes. He loves to play with the colors of the ingredients, shapes and techniques. He is a great chef who is passionate about his work.

Today, let’s talk about makimono, which literally translated to “wrapped things”. In the world of sushi, we are talking about rice and condiments wrapped in crispy nori (seaweed). But in the overly-indulgent Western world of Spider, Rainbow and (Insert Local Sports Team Name) rolls, the real-deal makimono get no love. So let’s get back to basics and highlight some of the makimono that you would actually be able to order at a sushi counter in Tsukiji market.

Hosomaki vs. Temaki

Hosomaki is hoso = thin; maki = roll. It is usually cut into six pieces and are little bite-size portions.
Temaki is te = hand; maki = roll. Hence, the handroll. It is not cut up into pieces, and you just eat it… in hand. Temaki parties are also very easy and fun.

Tekka Maki

This roll is one of the most basic of the makimono. Fresh, raw tuna with rice and a dab of wasabi, wrapped in nori. Kuni tells me that this is roll was names after the tekka-ba, which was the name of the gambling halls back in the 1800s. According to Kuni, the invention of the tekka-maki came from when they served these little juicy finger food while the men were gambling. They are easy to eat, and so damn good. He believes that the tekka-maki was one of the very first makimono, preceded by the kanpyo maki (seasoned dried gourd), since they could be preserved for longer.

Kappa Maki

Kappa maki is simply a fresh julienned cucumber roll. It is named after the mythical Japanese turtle-frog creature, kappa, who like to eat cucumbers.

Futomaki

Futo-i means “fat” so this is literally a “fat roll”. Different chefs have their own way of making them, but generally it will contain boiled spinach, kanpyo (seasoned dried gourd) and tamago-yaki (fried egg). Kuni also adds seasoned shiitake mushrooms and some ebi (shrimp).

Kanpyo on its own is a makimono classic, but I always end up getting Kuni’s futomaki for all the additional ingredients.

Shiokara Temaki

Ok, this is not an ordinary roll, but Kuni wanted me to taste his freshly-made shiokara (marinated squid in guts) so he wrapped it up as a temaki with a shiso leaf. It is really delicious (and fabulously fishy), so you should ask for one if you are ever at Sushi Kuni.

Oshinko Maki

Oshinko are pickles. In makimono, the pickles uses are usually the bright yellow takuwan, which are pickled daikon radish. Here, Kuni adds shiso leaves for added flavor.

Umeshiso Maki

This is always my shime (ending) of a sushi meal. The ume (pickled plum) and shiso are a classic combination. I also ask for cucumber or sometimes yamaimo (mountain potato).

I also often ask for shari-nashi tamago at the end of a meal, which is the fried egg with no rice.

Makimono are excellent interludes in a traditional sushi meal. Now, don’t get me wrong — I am a sucker for Spicy Tuna, California and Spider rolls too. And I always order a negi-toro maki (toro with scallions). When I am too poor for fabulous nigiri sushi, I just go somewhere cheap for rolls. There’s no shame in it, and the purists should just embrace the decadent sushi roll culture. Although Rainbow rolls really are kinda gross.

Thanks Kuni for the makimono basics!

I will be continuing this column, hopefully monthly. If you have any sushi-related questions for Kuni, please feel free to comment below!

The Umami Mart Shop popped up in Old Oakland for five days last week inside Piper + John General Goods, located on the charming brick road of 9th Street. It was a great success! We launched on the bustling “First Friday”, which is a huge sprawling art party throughout Oakland every month, thrown by the organization Art Murmur.

Nicole of Piper + John was so kind to let us have a prime corner in the entryway. All our products looked dashing in the sunlight.

We served sake from Takara. First pour was complimentary, and bottomless pours if you bought a sake glass!

Maya Shiroyama of the Kitazawa Seed Company — she’s based in Oakland!

Piano and clarinet by the super talented John Brothers Piano Company:

We were all happy to have such incredible musicians right on the sidewalk.

One of the most valuable aspect we learned about having a physical space are the people that you meet and talk to for feedback — something you seldom get from just running an online shop. And most importantly, we got to talk to people about our products! We feature many items that people had never even seen before (like the pickle press!). It was so great to be able to talk about our stuff and how to use them properly.

Jacobo and Washi:

Thank you so much for all of our friends and supporters for stopping by throughout our five-day stay at Piper + John. A huge thank you and big hug for Nicole Buffett, owner of Piper + John, whose creative mind and collaborative spirit continues to inspire us.

Now, wouldn’t it be great if we opened our own shop…?????

*Photos by Johnny Lopes. 

The 100 Year Punch is a cocktail that features a couple of unique ingredients that highlight the Korean heritage of its creator, Daniel Eun (who also created the #8 cocktail). Baekseju (also spelled Bek Se Ju) or “100 Year Wine,” is a rice and corn based Korean wine flavored with ginseng and other herbs. Apparently it is believed that drinking this wine leads to longevity, hence the name. It clocks in at 13% ABV (alcohol by volume) and tastes like a cross between a sake and a low proof amontillado sherry, so it’s definitely easy on the liver. And it’s pretty damn delicious even on its own — in fact I’m sipping on some as I’m writing this.

The other unique component in this drink is the rice syrup, which can be found in Korean grocery stores. In the book it mentions Ssal-Yut rice syrup, but Ssal-Yut is just the brand name, so use another brand if your local Korean store doesn’t carry it.

100 Year Punch
1 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Bourbon
1 oz Bek Se Ju “100 Year Wine”
0.25 oz Rice Syrup
2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters
Zest of half tangerine peel
Whole nutmeg for grating
Q Tonic bottled tonic water to top

Tools: barspoon, mixing glass, strainer, zester, nutmeg grater
Glassware: chilled, ice-filled rocks glass

Method: Add everything except the nutmeg and tonic water to a mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled. Fine strain (using julep strainer and tea strainer) into an ice-filled rocks glass. Top with 1 oz Q Tonic and freshly grated nutmeg.

I was really curious about how this drink would taste because I had never heard of some of these ingredients before. Between the trip to Koreatown to procure the ingredients and zesting the tangerines, it took what seemed a 100 years to make this drink, so the name is an apt one. It’s all worth it in the end because you’re unlikely to try a drink with such a unique flavor profile anywhere.

Despite not having any juice in its ingredient list, it still manages to be a pretty light and refreshing cocktail. The single ounce of Bourbon has something to do with that, but it’s also due to the flavor profile of the Bek Se Ju. There’s a lot going on in this drink, and it all comes together: tangerine peel, ginseng, quinine from the tonic water, cinnamon from the bitters, vanilla from the Bourbon, nuttiness from both the wine and the nutmeg. Given the task involved with procuring the ingredients, this is a drink best made in larger batches and best enjoyed in the company of others.

*This post is part of a series in which Payman takes on the task of making and writing about every cocktail featured in the PDT Cocktail Book, as well as providing an awesome photo of each drink taken by Vanessa Bahmani Photography. 

**Got a question? He can be found on twitter @paystyle, you can email him at payman@pdtproject.com, or simply drop him a comment below.

*Nahoko Morimoto is a Tokyo-based photographer. Her work has been featured in Brutus and Vogue Japan.

Mr. Thad Vogler needs no introduction. He is a leading barman in the Bay Area and beyond, who opened Bar Agricole in San Francisco in 2011. Named after agricole rum (rum made with 100% raw cane sugar), Thad has put his heart, soul, personal philosophies, and many years of experience into the restaurant — which was the only west coast establishment to be nominated for James Beard Award’s Best Bar Program this year.

Thad is a towering presence, whose gentile, eloquent mannerisms and witticisms always makes people feel at ease. He mentioned that he lived in Japan for a year, bartending at a sports club — could you imagine?

Here, he makes the El Presidente, a rum cocktail classic. Thad’s precision and care for cocktail-making is always inspiring to watch. He makes it look so easy!

We all agreed that this was an awesome cocktail. Cheers!

Watch all the segments of this series:
Part 1: Jon Santer (Prizefigher) makes the Revolver
Part 2: Tomokazu Kai (Heuga Bar)
Part 3: Ryan Fitzgerald (Beretta)

Tourists and tapas.

Two things in this world which I am not a big fan of. Why then, would I go to Mallorca? The infamous Spanish tourist trap of an island, overrun by chubby European expats from the 1960′s and forward. Cardboard hotels, hoards of purple-haired 65 years old suburban working class wives smoking in the dirty hotel pools, “pig parties” with sangria, fake latin music and roasted pork fat galore into the early hours was how you went on a “real holiday” back then.

Then, in the mid-1990′s cheap plane tickets began to offer even more exotic destinations and the Mallorca service industry suddenly woke up to another reality of empty hallways and resort ghost towns.

View from train window.

Since then the little island in the Balearic/Mediterranean Sea north of Africa has demolished several amounts of hotels and run down pool areas — and rebuilt new urban areas and parks from the ground up.

And well, I went here because everyone told me that this place was the hottest shit again and that I’d love it. Which turned out to be true.

It’s still a very touristy island, but mostly in certain Southern parts. Big hotels with people who spend a whole week between the pool and the bar.

But that’s mostly in those isolated resort places. The rest of the island has an abundance of other stuff to offer for the more… er… curious visitor. It’s a sun-kissed, lush piece of rock — filled with orange groves, small beautiful inlets and fjords filled with aquamarine blue waters and white sand beaches. Olive trees, sheep herds, tall mountains and almond bushes. Even Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró fell in love with this place and lived here for a large part of their lives.

I spent 6 days in the capital of Palma de Mallorca, and the food was a big surprise. I usually don’t like tapas. Oil-soaked little nasty sausages, boring and cold pieces of paté made from an unknown kind of worn out old animal, stiff dry slices jamón…

Thanks, I’ll pass. But in Mallorca it was different — the tapas were fresh, interesting, varied and CHEAP! The rest of the food scene as well. I don’t think I’ve ever had that many delicious cortados in such little time.

Here’s a little sum up of what we had and where we had it:

Breakfast: Almost every day we went down to this cute little restaurant with an all organic breakfast buffet. Each thing cost 1 Euro ($ 1.30) CHEAP!

Ensaimada: traditional Mallorcian breakfast pastry. And home baked bread with fresh ham and mild cheese. Cortado on the side.

Nice Spanish interiors with open ceiling and iron coloumns. Love the rustic plants on each table instead of silly roses in a small vase etc.

Lunch at the weekly market in the little town of Sineu in the middle of the island. Lots of crap, lots of tourists.

But also great traditional Spanish lunch plates with pickles, vegetables, ham and cheese on bread.

Meringue, and other cakes.

Harbour cruise. With rum & coke and some weird, morning pee-looking licorice tasting Spanish liquor.

The marine harbour — fish nets laying out to dry.

Evening snack at the top tapas place in Palma: La Boveda. View to the waterfront. This is where hustlers and beggars gather to sell silly hats and blinking souvenirs (because this restaurant is a hot pick in the guide books and therefore draws a tourist crowd). Well, the food was the bomb despite the many annoyances.

Mussles in garlic lemon boullion. Behind that, you can sort of see the dates wrapped in bacon (best bites of the whole trip!!)

Big market hall in Palma — mostly for locals. Nice to see so many normal (not wealthy) people buying fresh produce and meat here instead of the supermarket.

At another supermarket we rain into the Tienda Del Jamon booth which featured a live human cutting up dead animals using machines and tools. This girl sliced off big pieces of these hams. It looked very cool and people seem to line up with joy and purchase her slicings.

Or maybe all the men just thought it was nice to look at.

“Look at this fine señorita workin’ that tool,” is probably what those men are thinking.

Hello Kitty ice cream cake. How come I never saw this in Tokyo and had a chance to eat it (all)?

Lemons galore.

Lemon and orange trees are everywhere. Imagine just reaching your hand out the kitchen window and grabbing a fresh lemon for the fish.

Hand made and painted jug by Pablo Picasso. Freshly squeezed orange juice. Both at the Train Station/museum in the village of Soller.

Port de soller — paradise harbour.

My first taste of seafood paella — with quite the view.

It was a short pasta paella with squid, peas, mussels and fish. Slightly burned and full of taste — with freshly squeezed lemon on top.

After such a dish I needed something sweet. But not too sweet since it was hot and sunny. We sat down at another seaside dessert cafe.

Freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top. WOW!!!!!!!!!!

This was truly amazing. I instantly fell in love with this simple dessert. Sweet, sour and refreshing. Perfect on a hot day. Will make this next time I have guests over for a barbecue.

Seaside walk with fig palm trees and view towards Africa.

The ancient cathedral and seaside park next to the old city wall.

Big plaza in the centre of Palma. So beautiful it’s like being on the set of a European Woody Allen movie.

French sweets store La Cure Gourmande. Kinda touristy but as a Dane used to very simple and cleanly designed stores, I can’t help wandering around looking at the lack of taste and kind of liking it. Sort of being in Disneyland.

Baked biscuits.

Two kinds of chocolate-covered almonds called “olives”.

Totally tasted like M&M’s. Meh.

Spinach & cheese pizza at the seaside village Portochristo.

Roasted fish with herbs, fries and vegetables.

A cortado at the Miró Museum. Notice how early in the season we are — no other tourists!

This was his studio for the last 30 years of his life until he passed away in 1983. Stonewall, bright light, raw tile floor, African art collections and lots of rustic paintings.

Love love love.

View from outside his studio across the Palma bay. Sailing straight forward from here will make you end up in Algier.

Lunch at the local tapas place just two meters from the lovely little apartment we rented.

Bread, blended fresh tomatoes, local olives, fried spinach and überdelicious, spicy, roasted chicken wings. All home made.

The beer you can not trust.

A few days later: back at this place for those chicken wings. Damn they’re good.

Final munch: Mojito ice cream! Welcome to Spain!!

Now, go book your ticket. You won’t regret it.

Gochi opened quietly in 2005, in a little non-descript strip mall on the back roads of Cupertino. It was actually a bit traumatizing for me — they bought out a nasty dive bar called the Peacock Lounge where my friends and I used to go when visiting our hometown for the holidays. The “Cock”, as we affectionately called it, had been completely gutted and turned into a Japanese “fusion tapas” place. You could imagine how bittersweet it was for us Cupertino girls.

My girlfriends and me at the Peacock Lounge in 2007. I am the only one in the picture who is not married, or have a child.

But here I am, in 2012, finally writing about Gochi. It has over 1000 Yelp reviews, so its greatness is no secret, at least not in the South Bay. The chef and owner Masa-san is a really young energetic guy with a million creative ideas that pours out of his mind and plops all over the extensive 4-page menu. Plus daily specials! Oh dear. My father Kuni and he worked together back in the 90s at a restaurant called Kitahama, and Kuni thinks he’s really talented.

And he certainly is! My brother Keisuke was in town a few weeks ago so we all went. Even Johnny took the train down from San Francisco after work to join us — he used to work at Apple, and he always talks about how much he misses Gochi and their pizzas. Which is to say that Gochi has a ton of street cred, and a very loyal following. It’s always packed to the gills, and pretty impossible to get a reservation. At a Japanese restaurant in little Cupertino! It’s just crazy, how popular this place continues to become.

In typical Akabori style, we ordered a shit ton of food. We all just start yelling out stuff we want one by one, with no clear order, until the server gives us this crazed “OMG that is way too much food” look. That’s when we stop. But even so, the menu is so expansive, and there’s always so much to explore. There’s something for everyone here, which is what brings people back, I think.

Freshly steamly takenoko with a nori vinaigrette.

Kumamoto oysters.

Little gems of the sea.

Shiokara (squid marinated in innards). Mmmmm, this was me and Kuni’s favorite.

Tori soboro natto: ground chicken mixed with natto in lettuce cups, with a spicy soy sauce.

Woo-wee! These are fantastic!

Gyuniku salad: Thinly-sliced beef, shabu style, blanched, on a bed of spring salad and onions, served with a sesame dressing. Excellent!

Seared marinated duck, with a yuzu pepper tomato salsa. Very refreshing.

Foie gras!

A slice of seared foie gras, laying on a block of steamed daikon, topped with kaiware daikon shoots, in a soy-dashi sauce.

Johnny gets really happy when he eats foie gras.

Kurobuta pork katsu, with three dipping sauces.

Fatty hog delight.

Mayo sauce, miso-sesame sauce, and traditional tonkatsu sauce.

Gindara nitsuke: Soy braised black cod

Spicy Ebi Mayo: Prawns in a spicy mayo sauce. This is to die for.

Mayo porn.

Shiitake Ebi-Zume: Shiitake mushrooms stuffed with a shrimp and tofu patty, in a thick soy-dashi gravy.

Chashu miso pizza! The reason Johnny comes back.

One of their most fun dishes on the menu for “shime” (meal ending), the clay pot rice. We got the mentaiko and jako version. This is a small!

The rice comes in a sizzling pot, and the server mixes the ingredients altogether.

Yah!

The crispy burnt pieces are the best part, like tadig (crust from Persian rice)!

It’s $2.50 extra for a side of dashi broth, but you’ve gotta splurge and get it so you can make an ochazuke (tea-soaked rice) to properly end the meal.

A trio of desserts from left: Green tea creme brulee, lychee sorbet, black sesame ice cream.

Shochu, sake and Japanese whisky is a part of the dining culture at Gochi. Many customers “bottle-keep” here.

Aya Nakamura, long time Gochi manager and Masa Takei, owner and chef.

Keisuke and Hideko.

“Gochi” is short for “gochisou” which means “feast.” It also is a shortened slang word for “gochisou-sama deshita” which is what you say at the end of the meal, which is sort of a “thank you for this feast”. We always have such a great time at Gochi. The staff is warm, knowledgeable and welcoming, and the food is always comforting. With an innovative contemporary twist! I look forward to returning through the years to see what Masa-san comes up with next. Go-chi!

GOCHI
19980 East Homestead Road
Cupertino, CA
T: 408. 725.0542 (Reservations by phone only)

This asparagus tart is SO easy it’s kind of fail-proof. Buy some frozen puff pastry (I like Pillsbury). Place one of the sheets of dough on a cookie sheet. Let it defrost a bit then pinch up the edges to make a little crust-like rim. Spread some cheese all over (I used brie, but cream cheese or grated cheese works as well), then spread a beaten egg over that. Lay out your asparagus single file (trimmed to the size of the pastry). Sprinkle with nuts and capers if wish (it’s fine if you don’t). You could also top with garlic powder or dried herbs (I used herbs de provence), salt and pepper.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 375˚F then cut into squares and serve warm or at room temp. Sometimes I drizzle with a bit of olive oil and more sea salt before eating.Easy, impressive party food (or just dinner tonight!). Enjoy!!

*All photos and illustration by © Erin Gleeson and originally posted on The Forest Feast.

Last week I wrote about the classic 20th Century cocktail, and this week we move into modern times with the 21st Century. The 21st Century is Jim Meehan’s tequila-inspired update on the 20th Century which he created when he was a bartender at Audrey Saunders’ Pegu Club. The timing is serendipitous for tequila drinkers who want to venture beyond the Margarita on Cinco de Mayo.

21st Century
2 oz Siete Leguas Blanco tequila
0.75 oz Marie Brizard crème de cacao
0.75 oz lemon juice
Pernod, to rinse coupe

Tools: shaker, strainer
Glassware: chilled coupe

Method: Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled, Pernod-rinsed coupe.

Rinsing a glass with a particular spirit (usually high proof or assertive ones such as absinthe or a smoky Scotch) is a technique used to impart the subtle notes of that spirit into a cocktail without using too much— sometimes even a dash can be too much in a drink. After the glass has been rinsed, the cocktail is then poured into the glass.

There are two ways to do this. The first is to simply pour a bit into the glass, swirl it around, and dump out the excess. The second — and less wasteful — is to first pour the spirit into a mister, and then simply spray once or twice into your glass. The mister is also helpful if you want to impart a particular top aroma to a drink. Instead of rinsing the glass, you’d simply apply the spray atop the drink after straining. The mister is also useful as a makeshift blowtorch when using really high proof spirits. But that’s for another day.

Whereas the 20th Century is more honeyed and floral, the 21st Century is earthy and subtly herbal. The earthy, woody notes of agave replace the ethereal and peppery gin, and the honeyed, floral notes of Lillet are replaced by the herbal tinge of anise from the Pernod. The 21st Century is a dryer cocktail than its predecessor, but it maintains the same refreshing quality and simplicity of the classic.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

*This post is part of a series in which Payman takes on the task of making and writing about every cocktail featured in the PDT Cocktail Book, as well as providing an awesome photo of each drink taken by Vanessa Bahmani Photography. 

**Got a question? He can be found on twitter @paystyle, you can email him at payman@pdtproject.com, or simply drop him a comment below.