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Going to San Diego is always a treat. I have many friends here, from my University days, and good friends at that. And new friends. July is always a must for a roadtrip to San Diego, because the SD Comic Con is this month. My brother and some of his friends have been on the staff for a number of years, and this is a perfect time to see them, and get a glance of all the latest and greatest film/sci-fi/cosplay that sends its fans into a frenzy. But first, we must eat. And we must go to Sakura for izakaya. Valerie and Rob had been there earlier in the week, and I had been to izakaya earlier in the week too, but the plates are so small and the morsels so good that there is always room for more.
1. Crab cream croquettes – served well hot. So much, I burned my lips on the searing hot cream and dealt with the blister on my face all weekend. But worth it. 2. Grilled seabass – whatever sauce they use, like a sweet miso glaze, it transforms a delicious fish into a heavenly delicious fish. There is not enough of fish in this dish for three people. Next time – order a second one. 3. Spinach and uni. I love spinach, I love uni. We gobbled it all up. 4. Fried burdock root. Loved this. More please. 5. Eggplant gratin – it was cheesy and okay. But the other dishes were so much better that this was comparatively did not impress. 6. Seafood fried rice. Another acceptable but not wow-ing me dish. The seafood element was not terribly relevant. We had some of this leftover. 7. Cucumber and eel. Oh, this was a very good one. Valerie threatened that if we did not dig in and eat it fast enough, she would, so we dug in and finished it fast. I thoroughly liked that was eel was prepared differently than the sweet eel sauce way I often see in Japanese restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, I like that way too, but appreciated a little more variety. 8. Grilled tomato and bacon. Another very good one. The token vegetarian at the table ate it too, it was that good. The smokiness of the bacon came from the grilling. Finally, I had an order of Chirashi Don, $22. It’s a handsome portion that would have been a meal itself, but can be a part of a larger meal if you skimp on eating all the sushi rice as I did. It also came with some miso soup and vegetable spaghetti. Oh, what, was I supposed to share this dish? I’m sorry, I did not.
The bill was about $90 for three people, after tax, before tip. A great value for all the good things we got. Parking is tough. Seating is tough if you want to dine during prime time. Just fyi. Sakura (Convoy area) It starts out small enough, when one friend reaches out to suggest dinner and I commit to it. Then another friend emails about dinner at the same time, so I suggest combining into a group. And suddenly the group becomes five, all settling down comfortably in the restaurant on a Friday evening, with rainclouds looming outside. This is a new experience for Perry, who usually dines here with her husband and they often order the same thing. You know what this means – someone’s going to have a new experience and it will *definitely* include shiitake nigiri! Boom!
Also a new item for Perry: the braised pork belly and vegetables. So glad this item migrated over from Kobachi. It’s ridiculously good.
There were two vegetarians in the group, both eat fish, but only one eats raw fish. Ahi had enough options that kept the most picky eater happy. She got the tempura shrimp roll, and a California roll (not pictured), among other things. Meanwhile, my side of the table had one omakase item that was sashimi with spicy yuzu sauce. Mmm.
Most of us had green tea to drink, but we were all curious about Ahi’s infused shochu cocktail blends, so we ordered the Hello Kitty, which has muddled fresh lychee. It was very good! Light and fruity without being overly sweet. The token male at the table seemed to enjoy the drink the most, so there you go. For dessert, Ahi’s menu was quite simple: green tea ice cream, that is all. We ordered a couple, and our green tea ice cream came with strawberries, and all drizzled in honey.
I was meant to move on to another event after dinner. My friends were supposed to go downtown for a music show. We all enjoyed ourselves so much at Ahi, we simply lingered on, and on, until near closing time. Then walked out into the springtime rain to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Ahi Ahi customers can also park at the Motel next door, if parking at its own lot is tight. Gordon’s visiting, and we’re making a weekend of it! First stop, upon his landing at the airport: Kobachi. Really, could you expect anything less? I didn’t take photos of the whole suite of items we ordered, this meal was more about welcoming Gordon to town and showing him why Kobachi is a favorite place to eat. We had uni shooters, aburi saba, tsekune renkon-an, seaweed salad, shiitake nigiri, all the usual good stuff. We put in a special request for sashimi omakase and were rewarded with this lovely assortment.
Gordon, a Vancouver native currently residing in the Bay Area, noted that he was raised on quality seafood and sashimi, and this was among the best he’d ever eaten. It makes me proud to have a little place like Kobachi in my little town. Dessert: mochi ice cream and a honeyed strawberry.
VERY happy bellies we had upon leaving Kobachi. Past posts. And there are a lot of them. Kobachi Izakaya Dining All through December, Kobachi was giving away coupons as Christmas gifts. Between two people, we’d collected about $15 in vouchers, so on this time we were in the mood for sashimi and thought we’d combine these, along with another $30 and request sashimi omakase. Ken-san was in, and agreed. First, though, some drinks and nibbles. We had Asahi on draft and some seaweed salad.
Good, as usual, but this was more what we were waiting for – a big platter of luscious fresh sashimi! Ooooooh.
Simple, wonderfully cut, and so so good. I’m not sure I can remember everything we got, but I’ll try. Starting in the upper left and going clockwise: two kinds of maguro, premium hamachi and standard hamachi, Santa Barbara uni, snapper…then two other fish I cannot remember, and finally salmon roe. Jebus, the premium yellowtail was so good. Everything was so good. And to think the people next to us got some boring California roll and pot stickers. Sorry guys!
Then we had an additional small sushi roll, I *think* it was a spiced yellowtail roll. I do know for sure that it was very good. Finally, a wee bit of dessert with ice cream and fresh fruit. I love Kobachi! Past posts. And there are a lot of them. Kobachi Izakaya Dining This dinner was to introduce Olivia to the yumminess that is Kobachi. She had a good time.
Hot sake for Olivia, and cold shochu with oolong for me. The food starts with a green seaweed salad.
Near the end we ordered nasu dengaku – broiled eggplant, and a round of ama ebi shrimp which first come has raw bodies, and the second course is their heads, tempura battered and fried.
Delicious, as usual. Olivia, being vegetarian + pescadarian, had so many good things to choose from. Kobachi Izakaya Dining Another yummy dinner at Kobachi!
Top row: Bottom row: We’d joined Vo after he’s already started eating, so we shared a few more items, then ordered for ourselves. We weren’t expecting to have much sushi, but the fish seemed very fresh tonight, and we treated ourselves to some fine albacore nigiri as our last dish.
Kobachi Izakaya Dining Cindy’s in town! We all trooped over to Kobachi for her first night visiting. First, what’s new. Beer on tap! For my birthday I received a copy of Oishinbo’s Izakaya Pub Food and the first story is about a master beer pourer in Tokyo. The main character has been talking up the perfectly poured beer to his friends, but upon receiving a glass he can immediately tell it was not done by the Master. It turns out the highest honor the master beer pourer could bestow upon a guest (speciality black edamame) was mis-interpreted as rotten beans, but since the beer pourer would never assume the guest would be so ill-educated as to not know about the beans, he quit. Long story short, a perfectly poured beer has at least one inch of foam on top, and during the time of drinking it, there always remains a solid layer of foam covering the beer. This way, the effervesence of the beer stays in the beverage, and the flavors do not escape. The new tap at Kobachi pours the beer in two ways; first as the liquid, while a second tap tops off the beer with a fine foam. Okay, so they cheated a little by not pouring by hand. BUT, Ken-san insisted that HE pour the beer, so they maintain the tradition of being honored with having someone pour our beers.
Top row: freshly poured Asahi beer, seaweed salad, vegetable tempura. 2nd row: mame aji nanban, shiitake nigiri, tsukune renkon shiitake-an. 3rd row: renkon chips, hamachi kama, seared tuna in sauce (this dish is not on the menu). 4th row: aburi saba, and mixed sashimi with sweet miso sauce. Kobachi Izakaya Dining
It should be fairly obvious by now that my most frequented restaurant in town is Kobachi. And why not. I live close by, the food is good, there’s so much to choose from on the menu, and the small portions mean I can dabble and order lots of little plates. I came here for my birthday dinner, as I did the year before. Except this year I thought it would be a good idea to make a reservation for it and speak with the chef beforehand on a set menu to eliminate confusion over orders and prices for those who need to watch their dollars. I knew there would be a couple vegetarians – or pescatarians – attending, plus vegetables make the meal healthier and a little less expensive, so I requested Ken-san focus on vegetables and fish, with just a little beef, pork and chicken. It worked out splendidly, and everyone at Kobachi put forth a wonderful meal that was stress-free for all attending. My friends also did me proud by 1. rsvp-ing and actually showing up. And 2. Showing up *on time*! Really, this is Santa Barbara, and when everyone on the rsvp list shows up, on time, it’s a minor miracle. I’m really blessed to have good and cool friends. There were 20 of us, taking over the new expanded space with the murals. The Kobachi staff decorated the space with long tables, birthday table cloths and plates, and sprinkled everything with confetti. FUN! They also provided a gift of a few snacks, a bottle of shochu and oolong tea. It is my favorite drink there and now I could share it with all my friends. Upon arrival, a buffet table had been laid out, with empty bowls containing a slip of paper with the name of the dish written on it. It felt like Christmas, knowing there would be a lot of presents to open shortly, and everyone was excited. I wasn’t able to take photos of everything, being distracted by talking to friends, but Ted Mills got most of the dishes, even if he had to get a photo of a small portion off his own plate. Generally, the portions were approximately like receiving a double order, but there were a few when there was one item per person, such as sushi rolls or oysters. Want to see the feast? Here goes!
First, are some salads. Seaweed salad, a mixed salad of cucumber, tomato and seaweed, and hjjiki – warm black seaweed salad.
Cold fish dishes included a plaste of salmon sashimi with a tangy carpaccio sauce, and tuna in a dark smokey sesame oil sauce. Also, slow cooked vegetables and mushrooms served warm.
Four fillets of aburi saba then made an entrance, and all the fine slices were quickly scooped up and consumed…a lot by me!
Rolls included a seared salmon with avocado and asparagus, a smelt roe roll, and some other roll that I did not eat, or get photos of. There was one grilled beef dish that delighted a few meat eaters, but it was also very filling! We also had grilled eggplant nigiri.
There was one fat oyster for every person attending, and platter of sauteed vegetables. One dish I never quite identified (lower left) was piled with cooked marinated vegetables and I believe it was a sweet-sour chicken. If only I could remember the name, but I’m fairly certain I did not have the opportunity to eat it, or I’d remember more details. There was also a big tofu dish, but this plate was massacred by hungry friends before we could get a photo of it. Oops.
Now, we are happy and drunk. No chance getting a photo of the aji miso yaki. The picture on the plate is rather unappetizing looking, but trust me, it was yummy. These were snapped up in a hurry, I’m not sure I tried any myself!
One more round of sushi, with a piece of shiitake nigiri for everyone and it was time for dessert. My parents showed up partway through the meal with two homemade cakes, and a few more chairs (the restaurant had completely run out!). Their cakes were an almond cake, and an eggwhite pavlova. Yoko, my favorite waitress there, brought a cheesecake! Thank you, Yoko!
After blowing out the candles, we feasted on cake, chattered more, and then it was time to settle up the bill. I’m happy to say the folks at Kobachi got a nice tip. It was a great birthday dinner! Kobachi Izakaya Dining My food friend Michael, of Big Sur Bakery fame, came through town briefly. So I had to have one last dive into Kobachi awesomeness with him before I disappeared into gambling hell that is Las Vegas. Michael’s restaurant only has a beer and wine license, so this was a good opportunity to sample soju for cocktails. Not that Kobachi does actual cocktails, but my favorite shochu and oolong was a starter, and he did seem to enjoy it. But now, the food.
Top row: seaweed salad – always a good start. Then a bowl of gobo chips, this is new to the menu. Oddly enough, I’m not a fan of gobo in my sushi, but I do love them fried with a little sprinkling of salt. Then, some uni sushi. I do like the uni shooter, but my father made a good point about them one night – they don’t last long. Cuz, you know, it’s a shooter. And this is Santa Barbara uni, so Michael’s sample of it needed to be savored. It was, unsurprisingly, very good. Second row: shiitake and eggplant nigiri. Everyone is pleasantly surprised by the shiitake nigiri. There is a very subtle spice in it that adds a little heat. I know I shouldn’t tell others how they should eat, but for the sushi here, I always hint that no additional soy and wasabi is necessary. Ken-san knows how to flavor his sushi the first time around. Yako imo is another new item on the menu, it is simply baked yams and butter. It’s very comforting to eat, and well priced, perhaps $3 for two small yams, split with the melted butter. And then, gindara saikyo yaki – broiled black cod with a sweet miso glaze.
Anyone not already aquainted with izakaya gets the aburi saba. Hmm, I take that back. Everyone gets aburi saba. Always good.
Above left: baked mochi in sauce. This is another new item to the menu. The sauce has a smokey flavor to it. Most of my friends only know mochi these days as a topping on frozen yoghurt, which is a shame, because it has many other uses in savory situations. I love the look from people when they taste mochi in a new way. This dish was enjoyed to its last drop. Middle: nasu dengaku – broiled eggplant with a red miso glaze. Another vegetarian favorite, but I always eat it too eagerly and burn my tongue. It is HOT and JUICY. Right: a simple toro roll. This one came from Ken-san, very enjoyable.
The more I delve into the rituals and traditions of izakaya, the more I realize I do a lot of things wrong. Like having my sashimi last. Really, is it supposed to be first, and something rice and filling last? When I have omakase, that’s the progression. But when I’m ordering, I take a final reading on how stuffed we are, and then fill that last niche of stomach space with something memorable, like melty sashimi. If I’m doing it wrong, the folks at Kobachi are kind enough to indulge me. Here, I had halibut, blue fin tuna and hamachi. The yellowtail was like eating fresh seafood butter, just melting away in our mouths. We had a very simple dessert, of a little sponge cake, a green tea truffle and a cherry and called it a night. My friend loved it. Kobachi Izakaya Dining |
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