#Restaurants

Team Building Sushi Classes • Sushi Party • LIve Sushi Bar in San Francisco Bay Area

Oct 30, 2015
3 min

A restaurant manager extraordinaire: an interview with Masa

Love at first sight. Our encounter with Masa was something in that line. We had been going to this restaurant for the past two years. Every time we came and visited, we felt something special about him. The way he greeted his customer. The way he showed them to their seats. The way he bowed so slightly to each customer. His service was something we never expected to see at this restaurant. Masa made us feel comfortable. He made us curious. We wondered where he worked before,

Kaz Matsune

Aug 14, 2015
3 min

A Freelance Sushi Chef?

Kazutoshi Hirata is one of the few Freelance Sushi Chefs in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the past twenty years, he has worked for many top San Francisco Sushi Restaurants like Ozumo and Yoshi’s. Now at 65, Mr. Hirata is still actively working as a Sushi Chef, as well as connecting Japan and the U.S. through food. I had a chance to talk to him about his unique experience. Q: Why did you come to the United States? Hirata: I always wanted to live overseas, like in Spain. Aft

Kaz Matsune

Mar 6, 2015
1 min

Nobu Palo Alto is Hiring!

Earlier this year, we mentioned Nobu Palo Alto opening soon, and now, they are hiring! #News #Sushi #Restaurants

Restaurant Recommendation:YAYOI, Palo Alto

Kaz Matsune

Dec 26, 2014
1 min

Restaurant Recommendation:YAYOI, Palo Alto

We mentioned about eatsa in Berkeley and YAYOI in Palo Alto offers the same ordering system using iPad type interface. It's a "Teishoku" style restaurant, which means "a set-meal" in Japanese. Similar to many Kaiten Sushi restaurant chains in Japan, customers can order their food through the small pad interface located at each table. When you walk in first, you may feel "strange" because no one will come to your table to take your orders. Instead, you need to look at their p

Kaz Matsune

Sep 12, 2014
1 min

HOZE RESTAURANT, Edomae Sushi Restaurant, Sweden

José Cerdá is co-owner and chef talks about his philosophy and approach to his sushi at HOZE RESTAURANT, Sweden. Stigbergsliden 17 414 63, Göteborg Sweden #Sushi #Scandinavian #Style #Restaurants #New #Design #Edomae

Kaz Matsune

Jul 4, 2014
1 min

Ozumo, coming to San Jose

Ozumo is celebrating its 15 year anniversary this year and opening a new restaurant in San Jose in 2016, in addition to their flagship restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland. #Sushi #Restaurants #Sake #Bar

Restaurant Recommendation: MIFUNE, New York

Kaz Matsune

May 9, 2014
1 min

Restaurant Recommendation: MIFUNE, New York

New Contemporary restaurant is scheduled to open this fall in New York by an acclaimed chef, Hiroki Yoshitake, who is an executive chef at Sola in Paris. His beautiful, yet elegant dishes have earned Sola one Michelin star, only after two years of its opening. Mr. Yoshitake is from Saga, Japan and worked at restaurants as Fogon, Ze Kitchen Galerie, les Magnolias, Astrance under Pascal Barbot. Here are some photos from MIFUNE, New York. #Restaurants #Recommendations #Art #Mode

Kaz Matsune

Mar 13, 2014
1 min

Restaurant Recommendation: Iroriya

Similar to Izayaka, Robata restaurant serves small plates along with a variety of sake and Shochu (Japanese potato liquor). The main difference is Robata's main focus is a grill. At Iroriya in Los Altos, a charcoal grill is their star. Their house-dried fish grilled on their Robata is fantastic. Many of their fish comes from Japan and sashimi is excellent as well. Summer menu dish: Salt Marinated Tomato w/ Shiso Granite Sake Cup Grilled "Dried" Fish Flying Fish Sashimi Res

Kaz Matsune

Dec 5, 2013
1 min

Our visit to Yuji Ramen, Brooklyn, NY

We heard about this small Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn that serves Ramen, so we decided to make our visit. The most notable thing about their Ramen is that they use fish broth from a variety of (local) fish and the parts not normally used or thrown away. In Japan and many other Asian countries like China, the idea of using "whole foods" is a cultural concept when it comes to cooking. As such, every part of meat and fish is used including bones, internal organs, heads, fe

Sea Harvest Fish Market & Restaurant, Monterey, CA

Kaz Matsune

Nov 28, 2013
1 min

Sea Harvest Fish Market & Restaurant, Monterey, CA

Located just around the corner from Monterey Bay Aquarim, We found this fish market and restaurant using local fish. They sell a variety of fish and shellfish and some are caught locally like Monterey Bay Squid. The fish and Chips we tried was very tasty :) Sea Harvest Fish Market & Restaurant 598 Foam St, Monterey CA 93940 #Recommendations #Restaurants #Seafood

Kaz Matsune

Oct 3, 2013
1 min

Our visit to O ya, NewYork,NY

( Kampachi Sashimi with Hokkaido Uni) If you go to Oya and order Omakase 18 course dinner, expecting sushi, then you may be surprised. (Toro Nigiri) You can review most of the dishes on yelp ( and certainly from this blog post as well.) (Egg Nigiri with Beef Powder) In a nutshell, 18 course Omakase was not sushi at all or more than sushi. The sashimi was more like Italian Carpusshio with different types of oil and flavors. Most Nigiri was seared with a variety of toppings. (

Kaz Matsune

Sep 19, 2013
1 min

Our visit to Ootoya, NYC

(Hokke Dinner) Known for fresh ingredients, great price, and virtually all the dishes are made to order, Ootoya(大戸屋）is a restaurant chain with 328 restaurants in Japan and 88 abroad. We had a chance to visit their restaurant in Manhattan and were pleasantly surprised (or should we say it was expected?) with their food and beautiful decor. Ootoya Chelsea, Times Square, and Greenwich Village, NY. #JapaneseFood #Restaurants #Style #NYC

Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen at Kirimachi Ramen, San Francisco

Kaz Matsune

Aug 11, 2012
2 min

Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen at Kirimachi Ramen, San Francisco

UPDATE (May 15, 2017) New Address 3 Embarcadero Ctr San Francisco, CA 94111 No other dish seems to capture the heart of Japanese people like ramen. There are many TV shows, magazines, and blogs dedicated to ramen. According to one statistic, some 3,000 ramen shops are opening and closing every year in Japan. I think ramen to Japanese is pizza to Americans. Just like the simple combination of crust, sauce, and cheese in pizza, soup and the style of noodles (how thick they a

The New York Times Names Sushi Nakazawa Best NYC Restaurant of 2013

Kaz Matsune

Jun 16, 2012
1 min

The New York Times Names Sushi Nakazawa Best NYC Restaurant of 2013

(from Business Insider) Given his rare four-star review of West Village sushi den Sushi Nakazawa earlier this month, it comes as no surprise that New York Times food critic Pete Wells declared it the best restaurant of 2013 in his year-end roundup for the newspaper. Continue reading here. #Sushi #Restaurants #NYC #News

Cebiche Tasting at La Mar, San Francisco

Kaz Matsune

May 19, 2012
1 min

Cebiche Tasting at La Mar, San Francisco

Cooking octopus is very difficult. What's so difficult is to make it tender. When you boil octopus, it has a tendency to get chewy and lose its flavor. When done "properly," octopus is just wonderful - sweet and tender similar to nice abalone. That was exactly what I got at La Mar and became my instant favorite. Grilled Octopus was the most flavorful and soft octopus I had at any restaurant in the US. My encounter with Peruvian cuisine and its deep heritage with seafood ha