JAPANESE COOKING METHODS WITH THEIR DEV OTION TO
SCRUPULOUS INGREDIENTS, SIMPLICITY AND SUB TLETY ARE
FREQUENTLY A MAJOR INSPIR ATION TO AMERICAN CHEFS.
98 South Bay Accent
CHRIS SCHMAUCH; OPPOSITE: COURTESY OF PLENUS, INC.
GAKU JAPANESE CHARCOAL GRILL
Anyone who’s wandered through the densely packed streets of
Tokyo will have seen the plentiful, skinny little grill-eries there,
where meats and other things cooked on skewers are snarfed down
with beer or sake. The yakiniku spots are Japan’s answer to Korean
barbecue restaurants where you grill your own at your table; there
are a couple of these in our region. The other option is a yakitori,
in which the cook does the grilling. The best local version is Gaku,
which uses the wonderful binchotan charcoal from Japan, which
cooks food like a dream.
Gaku offers more than 30 kinds of skewers, with chicken parts
(virtually everything that’s edible) being a highlight. There are
also various beef parts, pork belly, vegetables, seafood, sausages
and more, most paired with a complementary sauce. But the
choices don’t stop there because this narrow spot also serves appetizers,
salads, hot pots, deep-fried items, rice and noodle dishes
and more. Some of the home runs from among the skewers are
chicken thigh, Kobe beef, beef tongue and scallops. Patrons also
visit sister restaurant Sumiya in Santa Clara, which has a similar
menu. 5152 MOORPARK AVE., SUITE 40, SAN JOSE, 408/973-9144; GAKU.SUMIYAKITORI.
COM
FUGETSU
A sizeable chain in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, the local branch of
Fugetsu in Santa Clara is the first in the West, and its specialty—
very popular with Asians—is okonomiyaki, an intriguing dish
that evolved from the pragmatic practice of cooking leftovers in
Japan by throwing them into pancake batter and adding cabbage
and a mayo-based sauce with dried bonito flakes. The result is
sort of an Asian crepe. In Japan, many okonomiyaki are cook-ityourself
places, but Fugetsu prefers to deliver a higher order of
pancake prepared in the kitchen, so the griddles on each table are
to keep the dish warm after delivery. Be advised that cooking time
is about 20 minutes.
There are several choices of okonomiyaki, some mixing different
seafood and others featuring pork. A few even have cheese
on top. But this is just the beginning of the offerings, which
include starters, salads, seafood and main-course dishes and rice
concoctions. A specialty is yakisoba, which are thick stir-fried
noodles tossed with various other ingredients. They’re addictive.
Also quite outstanding is the tonpei yaki, an omelet filled with
shredded cabbage and sliced pork, served with a sweet and savory
tonkatsu sauce. 2783 EL CAMINO REAL, SANTA CLARA, 408/244-8500;
FUGETSU-USA.COM/EN
DAN IZAKAYA
Probably the most popular izakaya in the area (that’s a multi-item
Japanese pub), Dan Izakaya wasn’t named for some guy named
Daniel but rather is one of the rankings in judo. For a small restaurant,
the menu is humongous, featuring an endless list of starters,
raw fish, sushi rolls, salads, stir fries, grilled items, deep-fried
dishes, seafood and meat preparations, hot pots, noodles, rice
dishes and desserts. Being open later on weekends is appealing to
the bar crowd, as is an extensive
drinks list.
With so much available,
this izakaya has many favored
items. Just a few include an
excellent pork okonomiyaki;
soft, juicy beef tongue; fried
rice balls stuffed with salmon;
grilled, salted duck; ramen with
clams; soft, unctuous eggplant
with miso and kimchee; pork
and tofu hot pot; grilled shitake
mushrooms and more. A recent
specialty that separates the men
from the boys when it comes to
Japanese food is horumonyaki,
animal innards like honeycomb
beef tripe. Another novelty for
Westerners is a “sundae” of green
tea ice cream, whipped cream
and corn flakes. 1306 SARATOGA
AVE., SAN JOSE, 408/249-6020; DANIZA
KAYARESTAURANT.COM
GOCHI JAPANESE
FUSION TAPAS
•
PAN-SEARED FOIE GRAS
AND DASHI-BRAISED
DAIKON WITH B ALSAMICOTERIYAKI
SAUCE
