92 South Bay Accent
SIMON G. WONG; OPPOSITE: HENRY HARGREAVES; PREVIOUS SPREAD: KATSUAKI TOZAWA
become the rage as a colorful
coating for ice cream. At
the top of the budget-friendly
greatest hits list is the instantsoup
version of ramen, beloved
by college students and more
recently being showcased in
scads of fresh-noodle spots
across the country.
There might be many kinds
of Japanese food represented in
regional restaurants these days,
but it barely scratches the surface
of what’s available, since
there are more than 30 kinds of
restaurants in Japan, all specializing
in a different type of Japanese
cuisine. Seldom, if ever,
seen here are tonkatsu joints,
serving breaded, deep-fried
pork with shredded cabbage;
takoyaki spots, which feature
ball-shaped pancakes with octopus
inside; raw seafood on a
bowl of rice at kaisendon eateries;
motsunabe, restaurants
devoted to a hot pot of pork
or organ meats; and a Japanese
obsession, kare raisu, which is
Japanese-style curry with rice.
MITSUNOBO
•
WAGYU FILET MIGNON
WITH RED MIS O PASTE
ON MAGNOLIA LEAF,
SPINACH PUREE,
MATSUTAKE MUSHROOM
Fortunately, some high end local Japanese dining places occasionally
serve a dish or two from these categories. Japanese
cooking methods with their devotion to scrupulous ingredients,
simplicity and subtlety are frequently a major inspiration to
American chefs who fuse this sensibility into enlightened creations.
Perhaps the most famous Japanese fusion food—and
in the running as one of the world’s most pricey Japanese restaurants—
is the mouth-pleasing Japanese-Peruvian-globally
inspired cuisine from Nobu Matsuhisa, dubbed “the sushi chef
to the stars” by Forbes.
With a current worldwide empire of about 50 Nobu and Matsuhisa
restaurants, he expanded his epicurean reach recently with
his first location in Northern California. The Nobu in downtown
Palo Alto occupies the bottom floor of Larry Ellison’s posh Epiphany
hotel, where the chefs wear Apple watches, naturally. Foodies
have made Nobu signature dishes like miso-marinated black cod
and yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño into must-order staples.
For those with a hankering for Japanese cuisine, it’s not hard
to find in the South Bay. Here is a potpourri of local Japanese
restaurants, from the sublime to the simple.
While Japan has given the world popular non-edible inventions
like the Walkman, bullet train, digital camera and karaoke,
its culinary creations have also made a big splash. There are now
4,000 sushi restaurants in America (Japan has well over 10 times
more, even though America has 155 percent more people) and
the consumption of this seeming staple has put Japanese cuisine,
mainly sushi, among the four most-liked ethnic cuisines in the
United States, according to the National Restaurant Association.
But don’t just think raw fish—although sushi and sashimi are
now so ubiquitous that they’re even found in many supermarkets.
While sushi spots are numerous, from humble locations in
strip malls to more upscale outposts, there are now many more
kinds of Japanese dining choices in our region. At the high end
are restaurants serving multi-course kaiseki meals featuring carefully
prepared, exquisite creations. Izakayas—boisterous Japanese
pubs—are another popular kind of dining spot, along with ramen
joints, cook-your-own-meat-and-veggie yakiniku places, yakitori
bars for grilled chicken items, places dedicated to Japanese rolls,
bento boxes and more.
Then there’s mochi, the pounded rice substance that has
FOODIES HAVE MADE NOBU SIGNA TURE DISHE S LIKE
MISO-MARINATED BLACK COD AND YELL OWTAIL SASHIMI
WITH JALAPEÑO INTO MUST-ORDER STAPLES.