My Love of Japan

The gracious people and their impeccable politeness, the crazy teenagers and their whacked fashion on Takeshita-Dori in Harajuku, the insanely large palaces of European luxury on Omotesando and in Ginza, miniature gadgets we’ll never have at home in Akihabara, the gargantuan train stations where you always seem to be going against the herd, the endearing giggles one elicits when they mis-speak their Japanese - but most of all the amazingly complex and wonderful cuisine - keeps bringing me back to Japan. While the trip this week was all business, I did get to have a bit of fun and meet some wonderful new people in the process. I treasure every trip I get to make to Japan and those that know me know of my love for the country. But, back to the food...

I have several recommendations if you ever find yourself in Tokyo and, specifically, around the very hip neighborhood of Shibuya, here are some not to miss places:

• Gonpachi - great and diverse selection of yakitori in a jovial atmosphere; the beef short rib and duck marinated in wasabi yakitori are not to miss!
• Horaitei - on the top floor of the Tokyu Center department store you will find some of the best katsu ever; go for the katsu donburi at lunch - excellent!
• Paradise Macau - a tropically themed establishment that serves excellent Laotian and Indonesian dishes; they have a very good and inexpensive selection of Aussie wines by the glass
• Asahi Sushi - take-out sushi on the restaurant avenue level of the Shibuya Mark City office complex; great for a quick lunch with an impressively diverse selection of fresh fish, many of which you won’t recognize, so be adventurous
• Legato - swanky establishment on the floor above Gonpachi; floor to ceiling windows and a jazz pianist make this a great spot for dessert or an after dinner drink
• Keivi - a tiny little traditional gay bar just around the corner from Shibuya JR station; much better than average snacks included with your cover charge; tell Mama-san Toshi I said hello!

If you have not yet been to Tokyo, go - our dollar may be in the crapper, but their yen is persistently in the crapper so it is so much more affordable than going to Europe or even New York. There’s no other city in the world quite like it!

Recipe: Stout-Braised Short Ribs

OK... so I had one bottle of Guinness and some boneless short ribs left in my refrigerator, and that was the inspiration for this recipe. Yeah, I know... kinda corny, but it turned out REALLY good. Oh, how I love short ribs :).

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. of short ribs (bone-in preferred)
1 16 oz. bottle/can of Guinness or other stout beer
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1 1/2 cup of your favorite spicy/tangy BBQ sauce (choose one that is low to nil on sugar content, or lower the maple syrup amount used)
3 tbsp. of chopped garlic
2 cups of beef broth
2 - 3 tbsp. of olive oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, placing racks on their lowest rungs in the oven. In a medium-sized Dutch oven (I use a cast iron Dutch oven which seems to work the best... although a regular aluminum/steel one works fine, too), heat the olive oil on the stove over medium-high heat. Place the short ribs in the Dutch oven with the olive oil, brown on the non-bone sides (about 2 mins. each side). Add all other ingredients to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer.

Once the liquid has started simmering well, cover Dutch oven with lid and transfer to the oven (the rack you place it on should be no more than two rungs from the very bottom of the oven). Bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. The sauce will caramelize around and infuse the meat, so it's not necessary to pour any of the sauce over the meat when serving.

Short ribs are generally quite lean, but keep in mind that almost all of the fat in them cooks out during this braising process, so while 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. sounds like a lot, it'll actually only feed 3 - 4 people (2 if they’re really hungry ;)).

Makes 3 - 4 servings.

Restaurant Review: Maverick

I have been going to Maverick for quite a long time (an eternity by San Francisco dining standards ;))... my first time was two months after it opened a little more than two years ago and at least once every 4 - 6 weeks since. I can’t help it... I absolutely love the place. It was started by two friends: one, a chef from Cincinnati named Scott Youkilis (yes, he’s the brother of that more famous “Youkilis”) and the other, a self-professed oenophile named Mike Pierce from New Jersey. How these two got to San Francisco I do not know, but I am very glad they did.

The cuisine can be described as “Kentucky meets California by way of the Wild West.” Obviously for a southern boy like me, any restaurant that ventures into the flavors I grew up with is going to at least get some props. But what Mr. Youkilis does with the traditional southern flavors is just consistently so good to me. The only thing that is always on the menu is his fried chicken which is honestly the only fried chicken I can admittedly say I love outside of a) my own and b) my mother’s. The fixin’s underneath it change often (cheesy white corn grits and collard greens are there for winter), but it is just always so good. Their mac ‘n cheese is also one of the best I’ve had and is also one of the menu stalwarts.

I admittedly have been twice over the past several weeks because I had friends visiting from out of town and I love to “show the place off” because everyone I’ve taken there has loved it. As a starter on the first occasion, I had the house-smoked trout salad. It reminded me of a dish I had when I was in Stockholm back in 2006 - slices of perfectly cured fish with fish eggs and creme fraiche over a bed of simple greens. Of course, in Stockholm, they used local salmon - but the preparation was virtually identical. For entree I had the rabbit “three ways” - braised rabbit loin, rabbit leg confit, and rabbit liver served with a sweet potato and turnip hash. I don’t get rabbit that often, but when I do, it’s a treat - and that sir was a treat. As a side I had Scott’s mustard greens. They were cooked very differently than what I grew up with - slightly sauteed in olive oil with cracked red pepper and garlic, but so good (I’m used to boiling the sh*t out of them in salt pork, garlic, and hot sauce... thems good too :)). I skipped dessert ‘cause I was too full!

My next visit was just last week. This time I had the Baltimore crab fluffs in a spicy remoulade sauce. “Why they gotta fly that crab all the way in from Baltimore when we’ve got amazing dungeness crab here” was my first thought. But, then I realized the dungeness would have been too sweet in this particular preparation - so then I got it. For a main course I had the braised short ribs over creamy grits - talk about 100% pure comfort. That was SOOOO good... and so filling I was surprised I had room for dessert! But the second our server said, “there’s a Meyer lemon pie for dessert that’s not on the menu,” I knew I was doomed. For those that know me, I have more of a tart/savory tooth than a sweet tooth and I love anything tart for dessert. Oh, and she had to mention that the pie was made with buttermilk... oy, totally doomed! My friend and I decided to share it. Perfectly creamy and tart, great crust (forgot what it was made out of)... oh, such a lovely end to the meal!

OK... so I think I’ve made it clear that I love this place. If you’re ever in San Francisco, just call me up and I will take you... I promise! Now, on to the wine selection. This wine selection was not made by Maverick, by the way, but is from my own collection here at home that I opened yesterday. I do almost all of my wine shopping by traveling up to Sonoma and Napa so that I can taste the wines. Not only does it allow me to “try before I buy,” I’m also able to get ahold of wines that never show up in the stores or restaurants from small, family-owned producers. I do apologize if you can’t find some of the wines I will talk about on my blog - it just unfortunately sucks that you don’t live here! ;)