Category Archives: Spirits/Cocktails/Beer

Dining At Yokai, San Francisco’s New Hi-Fi Bar & Restaurant

Grilled mackerel with pickled mustard seeds and honey-preserved ramps at Yokai.
Grilled mackerel with pickled mustard seeds and honey-preserved ramps at Yokai.

Chef Marc Zimmerman was majoring in music engineering in college in Indiana before he decided to scrap that for a career in cooking instead.

Now, however, he’s managed to combine both those passions into one: Yokai, his second San Francisco restaurant, which opened in September, just four blocks away from Gozu, his first that debuted in 2019.

Located in the SOMA neighborhood, Yokai is named for the Japanese word for “ghosts or spirits,” which is appropriate given its extensive bar program that spotlights Japanese and American spirits.

At the host stand.
At the host stand.

The music emphasis is apparent right when you step inside to find the host stand outfitted with two turntables and shelves of vinyl records. You can’t miss the large speakers behind the bar, too. But the music, while lively, is not intrusive, as I found when I dined as a guest of the restaurant last week, when jazz was very much the music of choice on that weeknight.

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A Dream Of A Meal At N/Naka

The unexpected truffle pasta dish on the kaiseki menu at N/Naka.
The unexpected truffle pasta dish on the kaiseki menu at N/Naka.

Since learning of it from the first season of Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” in 2015, I have been fascinated by the Los Angeles restaurant, N/Naka.

This Michelin two-starred restaurant opened in 2011 to serve kaiseki, the elegant, multi-course Japanese meal spotlighting ingredients at their seasonal peak in a series of specific cooking techniques.

Back then, it was a type of cuisine that was a rarity in the United States. And even more so when it was crafted by a woman, Chef-Owner Niki Nakayama and her wife, Sous Chef Carole Iida-Nakayama, who dared to put their own thrilling contemporary touches on this classic Japanese haute cuisine.

At all of 26 seats, this restaurant is notoriously difficult to book. While I travel to Los Angeles maybe once a year, I’d never managed to plan the trip in advance enough to even try to snag a table there.

Until two weeks ago. That’s when the stars aligned and Lady Luck was on my side, giving me entree to a dining experience that was nothing short of singularly magical.

You see, N/Naka opens its online reservation bookings once a week at 10 a.m. on Sunday for tables a month later. But sign on right at that second, and you’ll likely find all the reservations gone already and your dreams vanquished — just like that.

After experiencing that disappointment a few times, I started searching online for reservation tips. I came upon a thread that advised staying on the booking site for at least an hour after reservations open, because people will click on a specific reservation that gives a 10-minute window to finalize, only to decide they don’t want it after all. The thread also mentioned that tables of 4 or 6 were easier to come by than for 2.

The unassuming, unmarked entrance of this Michelin two-starred restaurant.
The unassuming, unmarked entrance of this Michelin two-starred restaurant.

So, for more than half an hour, I kept refreshing the page again and again, growing more apprehensive by the minute. A 9 p.m. reservation for 6 people popped up, tempting me to claim it as I figured I could somehow rope a few more people into trekking to Los Angeles with my husband and me. But I hate dining that late, especially for a tasting menu that lasts 3 hours. So, I bit my tongue, and passed on it, wondering if I had just made a huge mistake.

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Danny Trejo’s Pollo Asado a la Brasa

Grilled chicken in a flavorful marinade gets served with addictive aji sauce.
Grilled chicken in a flavorful marinade gets served with addictive aji sauce.

There’s no denying that Danny Trejo is a big, big presence on the screen.

So, it’s no surprise then that when it comes to cooking, he’s all about flavors as punchy and gutsy as they get.

In the ultimate transformative story, the former drug addict and criminal became not only a Hollywood star, but maverick entrepreneur who launched a record label, as well as five Los Angeles locations of his Trejo’s Tacos, plus his Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts shop, and Trejo’s Cerveza Mexican-style beer.

This year, he also debuted “Trejo’s Cantina” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy, which is his second cookbook.

While his first cookbook, “Trejo’s Tacos” (Clarkson Potter, 2020), focused on recipes from his restaurants, this one, he writes, is centered on Mexican classics as seen through the lens of Los Angeles.

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Dining Outside at the New Sekoya

The unique chicken liver mousse with banana bread doughnuts at Sekoya.
The unique chicken liver mousse with banana bread doughnuts at Sekoya.

If you get the inkling that Sekoya, the newest restaurant to open on California Avenue in Palo Alto, might be named for the majestic, hardy, and giant tree, you’d be correct.

From the English elm and walnut tables in the lounge, and the dramatic, curving, live-edge dining table by the bar to the plates that mimic cross-sections of trees, it’s clear that sequoias and their ilk are an inspiration for this bar, lounge, and restaurant that opened in mid-August.

It’s the latest restaurant by Steve Ugur, co-owner of San Mateo’s Pausa with Chef Andrea Giuliani, who also happens to be director of butchering at his father’s San Mateo restaurant, Porterhouse. Unlike the former, which is Italian, and the latter, which is a classic steakhouse, Sekoya draws from many global influences, primarily French and Mediterranean.

The bar with neon focal point.
The bar with neon focal point.
The sculptural live edge table in the lounge.
The sculptural live edge table in the lounge.

Chef de Cuisine Jason Johnson — formerly of Chez TJ in Mountain View, and Wayfare Tavern and Quince, both in San Francisco — oversees the menu that is heavy on starters and shared plates.

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Dining at Healdsburg’s New Molti Amici

A glorious hen of the woods pizza at Molti Amici.
A glorious hen of the woods pizza at Molti Amici.

The name of Healdsburg’s newest downtown restaurant loosely translates from Italian to “many friends.”

It’s emblematic of the convivial vibe to be found at Molti Amici, which took the place of locals’ favorite, Campo Fina, in late June.

It’s the brainchild of three alums of Michelin three-starred SingleThread Farms restaurant, just a block and a half away. Owner and sommelier Jonny Barr is that venerated restaurant’s former general manager. Husband-and-wife Chef Sean McGaughey and Melissa McGaughey, are SingleThread’s former chef de cuisine and hotel baker, respectively. The couple also own Healdsburg’s Quail & Condor bakery and Troubador cafe. At Molti Amici, Seth is the executive chef and Melissa is the pastry chef. They are assisted by Chef de Cuisine Matthew Cargo, former executive sous chef of Gjusta in Los Angeles, who honed his pasta and pizza skills through extensive travels throughout Italy.

The bar in the main dining room.
The bar in the main dining room.
The dining room.
The dining room.
Light streaming in on an early Saturday night.
Light streaming in on an early Saturday night.

Don’t expect fancy, white tablecloth, tweezer-food here, though. Instead, it’s all about handmade pizzas and pastas, made with a confident, deft hand that befits their impressive backgrounds. When I visited a couple weeks ago, as a guest of the restaurant, I enjoyed some of the best pastas and pizzas I’ve had in a while. And if you know my carb addiction, you know that’s saying something.

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