Author Archives: j

to the ocean and back

we walked 8 miles round trip from Brentwood to the ocean and back again

Howlin rays

I stood in line for 1 hour and 45 minutes for this:

Get the hot or extra hot. The medium is for weenies.

n/naka in october

i used resy again to get a last minute reservation. this time we got a hug. n/naka is still amazing but with hrj at the table, i was distracted and my notes aren’t as comprehensive as usual. and we didn’t start eating until 9pm. how do people eat so late?

: shrimp toast. avocado + dashi bonito (homemade; 8 months) soup. avocado + chive mousse.

: shishito eggplant miso. santa barbara uni squid shiso leaf. santa barbara baby octopus. ponzu. cucumber. wasabi. kosho.

: sardine. green onion oil. beet puree. bell pepper jelly. ginger jelly. sorrel.

: seabass. shiitake and button mushroom. shiso leaf. yuzu.

: kanpachi. toro. maguro. red snapper. hokkaido scallop.

: seaweed key lime chive sauce. santa barbara spiny lobster with panko.

: santa barbara cod. yam puree. green tea matcha powder. green chili oil. kyoto (?) seaweed.

: uni pasta. nori. salmon roe. shaved egg. santa barbara uni. truffle. / muku sake (dry)

: steak. foie gras (mill valley). miso.

: kumamoto oyster. edible violet. yuzu sauce.

: goldeneye snapper. whitefish.

: spanish mackerel with ginger. amaebi.

: squid w/ yuzu chili pepper. santa barbara uni.

: concord grape granita. matcha (kyoto) (new this summer)

: walnut cake. dehydrated pear. pomegranate maple caramel. ___ ice cream. poached pear.

1000 miles

Just after we purchased the Prius, I achieved ~950 miles before refueling. I promised myself I would break 1000 and indeed I did this summer: 1050 miles on 8.1 gallons of gas.

venice sushi #3: hamasaku

omg. best of the 3 we’ve tried. they had a nice variety, good rice, good ginger (not too sweet, plenty of bite), and good gyoza. we didn’t do our usual menu because we wanted to try so many new fish species.

: bluefin tuna; blue nose snapper; 4-5 yr old yellowtail; goldeneye snapper; yellowtail (2-3 yr old); bluefin tuna belly (not toro); salmon; grunt fish (belt fish); barracuda

: NFL: spicy tuna, salmon, avocado, soy paper, chili ponzu (no rice)

: hamasaku receipt

customer service

it’s rare that i feel satisfied by customer service, so when i called vitamix about our leaking pitcher and they agreed to send me a new one no questions asked, i was very happy. but then again, we paid a small fortune for this machine – the 7-year warranty better be good!

n/naka 5 weeks later

back in june, we didn’t know if we would get our anniversary date and we wanted to try her autumn cuisine so i quickly secured a september date when slots opened up on the sunday of the week i wanted.

i finally figured out how to get my photos in focus: wide focal length; f/4.0; shutter 1/30 sec.; WB at 2900K (which yields 2800K in LR); ISO from 2000-6000; not AF illuminator or audio signal; compose photo from a distance slightly above my head but avoiding lens shadow on food.

i remembered all of the sushi courses but i forgot to take a picture of the chilean sea bass soup with m’s new favorite: the yuzu dashi kombu broth.

: grassy point oyster. asparagus cream. mushroom. nori.

: blue shrimp w/ yuzu cream + cress. grated mountain yam w/ okra. shishito + scallop tempura. duck w/ fig and sweet miso.

: toro tartare. pine nuts. chives. roe. dashi broth. shiso leaf.

: chilean sea bass. maitake. scallion. yuzu dashi kombu broth.

: kanpachi. octopus. halibut. maguro. toro. cucumber tower. fresh grated wasabi.

: soft shell crab tempura. bell pepper sauce. kabocha puree. we decide this is the best menu ever.

: steamed uni. snow crab. egg white. dashi broth. (i instantly recognize the sea urchin from chef’s table. we’ve never had the shell presented to us before.). m likes steamed uni.

: empty sea urchin shell

: unagi risotto (tamaki gold rice). foie gras. chives. foie gras cooked better. very wintry – makes m feel like a hibernating bear. spaghettini still the fave.

: miyazaki short rib and ribeye. ponzu. wasabi aioli. japanese bbq. seasoned salt w/ lemon. the beef uncovered the sauces.

: grilling stone. i did less than the recommended 20 seconds/side

: hokkaido scallop. yuzu miso – very bright! cucumber salad. yuzu sake.

: japanese grouper. bluefin tuna toro.

: mackerel. amaebi.

: squid w/ chili and yuzu (loved this flavor and chew). ikura. then the blue crab hand roll!

: watermelon granita w/ pickled rind and matcha.

: honey ice cream. honey brittle. cherry compote. fig bar. acorn crumble. hojicha. 2 truffles to finish.

japanese eggplant

our first japanese eggplant! bugs got into the end near the stem because the vegetable was buried in the wood chips, but the rest of it was perfect and tasty. i did a coarse chop that i learned from blue apron and sauteed it in EVOO for 3-5 minutes. then i mixed it with lots of other veggies and put all of them over tamaki gold rice. best. dinner. ever. (mostly because of the rice. even n/naka uses tamaki gold.)

homemade ramen

when hrj invited us over for dinner, we stopped at 99 ranch for white peaches for cobbler and lots of other asian goodies. we found kansui and tonight we tried to make homemade ramen noodles with the KA pasta attachments.

fresh handmade krowki and jellies wrapped in dark chocolate

official krowki website