My meal at Shibumi was on NYE for a prefix dinner. Strong food wise, and more enjoyable than my prior meals there on a regular night. But yes, service is only so so by the wait staff, unless you get one of the bartenders to take care of you the entire time.
‘Mebaru’ if from Japan,’ kasago’ if from elsewhere.
Hmmm no good solid leads on nitsuke in SFBA.
Either they are mediocre renditions, or they only appear once in a blue moon (and even then just barely passable). The best I had so far was a kinmedai head butterflied into two. Next best thing would be buri daikon, but it’s too humble for most folks and not as sexy, and also suffers from differing quality.
It takes a bit too long to make for most izakaya up here, it’s much easier to deep fry stuff or grill.
Despite the changes since opening, and even though I have not visited yet, Shibumi still strikes me more as a modern bar/gastropub approach and more like standing sake otsumami bar, and the word kappo doesn’t seem as appropriate or accurate to describe the style and approach. A lot of the food presented in the more recent reports would definitely be even better with the right drink. Shibumi now carries Oakland’s Den (Den Sake Brewery) and is the only location outside of SFBA to offer it. If they are still on batch #4, please try it (the nama version)…drinks like a beautiful white wine with higher acidity. #5 came out recently but I haven’t had a proper tasting of it yet. Den is as good as the sake from Japan.
Vermillion Rockfish (or Sebastes Minatus) actually does not have a proper Japanese name (nor equivalent that I’m aware of) because this fish is native to the waters of West Coast from here all the way up to Vancouver. Apparently the Japanese name is pronounced (with a Japanese accent of course) as Vermillion Rockfish. So in a way Shibumi is doing something similar to Izakaya Rintaro in San Francisco…a lot of their fish for cooking (and some for sashimi) are caught off California coast, and prepped Japanese style. It’s not the same taste but for a California style Japanese (or California-mae seafood) I guess it’s a twist nonetheless.
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No recent leads but
I’ve had kinki no nitsuke at Kiraku in Berkeley (a few blocks from UC Berkeley on Telegraph Ave). My friend who worked there let me know when it was coming so I was able to get it, but this was not recent unfortunately.
I’ve also had a very nice version at Sushi Dokoro Kazuma private bar at (the ever-changing) Vintage Cave in Honolulu circa 2015. I doubt Kazuma is still open as they’ve kept retooling the concept of the restaurant (and I think each of the 4 times I’ve been, it’s had a different chef).
I’ll be on the lookout.
Love shungiku with nitsuke, perfect for this cold transition to spring.
I believe that vermilion rockfish is not native to Japan. So, I’m not aware of a Japanese name, but it’s closely related in name to but not exactly Akoudai, but it’s not Mebaru (which is green-black).
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Kinki caught off Hokkaido (the absolute best), Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures are Sebastolobus macrochir.
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Yes. AKA idiot fish.
Hi @PorkyBelly,
Thanks for the reports. Definitely agree with you on the staff. We had one visit last year that we were relegated to a table, and the experience was as cold and chilly and unappealing as you and @J_L have mentioned. Since that time (and prior to that), we always ask to get seats in front of Chef David. If he’s not there or no seats available we just skip the visit. He really does make it far more enjoyable.
Great to hear about the fish. Thanks!
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yeah, it definitely has more of a bar feel than a restaurant. also, it looks like they removed any mention of the word “kappo” from their website and menu and now describe themselves as a “japanese restaurant and bar” fwiw.
any thoughts on their good shit list?
yelp
I think of it like a bar; some cocktails and a few snacks, imo. Maybe chinmi with some sake, then a few cocktails or whiskey, but there’s not a lot of natural pairings for whiskey. The beef, for example, has come with narazuke, a strong pickle in the style of Nara that I find difficult to pair with, but maybe they can suggest something.
I’ve done the $150 Omakase and my dining partner and I thought it was mixed.
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Yes that is a great lineup they have, though I would check that yelp? photo for the date to see if that whiskey list is current and chances are a lot of it is gone except for the No Age Statements and perhaps Kurayoshi which is still available in some markets (I saw the 8, 12, and 18 and the sherry cask versions last night up here in NorCal). I have not seen the Mars “Lucky Cat” whiskey in over a year (when it was available for a limited time, it got snatched up quickly…these are exported versions distributed and sold for the US market).
Not much of a J whiskey drinker myself, but most of the food that is posted would not be the best match (other than the really heavily flavored grilled/smoked animal proteins, or something like braised beef cheeks). Any of the fish or sashimi based dishes would be easily overpowered by any of the whiskey offerings.
I assume Shibumi offers some Japanese shochu?
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it was posted last month, who knows when it was taken though.
i would order alc. the only caveat is most times they have dishes that are exclusive to the omakase, so if you really want that dish you’ll have to order omakase.
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Given my past experiences there, I’d just imbibe and, ahem… avoid the food.
So I was right, sake otsumami bar… or just go straight to whiskey and skip the mains. Versatility!
sayori (halfbeak, full body), shiso, wasabi, nori, fried bones
heads-up, now serving sayori roll-ups.
The sashimi was served with, what the chef called, a black bean soy sauce. can anybody translate (@beefnoguy, @BradFord?)
grilled pork jerky
like biting into a slim jim, only softer. kind of tasted like a lap cheong. i liked it.
gobo and yamaimo tempura
gohei mochi, red miso
i never had these sandal-shaped mochis before. it was sweet, savory and stickier than a cinnabon left in a hot car.
aji kama nitsuke
not as good as the rockfish i had but still very good
salmon trout smoked in cherry bark
highlight, probably my favorite thing on the menu. this has consistently been great since they opened.
holstein, narazuke pickles, wasabi
could have been more tender, flavor was nice and beefy.
sakura mochi
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I believe it’s soy sauce by Kubota company, made in town of Yuasa (Wakayama) which is considered to be the birthplace of soy sauce. Original tamari is from the byproduct of kinzanji miso, an old school chunky type of miso from a local temple. This is a dark soy sauce made from that, I believe.
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