At Home and Underground - The Tasty Yakitori and Handmade Udon of Izakaya Rintaro [Thoughts + Pics]

TheOffalo’s picture of special heart at Torihei in his writeup looks very similar to me with the uploaded picture of Rintaro’s kanzuri with some slight differences

http://theoffalo.com/2014/12/torihei-yakitori-robata-dining/

https://www.instagram.com/p/u4u1MCA-gE/

And that would be the addition of other bits and what looks like either onions or cartilage, the way these bits are cut which will shape their mouthfeel when eaten. Done in the right way, the experience can be very good. It is obviously a lot more work. Then there are other factors such as the house tare seasoning, grilling techniques (whether they cook it longer or not), and sourcing of the chicken.

If you look at this picture uploaded by the business:

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rintaro-san-francisco-4?select=XJy5tVgS5iTeQEH-JRrzMg

It looks like the tubes/connectors, but they curled and spiraled it on the skewer which does not resemble @Chowseeker1999 's picture as much but you see some of the tubes.

If you pay close attention to different yakitori restaurants on how they prepare chicken skin skewers, some places would arrange it in a similar manner, some prefer to deep fry the skin first before grilling even if it will receive a dipping in tare. Japanese expats prefer the more chewier texture of the skin where you can taste the surface vs a deep fry + grilling, whereas some Americans prefer the latter. To the restaurant, deep frying the skin first would make it easier to skewer than doing it to a raw piece of skin (especially if spiraling it in a way that after grilling results in an enhancement of a mouthfeel that expat hardcore purists love).

Very possible Rintaro would alter the skewer preparation based on sourcing and what happens after they finish cutting the chickens, including all of the parts, or what they think can be served as “kanzuri”.

So yeah I think they are all one and the same… kanzuri , kokoro nokori, aorta, tsunagi, “special heart”. Just a different approach. But we can all agree the kan zuri, is a little bit of an odd naming convention, though without being native Japanese speakers and as much experience in the old world we can only take the naming at face value.

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Hi @BradFord,

Thanks. Yes totally agree! Rintaro certainly isn’t a destination, but it’s a solid Izakaya in general, casual and has a great atmosphere and some winners. It’s not like Raku when you’re in L.A., but as @beefnoguy mentioned (more of an indictment of the level of quality of Izakaya in SF) it’s probably one of the best ones if you find yourself in the area and want that type of food. :wink:

If this was in L.A. and in my neighborhood, I’d be glad to stop in from time-to-time.

Raku LA is no longer a destination. For me, anyway.