Japanese Sake : All Japan News,Inc

By Keiko Fukuda

A Japanese style yakiniku restaurant “Oreno Yakiniku” is located on the third floor of the Weller Court, a shopping mall in Little Tokyo. This place gets especially busy during lunch hours and also while some event is being held nearby. During lunch hours, neighboring Government office workers and other business people swarm to this restaurant to get the lunch specials of this restaurant. Whenever some Japan-themed event is held in the downtown area, such as the Anime Expo, a huge number of people would move into Little Tokyo from the event hall.

This restaurant shows different faces between lunch and dinner. First of all, the reason for the popularity of lunch time is the richness of their menu, and the reasonable pricing. As for the lunch menu variety, aside from the Yakiniku lunch, they also offer as many as nearly 30 or so different items. The grilled miso-marinated black cod, fried salmon, fried prawn, kurobuta shoga-yaki, tonkatsu, jidori karaage, curry, and donburis are some of those items, and most of them are under $15. The ishiyaki bibimbpa is only $9.95. The pricing is very reasonable considering its good location.

For dinner time, on the other hand, a yakiniku set menu called “Snake River Farms Kiwami”, in which a high-quality brand beef is used, is very popular. The Snake River Farms Kiwami is the highest-quality USDA certified beef, and is a relative of Kuroge Japanese beef.

“The beef we use is equal or above prime grade. You can enjoy true high-class delicious beef, which tastes different from all-you-can-eat type of beef,” says the Assistant Manager, Sachie Ebata.

The most popular item among their yakiniku set menu items is the KOBE SPECIAL. As the name suggests, all the meats in the set, yukke, tongue, ribeye, short rib, outside skirt, chuck flap, and ox tail soup are Kobe beef. In addition, the set includes an ishiyaki bibimpa, a cabbage salad, and a dessert. This special course, which is satisfactorily enjoyable with its generous volume and variety, is $135. The reason for having continuous repeating customers seems to be due to not only the meat quality, but also the variety of meat parts you can taste. Thus mentioned, the average lunch time spending for a single customer is between 10 and 15 dollars, whereas it is between 30 and 50 dollars for dinner time, which is a big difference. In order to attract more customers for dinner hours, this restaurant takes on an attractive strategy, which is to offer happy hour twice a day.

The first happy hour is from the opening time (different depending on the day: either 5pm or 5:30pm) to 7pm, during which they offer a drastic discount for Asahi draft beer at $1.99 (instead of the regular price at $5.50), $1 off on cold or hot sake, and $2 off on a glass of wine. Moreover, they offer a 20% discount on a bottle of shochu, and 15% off on a portion of the meat menu items.

The second happy hour is between 8 and 9pm. The discount rates on the hot sake, cold sake, and a glass of wine are the same as the first happy hour; however, Sapporo draft beer is offered surprisingly at only 99 cents. But, there is a catch. This special discount applies only to the customer who ordered more than $10 worth of food or drinks for one person.

Before this restaurant opened 6 years ago, the Assistant Manager, Ebata, was working for EBISU, another Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo. Both Oreno Yakiniku and EBISU are under the same company, Bishamon Group, which has developed more than 10 restaurants in the Los Angeles area. The Bishamon Group is the pioneer which has brought back the vividness to Little Tokyo ever since its opening of the popular Daikokuya ramen restaurant on 1st street, which has been attracting a lot of customers of many ethnicities. Due to the construction rush of the nearby condominiums, the area has a problem which is the lack of parking places, and the parking charge hike, which is also affecting their ability to attract more customers. Despite the odds, they say that Oreno Yakiniku is committed to keep offering quality meat, and continuing the business based in Little Tokyo for the future.


看板メニューKOBE SPECIALと１日２回のハッピーアワーで集客

リトルトーキョーのショッピングモール、ウエラーコートの３階にある日本スタイルの焼肉レストラン「俺の焼肉」はランチタイムとイベント時期に特に賑わう。ランチタイムには隣接した官庁街からビジネスマンが同店のランチを目指して集まってくる。また、ダウンタウンでアニメエキスポといった日本をテーマにしたイベントが開催される期間には、イベント会場からリトルトーキョーに人々がそのまま大量に移動してくるという。

この店は昼と夜では違う顔を見せる。まず、ランチタイムが賑わう理由はメニューの豊富さとリーズナブルな料金だ。ランチメニューには、焼肉ランチを始めとして、銀だらの味噌焼き、サーモンフライ、海老フライや黒豚しょうが焼き、とんかつ、地鶏唐揚げ、カレーや丼まで30種類近くがずらりと並ぶ。ほとんどが15ドル以下、石焼ビビンバは$9.95と、場所を考えると非常に手頃な値段だ。

一方、ディナータイムには「スネイクリバーファーム極（きわみ）」という名前のブランド牛を使った、品質にこだわった焼肉セットが大人気。スネイクリバーファームの極は米国和牛協会の認定を受けた黒毛和種の血統を受け継ぐ最高級ブランドだ。

「肉はプライム以上のものを使用しています。食べ放題の肉とは一線を画す高級感のある美味しいお肉を楽しんでいただけます」と話すのは、同店のアシスタントマネージャーの江端さちえさん。

焼肉セットの一番人気はその名もKOBE SPECIAL。ユッケ、タン、リブアイ、ショートリブ、アウトサイドスカート、チャックフラップ、オックステールスープとすべてが神戸ビーフ尽くしで、これに石焼ビビンバとキャベツサラダにデザートが加わる。十分なボリュームとバラエティー豊かな肉が楽しめるスペシャルメニューのお値段は135ドル。肉の品質だけでなく、様々な部位を味わえることがリピーター続出の理由のようだ。

このように、ランチタイムは客の平均単価が10ドルから15ドルに対し、ディナーには30ドルから50ドルほどとギャップがある。そこでディナータイムにより顧客を惹きつける、魅力的な仕掛け作りという意味で、同店では二度のハッピーアワーを毎日実施している。

まず第一弾はオープン（曜日によって異なる。午後５時から5時半）から午後７時までで、アサヒの生ビールが1ドル99セント（通常５ドル50セント）と破格になるのをはじめ、冷酒や熱燗は１ドルオフ、グラスワインは２ドルオフになる。さらに焼酎のボトルは20％オフ。ミートメニューの一部も15％オフで提供される。

そしてハッピーアワーの第二弾は午後８時から９時まで。熱燗、冷酒、グラスワインの値段は第一弾と同じだが、サッポロの生ビールがなんと99セント。ただし、一人10ドル以上注文した顧客のみが対象となる。

6年前にこの店がオープンする前、アシスタントマネージャーの江端さんは同じくリトルトーキョー内にある日本食レストランのEBISUに勤務していた。この俺の焼肉もEBISUも、ロサンゼルス界隈に10数店舗を展開する毘沙門グループの傘下にある。毘沙門グループはリトルトーキョーのファースト・ストリートにラーメン店大黒家を出してから、人種を問わず顧客を集めたことで、この地域に活気を取り戻した立役者だ。昨今はコンドミニアムの建設ラッシュで駐車場の数が減ったこともあり、駐車場代が高いことが集客のネックになってはいるが、俺の焼肉はこれからも良質の肉にこだわり、リトルトーキョーを舞台に営業を続けていく所存だということだ。

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Oreno Yakiniku
123 S Onizuka St., Ste 308 Los Angeles CA 90012
(213)680-0829
http://www.oreno-yakiniku.com/

Tue.-Sun. 11:30am-2:00pm
Tue.-Thu. 5:30pm-10:00pm
Fri, 5:30pm-11:00pm
Sat. 5:00pm-11:00pm
Sun.5:00pm-10:00pm

Monday Closed

By Kosuke Kuji

A traditional Japanese ceremony of breaking open the sake barrel was held on stage, followed by the welcome beverage of “Awa sake” served in champagne glasses to approximately 300 Japanese and Italian guests to toast together at once. This sight had me dreaming of “Awa sake,” instead of champagne, being served at a large government-sponsored party, such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In Italy, where sparkling wine originated, I observed the Italian staff showed no sign of hesitation serving Awa sake at an official party sponsored by Japan. There’s no reason why we can’t do the same in Japan.

Not to deny champagne in anyway, but the conventional welcome beverage at past parties was the bubbly alcoholic beverage champagne, without question. At the same time, there is no reason why champagne should be the only beverage choice for foreign dignitaries to give a toast at the Tokyo Olympics. Although “the only beverage option for a toast” in the past was champagne, we now have “Awa sake” as another option, served successfully at a party in Italy to all attendees for a toast without causing any confusion in the operation.

We’d love to recreate this beautiful miracle again in 2020. Since we were successful in Italy, there’s no why we can’t serve Awa sake at an official party again, this time in Japan. Although challenges still remain, this day was a milestone that brought us one day closer to our goal to make Awa sake the “global beverage choice for a toast worldwide.”


世界初！！海外のパーティーでawa酒で乾杯！！　パート2

ステージ上では日本の伝統的な儀式である鏡開きが行われ、その後ウエルカムドリンクで手に持っているシャンパングラスに注がれた日本酒である「awa酒」で、日本、イタリアの関係者約300人が一斉に乾杯するその姿は、2020年東京オリンピック・パラリンピックで政府主催のパーティーなどで行われる乾杯がシャンパンではなく「awa酒」で乾杯するその姿を予想する事が出来ました。

イタリアと言うスパークリングワインの本場で、公式な日本の主催パーティーで、イタリア人のスタッフが何の戸惑いも無くawa酒をサーブできる事もわかりました。これで日本で出来ないはずがありません。

シャンパンを否定するのではなく、今まではこういったパーティーのウエルカムドリンクは泡のお酒、シャンパンと言う事で当たり前に使われていましたが、日本で開催するオリンピックで海外の要人が乾杯をシャンパンでどうしてもしなければいけないことはありません。今までは「シャンパンしか選択肢に無かった」だったのが、今ではこの「awa酒」があり、awa酒で見事にイタリアでのパーティーでオペレーションから混乱も無く、会場全員でawa酒で乾杯をすることが出来ました。

この素晴らしい奇跡を2020年の日本で是非再現したいと思います。イタリアで出来たのだから日本で出来ないはずはありません。「世界の乾杯酒になる」とう大きな目標に大きく近づいた貴重な一日になりました。世界へのawa酒の挑戦はまだまだ続きます。世界の乾杯酒を目指して！！

By Elli Sekine

Ebisu, which is going into their 37th year of operation this year, is a long-established restaurant that has been leading the sushi boom in San Francisco. This restaurant is located near the center of the Golden Gate Park, and had become a super popular place in the nineties, where people would wait in line for a long time. Since then, they have tried diversified management styles, and tried out new sushi business models. Actually, in the past 30 years, they have expanded the business by opening 3 new restaurants, then closing them, and currently running only the main location. In their history, you can identify the pros and cons of a family-run operation. Ebisu has always been particular about quality and originality, and therefore, it was their management strategy to match the trends of the time. “The fundamentals are the most important things for the operation, which are consistent procurement of fresh ingredients, and the management,” says Erick, the 2nd generation owner.

Changing of management style according to the time…
In 1999, Ebisu Family’s second location, “Hotei,” opened. It was a noodle specialty restaurant which no one paid attention to at that time. The secret dashi made at the main location across the street was used for the noodle soups, and their wide variety of menu items that included udon, soba, somen, showa-taste ramen, etc., and its casual atmosphere made this place a hit. “As long as the base for Japanese cuisine is solidly mastered, you can create any dish,” at that time said Steve who is the founder, and currently the chairman. Especially, the “Reimen (cold noodle)” with house-made rich sauce, which you could not get anywhere else, was their top menu item. Ususally, average time people spend at a noodle specialty restaurant is not long, and therefore, its rotation is quick. From the customers’ point of view, it was really convenient that the restaurant was open from lunch through dinner time, and it was nice that they could have Ebisu’s roll sushi at a reasonable price. This location, thus quickly became very popular. Some customers who could not get into “Ebisu” went there, too. However, due to the ramen boom that came later, those customers slowly left for wanting of the new thing, ramen. For the 2 years prior to closing “Hotei”, they tried to continue by changing the owner, but finally closed its doors in 2015.

Catering sushi for parties…
In the 2000s, the core business that they were running along with the restaurant business was catering of sushi for parties, and catering for business offices.
With catering for weddings to business meetings at renowned hotels, they were extremely busy. The catering business was rapidly growing around that time as a new food business model. Erick, who was the leader of their catering business said, “It was really crazy, the situation we were in”, as he reminisced about those days when he was rushing around like crazy with his father and brothers. Presently, they are developing a well-balanced business based on the main location as the core.

“Airport Ebisu”, the second location of “Ebisu”, and “Hotei”, the second location of “Hotei” at the Financial District
In the early 2000s, the “Ebisu” family opened a branch at the new international terminal of SFO (San Francisco airport) which is known as “the most gourmet airport”. Ebisu was really standing out amongst the selection of restaurants and stores there, where the food culture unique to Northern California with the highest Asian population was symbolized in. Furthermore, the second “Hotei” opened in the Finance District, and their business was at its peak. On the other hand, in the background of such successes, they were having constant hardships with administering of employees, and the management. The distance from the main restaurant seemed to be one of the reasons. The idea of Steve’s, “to keep everybody within the reach of his supervision”, was far from the reality. It was also the time when maintaining of human resources was not catching up with the demands of the rapidly growing Japanese food businesses.

In the second half of the 2000s, San Francisco went into the IT bubbling period, and high-end Japanese restaurants were appearing one after another. Fine dining restaurants that served Omakase and Kaiseki courses increased in number in a very short time. Ebisu did a renovation of the entire restaurant in 2008, but did not change their position all throughout the past 30 years as a casual, locally based restaurant. Because of it, they still keep long-time regular customers without getting distracted by new trends. Moreover, due to the renovation, the older image of them, which is a usual typical sushi restaurant of the nineties, has transformed to a modern, bright, and spacious kind, which is drawing new types of customers. Adding more counter seats is contributing to the increase in the number of single customers.

The long-lasting Ebisu, which was established by a single generation, has been going forward by changing their business format along the way with the times. What has not changed is their offering of fresh ingredients, and their support of the local regular customers. Their family operation principle in which they do not rely completely on strangers, has been carried over to the second generation, and is still evolving.


地域に愛される寿司の老舗
-変わりながら持続する-


今年で創業37年目となるEbisuは、サンフランシスコで寿司ブームを牽引して来た老舗。ゴールデンゲートパークのほぼ中央に位置するサンセット地区で90年代、行列の出来る繁盛店となった。その後多角経営に挑戦し、新しい寿司店の在り方を実践して来た。実際、この30年で３軒の新規店舗を拡大しクローズし、現在は本店のみが既存している。そこには、家族経営の良さと難しさが見えてくる。また、品質とオリジナリティにこだわるEbisuならではの時代に合わせた経営戦略でもあった。「経営は基本が最も大切。それは一貫して新鮮な食材の仕入れとマネージメントです」と２代目店主のエリックさんは語る。

時代に合わせ経営形態を変える
1999年、Ebisuファミリー第2号店となる「Hotei」をオープンした。当時まだ誰も見向きもしなかったヌードル店だ。通り向かいに位置する本店で毎日取る秘伝出汁をヌードルスープに応用する手順でうどん、蕎麦、そうめん、そして昭和の味のラーメンなど豊富なメニューとカジュアルさがウケた。「和食の基本さえしっかりしていれば、どんなメニューでも創作できる」と当時、創始者で現会長のスティーブさんは言っていた。特に自家製コッテリタレの「冷麺」はここでしか食べられない絶品メニューだった。ヌードル店は平均食事時間が少く回転も早い。客にとっては営業時間はランチタイムから通しで便利であり、お得な値段でEbisuのロール寿司を食べられると言う事でたちまち繁盛店となった。「Ebisu」に入れない客も流れていた。しかしその後到来したラーメンブームにより、客は新しいラーメンを求めて散って行った。閉店前2年間はオーナーチェンジをし、2015年「Hotei」はそのドアを閉じた。

パーティ寿司ケータリング
2000年代、レストラン営業と同時に経営の柱となっていたのが、パーティー出張寿司とビジネスケータリングだ。結婚式から著名なホテルのミーティングまで引っ張りだことなった。ケータリングが新しい食ビジネスとして急成長したのもこの頃。その中心となって支えてきたエリックさんは、「状況はクレージーだった」と父、兄弟と走り回った当時を振り返る。現在、本店を軸としたバランスの良いビジネスを展開している。

エアポート「Ebisu 」２号店と金融街の「Hotei」２号店
2000年代初頭、「Ebisu」ファミリーは、「全米で一番グルメな空港」と呼ばれるSFO(サンフランシスコ空港）の新国際ターミナルに支店を出した。アジア人口の比率が最も多い北カリフォルニアならではの食文化を象徴した店舗セレクションの中でEbisuは際立っていた。さらに「Hotei」２号店も金融街にオープンし、経営は最高潮に達していた。しかしその裏では人事やマネージメント面での苦労が耐えなかったという。本店から距離が遠いこともあり、「常に目が届く範囲」というスティーブさんの思惑からかけ離れていたようだ。急激な日本食需要に人材確保が追い付かない時代でもあった。

本店の大改装
2000年代後半からサンフランシスコはITバブル期に突入し、和食高級店が続々と出現し、Omakaseや懐石メニューを提供する“ハイエンド”レストランが一気に増えた。Ebisu は2008年に店内の全面改装をしたが、30数年間通してきた地元密着型のカジュアルレストランの位置付けは変えなかった。その為トレンドに惑わされる事なく長年の常連客を確保している。更に改装により、90年代の平凡な寿司店のイメージはモダンで当たるく広々としたイメージに代わり、新しい客も呼び込んでいる。カウンター席が増えた事で一人客も増えている。

一代で築いた老舗Ebisuは時代と共にビジネスの形態を変えながら歩んで来た。変わらないのは新鮮なネタの提供と地域の常連客のサポートだ。他人任せにしない家族経営店の信念は今２代目へと引き継がれ、更なる進化を遂げようとしている。

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Ebisu
1283 9th Ave 
San Francisco, CA 
 (415) 566-1770
 https://ebisusushi.com

lunch
Monday to Friday 11:30-14:00
Saturday 11:30-14:30

Dinner
Monday to Thursday 17:00-22:00
Friday ,Saturday 17:00-23:00

特に日本酒と食のペアリングに対して、多くの人は「何を大げさな、あまり関係ない」と考えているのではないだろうか？

今回は、ちょっとした心がけで日本酒と料理のペアリング能力が上がるコツを教えたい。

まずは、なるべく性質の違う日本酒3銘柄を用意していただきたい。性質の違いは、本当は飲んでみないとなかなか分かりにくいが、とりあえずはラベルで判断できる情報で選んでみる。

たとえば、純米大吟醸、特別純米、純米生酛で全く違う産地のものを見つけてみる。秋田、新潟、兵庫など。米国産の日本酒も手軽な価格なのでこれらも入れると面白い。

3銘柄の酒は必ず同じ形状のグラスを使うこと。その際、3時間くらい冷蔵庫に保存し、55度Fくらいになるようにしておく。（白ワイングラスがベター）
さて料理だが、何も日本食に限らず、たとえば、中華、イタリアンなど（あまりスパイシーなものやニンニクの強いものは避ける）で試すのも面白い。
注意する点は、日本酒を飲んだ時の料理との調和、旨みの変化、その食特有の臭さの変化、後味だ。これらが心地よければペアリングは、「良い」こととなる。


Food and Japanese sake pairing

Especially when it comes to pairing Japanese sake with food, many people likely think, “What’s with the exaggeration…? It doesn’t really matter.”

In this issue, I’d like to pass on to our readers a trick that enhances one’s abilities to pair sake with food.

First, please select three brands of sake with very different properties. The differences in properties are hard to tell without drinking the sake, but first, let’s select the sake according to the information listed on each label.

For example, please select a Junmai Daiginjo, Tokubestu Junmai, and Junmai Kimoto, all produced in different regions like Akita, Niigata, and Hyogo prefectures, etc. Sake produced in the U.S. are reasonably priced, for including a few of these brands in the mix may also be fun. Please be sure to use the same shaped glass for each of the three sake brands. It’s best to store the glasses in the refrigerator for approximately 3 hours and to maintain their temperature at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. (white wine glasses are better)

And now, for the cuisine. There’s no need to stick with Japanese cuisine, for it’s fun to also pair sake with Chinese and Italian (please avoid excessively spicy or strong garlic-flavored dishes) cuisines. Please be careful to compare the balance between the sake and the food upon consumption, the changes detected in the umami flavors, and any changes in the aroma particular to that food, and aftertaste. If these factors in the pairing are satisfying, then it’s safe to say the pairing was a “success.”


清酒與食物的搭配

特別是對於清酒和食物的搭配，很多人都認為「何必煞有介事；其實並無甚關係吧」。
這一次，我想教你如何花一點心思就能提高清酒和料理的搭配能力。
首先，請儘可能準備三款具有不同特徵的清酒品牌。特徵的差異，很難透過實際嘗試以外的方法所得知；但首先可以試一下能夠從標籤判斷到的信息來進行選擇。
例如，嘗試找出完全不同產地的純米大吟釀、特別純米酒以及純米生酛。例如秋田，新潟，兵庫等。由於美國製造的清酒也能以合理的價格購買，故將之列為選擇之一，亦有其趣。
請務必使用相同形狀的酒杯來盛載這三個品牌的清酒。此時，將其存放在冰箱里大約三個小時，然後保持在華氏55度。（使用白葡萄酒杯能達到更好的效果）
好吧，接下來是料理。無須規限於日本料理；不防嘗試中國菜、意大利菜等(但儘量避免辛辣或大蒜味濃烈的料理)，亦頗有意思。
要注意的事項，是喝清酒時與料理的調和、滋味的變化、該食物獨有的氣味的變化，以及其回味。如果以上皆令你感到愜意，則稱為「好」搭配。


일본주와 음식의 페어링

특히 술과 음식 페어링에 대해 많은 사람들이 "뭐 그렇게까지, 별로 관계 없다"고 생각하고 있지는 않을까요?
이번에는 약간의 노력으로 일본주와 요리의 페어링 능력을 높일 수 있는 비결을 알려주고 싶습니다.
우선 최대한 성질이 다른 일본주 3종류를 준비하십시오. 성질의 차이는 실제로 마셔봐야 알 수 있는 것이지만, 일단 라벨에서 확인할 수 있는 정보로 선택해 봅니다.
예를 들어, 쥰마이 다이긴죠, 특별 쥰마이, 쥰마이 키모토처럼 산지가 전혀 다른 것을 찾아 봅니다(아키타, 니가타, 효고 등). 미국에서 만든 일본주도 가격이 저렴하니 이것도 함께 비교해 본다면 재미있을 것입니다.
3종류의 술은 반드시 같은 모양의 유리컵에 담으십시오. 이때 냉장고에 3시간 정도 보관해서 55°F 정도가 되도록 합니다(화이트 와인잔이 더 좋습니다).
그리고 요리는 일본 음식뿐만 아니라 중식, 이탈리아 음식 등 (너무 맵거나 마늘맛이 강한 것은 피합니다.)과 함께 시도해보는 것도 재미있습니다.
주의할 점은 일본주를 마셨을 때 음식과의 조화, 맛의 변화, 그 음식 특유의 향의 변화 뒷맛입니다. 이러한 느낌이 기분이 좋게 느껴진다면 페어링은 "좋다"고 볼 수 있습니다.

By Aya Ota

Characteristics of New York City are strongly reflected upon old brick buildings and graffiti on the walls of the Lower East Side. In this town, new hotels, galleries, restaurants, and bars have been appearing one after another in the past few years, and the scene of the town has been rapidly changing. One of them is “Kaikagetsu NYC” that has the Hida-region of Gifu prefecture as their theme, with a brand-new concept.

When you step into the restaurant, being enchanted and led by the elegant swaying paper lanterns hung in the front, its beautiful interior catches your eyes first. You see lamps standing in line like on a street in the space where deep charcoal brown grainy woods, white walls and ceilings are effectively laid out. As you keep walking forward towards the heavy door in the back, you feel like you are walking down the street of the Hida region where old houses stand in line along the streets. A truly relaxing and elegant ambience has been produced there with impressively presented Mino Washi paper and local artifacts, etc.

The dishes served there are dominated by the Hida-region’s local cuisine. Hida beef, a Gifu prefecture specialty, is featured as the main menu item, and they serve a wide variety of both traditional dishes such as “Hida Beef Hoba Yaki” ($60) and “Hida Beef Toban Yaki” ($60), and modern version dishes such as “Hida Beef Curry” ($24) and “Hida Beef Skewers” ($24). The “Hida Beef Nigiri Sushi Sampler” ($35), which is sushi of lightly char-boiled Hida beef, is particularly well received. Variations of possibilities of wagyu beef are exhibited one after another, which surprises and impresses you. As for Japanese sake, it is extremely carefully selected mainly amongst the Hida-region brands. “Tenryou Koshu” Junmai Daiginjo, which has a distinctive aroma, is especially popular, and many customers order it for pairing with Hida beef dishes. There, you can either choose to sit at a table to relax to enjoy a Kaiseki course, or sit at the bar to enjoy sake while having à la carte dishes.

“Their unprecedented unique concept, Hida, and the ingredient, Hida beef, which is very attractive to Americans, must be appealing to New Yorkers,” says Tomoyuki Iwanami, the owner. Mr. Iwanami was born and raised in New York. He has a unique background. He worked in both the music and fashion industries. He was specialized in marketing and branding. The joint effort with Mr. Yasuo Shigeta, CEO, Forrest Fooding, Inc., also his friend of 10 years, who runs 37 various types of restaurants in Japan, started extensive market research about 5 years ago for the main purpose of opening a Japanese fine dining restaurant in New York, which is the center of the world of eatery. What they took most of their time was to look for the location and building. They had their eyes on the Lower East Side since the beginning; however, they felt a special energy and growth potential of this area by seeing the past year’s remarkable changes there, and eventually decided to choose this location. I found out that they had decided on the theme as the Hida region later on. They first determined the condition of the existing real estate candidates, local clientele and their characteristics, etc., and then chose “Kaikagetsu” as their themed restaurant among the running business models of Forrest Fooding Inc.

The strong selling point of “Kaikagetsu NYC” is, no need to say, its particularity about ingredients and cooking style. They brought as many as 3 chefs from Japan, who are experienced and well established in Kaiseki cuisine. Their truly authentic and delicately crafted dishes are very well recognized. The colorful presentation of each dish that makes you feel the present season, looks like a piece of art. Playful arrangements are applied to daily changing ingredients by the chefs, and never bore even the repeating customers. Such strengths of theirs was taken into their branding strategy, and used for choosing the media that are particular about foods and drink, for their advertisements. They also invited concierges of nearby hotels to introduce their concept and dishes so they can recommend the restaurant to the hotel guests. Diligent efforts such as those worked out, and the restaurant has become a place where gourmet customers who want to eat good food, gather despite the location which, you cannot say, is really convenient to reach.

“As a Japanese who was born and raised in New York, I wanted to do something for Japan,” continues Mr. Iwanami. Aside from running the restaurant, he is contributing to the exchange of Japan/US food cultures by hiring novice chefs who are interested in Japanese cuisine, and training them, etc.

I’d really like you to visit this restaurant where you can fully enjoy good old Japanese elegant ambience and local cuisine.


飛騨地方の郷土料理と地酒を、古民家のような雰囲気で味わう
『海華月NYC』

煉瓦造りの古い建物や壁に描かれたグラフィティ…ニューヨークらしさを色濃く遺す街、ロウアーイーストサイド。この数年、ホテルやギャラリー、レストランやバーが次々登場し、急速に変貌を遂げる中、またひとつ個性的な店が誕生した。『海華月NYC』――岐阜県飛騨地方をテーマにした、全く新しいコンセプトの店だ。

店頭で揺れる上品な提灯に誘われるように足を踏み入れると、まず、その内装の美しさに目を奪われる。深い焦げ茶色の木目と白い壁や天井との対比を活かした空間に、街頭のように並ぶランプ。店の奥にある重厚感ある扉に向けて進むと、まるで飛騨地方の古民家が立ち並ぶ街を歩いているかのような気分になる。美濃和紙や民芸品を印象的に配置し、お洒落かつ心からくつろげる雰囲気を演出している。

料理は飛騨地方の郷土料理を取り入れた内容。特に、岐阜県名産の飛騨牛をメニューの核に据え、「飛騨牛の朴葉焼き（$60）」「飛騨牛陶板焼き$60）」などの伝統的な料理から、「飛騨牛のカレー$24）」「飛騨牛の串焼き（（$24）」など現代的な料理まで、幅広く提供する。ごく軽く炙った飛騨牛で握る寿司$35）も好評で、和牛の可能性を次々に見せてくれ、驚かされる。日本酒は飛騨地方の地酒を中心に厳選。特に、純米大吟醸『天領古酒』は個性的な風味があり、飛騨牛とあわせて楽しむ客が多いという。ゆっくりとテーブルに着席して懐石料理コースを満喫したり、バーカウンターに座ってアラカルトをつまみながらお酒を味わったり、さまざまな楽しみ方ができる。

「飛騨という他にないコンセプト、飛騨牛という米国人客に魅力的な食材がニューヨーカーを引きつけている」と話すのは、オーナーの岩波智之氏岩波氏は、ニューヨークで生まれ育ち、音楽やファッション業界出身というユニークな経歴があり、マーケティングやブランディングが専門分野。同氏の十年来の友人であり、日本でさまざまな業態の飲食店を37店舗経営する『フォレストフーディング社』の代表取締役社長・重田保夫氏と提携し、約5年前に「世界の食の中心地・ニューヨークで、高級和食店を開店する」という軸を元に、徹底した市場調査を開始した。最も時間を割いたのは、立地と物件探し。当初からロウアーイーストサイド地区には目を付けていたものの、特にこの1年のめざましい変化を見る中で、他の地域にはないエネルギーや成長性を感じ、この場所に決定したという。「飛騨地方をテーマに据える」ことは、実は、後から決めたことだという。既存物件の状況や、この地域の顧客層や特性などを見極めた上で、フォレストフーディング社が経営する業態から『海華月』を選んだのだという。

『海華月NYC』の強みは、なんと言っても食材と料理にこだわっていること。日本から、懐石料亭で経験と実績を積んだシェフを3人も連れてきており、本格的で丁寧に細工された料理には定評がある。季節感や大事にした彩り豊かな盛り付けは、まるで芸術作品のようだ。毎日の食材に応じて、シェフたちが遊び心あふれるアレンジを施し、常連が何度訪れても飽きさせることがない。その強みをブランディング戦略にも取り入れ、ソフトオープン当初は、食や酒にこだわりの強い媒体を選んで、記事掲載を仕掛けたという。また、近隣のホテルのコンシェルジェを招待し、コンセプトや料理を紹介し、宿泊客に勧めてもらうように働きかけた。こういった地道な戦略が功を奏し、決して交通の便がよい立地とは言えないが、「美味しいものを食べたい」というグルメな客が集う店として注目されている。

「ニューヨークで生まれ育った日本人として、日本のために何かできれば」と岩波氏は続ける。レストラン経営の一方で、和食に興味のあるシェフの卵を見習いとして雇いトレーニングするなど、日米の食文化交流にも貢献する。

古き良き日本の風情や郷土料理を心ゆくまで楽しめる店、ぜひ足を運んでほしい。

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Kaikagetsu NYC
162 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 646-590-3900
URL: www.kaikagetsunyc.com

By Keiko Fukuda

Okonomiyaki restaurant, Chinchikurin, stands in front of the Yagura of Japanese Village, the symbol of Little Tokyo. Teppan-yaki tables are laid out in an orderly way in a large space, and their kitchen is an open style. If you get seated at the counter, you can watch Okonomiyaki being made by chefs in front of you.

“Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is difficult to make because it requires one to make many layers, therefore, although a teppan is installed for each table, we don’t ask customers to cook at the table. Instead, we deliver Okonomiyaki cooked by a chef in the kitchen to the teppan, so the customer can eat while it is still hot,” explains Tsuyoshi Sahara, the manager. Mr. Sahara is from Hiroshima. His family had a teppan at home when he was little, and it was his father, who didn’t usually cook, who took the responsibility whenever Okonomiyaki was chosen for dinner.

The Chinchikurin chain was founded in 1999 in Hiroshima which Mr. Sahara is also from. The chain has developed 10 locations in Hiroshima, and 3 locations in Tokyo as restaurants which offer various izakaya style menus that contain mainly Okonomiyaki and Teppanyaki items. The first overseas location was in the Sawtelle District of West Los Angeles, which opened in January of 2017. The Little Tokyo location opened in March of 2018 after a strong determination of success was felt at the Sawtelle location.

There have been Osaka style Okonomiyaki restaurants in the US; however, there was no place where you could eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. What is the difference between the Osaka style and the Hiroshima style? As mentioned earlier, Hiroshima style has many layers. The Chinchikurin menu explains that in an easy-to-understand way with an illustration. First comes the dough, then fish powder, shredded cabbage, tenkasu (fried tempura batter crumbs), bean sprouts, pork belly slices, soba, eggs, sauce, and dried seaweed flakes are piled on top of each other, pressed down, and grilled, one by one in order. When you take a bite of a piping hot piece, it feels like those ingredients are trying to make an impression in your mouth with each of their tastes and textures.

The most popular menu item is the Chinchikurin yaki ($17.00). It is a signature item in Japan, which is called “Shoburiyaki” in Japan. Boneless short rib of beef is used in Japan, but in the US, ground beef is used for easier acceptance by Americans. On the interview day, I tried the second most popular item, “The Loaded Kaisen ($18.50)”. In addition to the basic ingredients such as cabbage, soba, and eggs, it had plenty of seafood such as shrimp and sliced squid on top.

It is a very satisfying and luxurious menu item both visually and volume wise.

What is indispensable to complete the piece is Hiroshima’s Otafuku brand sauce. This sauce is produced locally at the Otafuku sauce factory in a Los Angeles suburb.

Menu items such as Basil Cheese and Broccoli Shrimp Yaki are unique to the American market. There are 8 kinds in Okonomiyaki alone, and one for vegetarians has been added newly to respond to many requests from the Los Angeles area. There is no need to say that no meat is used for this piece, but even no eggs or fish powder are used. In addition to the Okonomiyaki menu, you can also order Hiroshima style tsukemen and soup-less tantanmen. They are planning to add more appetizers and desserts. Most of their customers are non-Japanese.

What do they do to secure the number of customers? “We don’t use prints or other media advertisements much.

As for the Little Tokyo location, the huge glass windows facing the street is the key, I think. It seems that people get curious watching people inside eating an unfamiliar-looking food in front of an iron grill. We also try to maintain a cheerful ambience of the restaurant at all times.

We train our staff to serve customers cheerfully and as loudly as possible,” says the manager Sahara. As the result of such efforts, the restaurant has become so popular that on weekends, people wait in line in front of the restaurant. They sometimes serve as many as 500 people a day. The 3rd US location is being planned to open soon in Torrance (this information is as of December of 2018).

Such a day may be near that you can eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki anywhere in the US.


広島のお好み焼きをアメリカで

リトルトーキョーのシンボル、ジャパニーズビレッジプラザに建つ火の見櫓の正面に店を構えるのが、お好み焼きのちんちくりん。広々とした店内には鉄板焼きテーブルが配置され、キッチンはオープンスタイル。カウンターに陣取れば、お好み焼きをシェフが焼く過程を目の前で見ることができる。

「広島のお好み焼きは何層にもレイヤーが分かれていて、作るのが難しいんです。だから、テーブルに鉄板にあってもお客様に作っていただくのではなく、キッチンでシェフが焼いたお好み焼きをテーブルに移動させて、それを温かい状態で食べていただくための鉄板です」と説明してくれたのは、マネージャーの佐原毅（ルビ：さはらつよし）さん。広島市出身の佐原さんも物心ついた時から家庭には鉄板があり、お好み焼きの日には普段料理をしない父親が腕を振るったそうだ。

さて、ちんちくりんは佐原さんの地元でもある広島で1999年に創業された。お好み焼き、鉄板焼きを中心に多数の居酒屋メニューを揃えた店として、広島に10店舗、東京に3店舗展開している。海外１号店は、2017年1月にオープンしたウエストロサンゼルスのソーテル店。リトルトーキョー店はソーテルで確かな手応えを得た後の2018年3月に店を開けた。

アメリカにはこれまで大阪のお好み焼きの店はあったが、広島のお好み焼きを食べられる店はなかった。大阪スタイルとは何が違うのかと言うと、前述のように、何層も分かれているのが広島のお好み焼きだ。ちんちくりんのメニューに、それがわかりやすく図説されている。まず、生地があり、その上にフィッシュパウダー、キャベツ、天かす、もやし、豚バラ、そば、卵、ソース、さらに青のりと、順番に重ねて押さえて焼き上げる。熱々をいただくと、それぞれの具材の食感が口の中で主張する印象だ。

同店で一番人気のメニューは、ちんちくりん焼き（$17.00）。日本では「しょぶり焼き」と称される看板メニューで、本来であれば牛肉の中落ちを使うそうだが、アメリカではより受け入れやすいように牛ひき肉を使用。そして取材当日、試食したのは２番人気の海鮮スペシャル（The Loaded Kaisen, $18.50）だった。キャベツやそば、卵などのベーシックな具材以外に、エビ、イカが豊富にトッピングされている。見た目にもボリューム的にも豪華で満足度が高い一品。仕上げに欠かせないのが、広島のオタフクソースの存在だ。ロサンゼルス郊外のオタフクソースの現地工場で生産されているものだ。

メニューには。バジルチーズ焼き、ブロッコリーシュリンプなどアメリカならではと思わせるユニークなものも見られる。お好み焼きだけで8種類、さらに、ロサンゼルスでの要望が多いことがわかって、新しく加えたのがベジタリアン向けのお好み焼き。肉はもちろん、卵、フィッシュパウダーも使っていない。

お好み焼き以外にも、広島スタイルのつけ麺と汁無し担々麺も食べられる。また、今後はアペタイザーやデザートも増やしていく意向だ。

顧客はほぼ非日系で占められる。顧客を確保するためにどのような努力をしているのだろうか？「広告や宣伝はあまり利用していません。まず、リトルトーキョー店に関しては、通りに面したガラス張りの作りが大きな武器になっていると思います。鉄板を前に店内にお客様が、あまり見たことがない料理を食べている光景が興味をひくようです。また、店の雰囲気を常に明るくするように努めています。スタッフにも、できるだけ大きな声を出して接客するようにトレーニングをしています」。

こうした努力の末に、週末になると店の前には行列ができるまでになった。１日の来客数が500人に達することもある。近くアメリカ３店舗目のトーランス店も開店予定（取材した2018年12月時点）。広島のお好み焼きが全米各地で食べられるようになる日も近いかもしれない。

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Chinchikurin
350 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-0480
http://www.chinchikurin-usa.com

11:30am-2:00pm, and 5:00pm-11:00pm
Closed on Tuesday

By Kosuke Kuji

The 43rd edition of Japan Week (http://www.iffjapan.or.jp/) organized by the International Friendship Foundation, a non-profit based in Tokyo, was held in Torino, Italy. The welcome reception was held lavishly at the Foyer of Teatro Regio, attended by Japanese and Torino affiliates, totaling approximately 300 guests. Japanese guests dressed in kimonos, while Consul General Amamiya, the Consulate General of Japan in Milan, gave a congratulatory address. The Deputy Mayor and many participants also attended from the Torino side, and the Japanese and Italian attendees intermingled with one another.

During the welcome reception, the “Awa sake” produced by a member sake brewery of both the Nanbubijin Awasake Sparkling and Japan Awasake Association were served to all participants as the welcome toast. Normally, champagne would be served, or Spumante this year, since the event was held in Italy. However, the Japan Awasake Association was behind the effort to serve Awa sake as the welcome toast at the official party!! This is a first, unprecedented feat worldwide!!


世界初！！海外のパーティーでawa酒で乾杯！！ その1

公益財団法人国際親善協会が主催する第43回ジャパンウィーク (http://www.iffjapan.or.jp) がイタリアのトリノで開催されました。ウエルカムレセプションがテアトロ・レッジョ・ロビーで日本とトリノの関係者300名近くが参加して盛大に開催されました。日本側参加者は着物や演武で着る衣装で参加、さらに在ミラノ総領事館の雨宮総領事も参加してご祝辞をいただきました。

トリノ側からも副市長をはじめ、多くの参加者があり、日本とイタリアの交流が行われました。そのウエルカムレセプションで、南部美人あわさけスパークリングをはじめ、一般社団法人awa酒協会に加盟する蔵元の「awa酒」が全ての参加者にウエルカムドリンクと乾杯用のお酒として振る舞われました。例年ならばシャンパン、そして今年はイタリアなのでスプマンテなど泡のお酒が振る舞われますが、今年はawa酒協会が協力して、公式なパーティーの場で全てがawa酒でのウエルカムドリンク・乾杯酒の使用となりました。これは世界初の試みです！！

Text Mayumi Schroeder Photo: Elli Sekine

Growth of popularity of sushi in San Francisco’s Bay area in recent years is quite amazing. Many sushi restaurants including sushi bars and revolving sushi places have opened. Among them, one place is particularly attracting people’s attention as a restaurant where true authentic sushi is served. It is “Oma San Francisco Station”, which opened in Japan Town’s West Mall in July of 2018. This place has been featured in various media such as ABC News, Hoodline, and Eater SF as a retaurant where reasonably-priced high-quality sushi omakase courses are offered, and good reviews have been given. Even the Michelin Guide said, “It is wonderful that you can eat this good-quality sushi at this kind of price!”

Wilson Chan, the owner/chef, is Chinese American from Northridge area of Los Angeles County. He has a 16-year career as a chef, and has worked as a skillful chef at many high-quality restaurants such as“Wasabi + Ginger, Kentaro” in Los Angeles area, ”Yuzuki”, “Tsubasa”, ”Kappo Gomi”, and ”Ozaoza” in San Francisco area. For this opportunity of opening his own restaurant, Mr. Chan, who has also worked as an art designer, did everything from designing the modern interior, 3-dimentional art, to the website by himself.

The name of this restaurant, “Oma San Francisco Station”, with a wooden counter for only 8 seats, was named after an image in which, although you are in a metropolitan area, you go to a train station to taste omakase-style sushi. The menu consists of only 3 omakase courses, “Nozomi” ($85), “Hikari” ($55)”, and “Kodama ($30)”. The courses are uniquely named after Japanese bullet trains (Shinkansen). The “Nozomi” consists of 12 nigiri sushi pieces, and 1 hand-roll. The “Hikari” consists of 6 nigiri sushi pieces, and 1 hand-roll. “Kodama” consists of 5 nigiri sushi pieces, and 1 hand-roll. Each course ends with akadashi miso soup. If you felt not quite satisfied with the quantity, you can also add individual nigari sushi pieces of your choice.

As for the ingredients, Mr. Chan himself carefully selects only fresh and seasonal produce. On top of air ordering from Toyosu in advance, he also orders certain seasonal ingredients from even Hokkaido and Kyushu. As for fish, this place has rare kinds such as red bream, rockfish, red snapper, amberjack, and scallops from Iwate prefecture, which are not well known and usually unavailable as popular sushi ingredients. Each ingredient is prepared using uniquely effective methods such as konbu-jime, and aburi (charring), to enhance each ingredient’s characteristics to the fullest. The konbu for konbu-jime method is Rishiri dried kelp from Hokkaido. Mackerels from Hokkaido are marinated in dashi for 2 hours, and red breams are marinated for 6 hours before they are prepared. The ikura (salmon roes) dish I tasted was prepared after marinated in konbu dashi and mirin, and every bite was fresh, and soothing while I could still taste ikura’s natural deep taste and aroma, which slowly spread in my mouth. The charred salmon was very aromatic due to slight charring burn, and its soft texture that melted in my mouth made me feel like getting addicted to it. Simple, yet only highest-quality fish is used, therefore, “no soy sauce is needed”, is true as written in the menu. The best possible sushi has been created here by ultimately bringing out each ingredient‘s umami.

Presently, only sushi kaiseki can be offered because there is no kitchen space, however, he indicated his desire of opening a restaurant with a kitchen in the future. Right now, the seating is limited to 8, and the same-day reservation is not accepted, so making an online reservation in advance is recommended. Otherwise waiting can be very long especially for dinner time due to its popularity.


コンセプトは“都会で立ち寄った駅で食す最高級寿司”
 
　近年におけるサンフランシスコ・ベイエリアでの寿司の人気は目を見張るものがあり、寿司バーや回転寿司など数多くの店舗が広範囲で展開されている。その中で、本格的な寿司が食べられるレストランとして注目されているのがサンフランシスコ日本街のウエスト・モール内に2018年7月にオープンした「Oma San Francisco Station」だ。リーズナブルに高品質の寿司のおまかせコースを食する事が出来るとABC7ニュースやHoodline、Eater SFなどの情報誌に取り上げられレビューでも高い評価を獲得している他、ミシュランガイドでも“この様な高品質の寿司を、この価格で食べられるのは素晴らしい事だ”と記載されている。

　オーナー兼シェフのウィルソン・チャン氏はロサンゼルス市ノースリッジ地区出身のチャイニーズ・アメリカン。シェフとして16年の経験を持ち、ロサンゼルス市の「Wasabi + Ginger, Kentaro」、サンフランシスコ市の「Yuzuki」, 「Tsubasa」,「Kappo Gomi」や「Ozaoza」など数多くのクオリティーの高い店でシェフとして活躍してきた。今回、自分の店を持つにあたりシェフだけでなくアートデザイナーとしての経歴も持つチャン氏は、店内の近代的なデザインや立体アートからレストランのウェブサイトのデザインまで全て自分で作り上げたという。

　8席の木製カウンターのみの当店の名前である“Oma San Francisco Station”は、“都会にありながら、駅に立ち寄って食べるおまかせ寿司”というイメージで付けられたという。メニューはおまかせメニューのみの全3種類。それぞれに“のぞみ（85ドル）”、“ひかり（55ドル）”、“こだま（30ドル）”と新幹線の名前を付けるユニークさだ。“のぞみ”では握り12貫と手巻き1本、“ひかり”では握り8貫と手巻き1本、“こだま”では握り5貫と手巻き1本で、全メニューとも最後に締めとして赤ダシの味噌汁が提供される。食後に物足りなさを感じる人には最後に1品ずつ握り寿司を追加する事もできるという。

　食材は旬で新鮮な物のみをチャン氏が自ら選んで厳選、プレオーダーをして豊洲から空輸される他、九州や北海道からも旬の食材を空輸する徹底ぶり。寿司ネタにはキンメダイ、のどくろ、真鯛、かんぱち、岩手県産の帆立など一般の寿司ネタにはない物も取り揃えており、調理方法も昆布締めや炙りなどで個々の食材の旨さを最大限に生かすように調理されている。昆布締めに使用されているのは利尻昆布で、北海道産の鯖はダシに2時間浸してから、キンメダイは6時間浸してから調理されるという。今回、賞味させて頂いたイクラは昆布ダシと味醂で漬けられてから調理されており、噛む度に新鮮で爽やかな口当たりながらも、イクラそのものの深い味わいが口の中に広がっていく。又、炙りサーモンは若干の焦げがもたらす香ばしさと、柔らかな食感が口の中で溶けるようで病みつきになりそうだ。シンプルだが最高なネタを提供しており、メニューには“醤油は必要なし”と書かれているように、個々の素材の旨味を最大限に引き出した最高級の寿司を作り上げている。

　現在はキッチンが無い為に寿司懐石のみの提供となっているが、将来はキッチン付きの寿司屋を開店したいとチェン氏は意欲を示している。席数が8席と限られおり同日予約を受け付けていない人気店の為、ディナー時には行列が出来る事も多いので事前にオンラインでの予約が推奨される。
 

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Oma San Francisco Station
1737 Post Street., Suite 337, San Francisco, CA 94115
                             
Website: https://www.omasfstation.com
Email: contact@omasfstation.com
 
Mon.- Sun. 12:00pm – 10:00pm
(Last Seating: 8:30pm)

最近は当たり前になった酒とのフードペアリングだが、少し思考を変えておこなってはいかがであろうか？

通常行われているのが、ワインはワイン同士、日本酒は日本酒同士、焼酎は焼酎同士の並列な比較である。これは、確かにその微妙な味の比較をするのには良いが、消費者にとって違う「こんなこと予想もしてなかった！」と喚起させる、楽しいフードペアリングを探ってみてはいかがであろうか？

生カキにシャンペンとスパークリングを同時に提供し、それぞれの美味しさを比較してもらう。

・チーズの盛合わせに赤ワイン、キモト造りの酒、古酒
・サラダにピノグリジオとフレーバー（柚子、ブルーベリー）酒
・刺身にシャルドネ、ピノグリジオと大吟醸
・メインの肉料理に純米酒と赤ワイン
・揚げ物やクリーミーなパスタには、麦焼酎と白ワイン

などと組み合わせて顧客に楽しんでもらう。

醸造方法、原料など全く違うこれら三種（ワイン、日本酒、焼酎）だが、どれも食を盛り上げる酒であることは間違いない。それらを組み合わせることにより、消費者に「なにこれ、本当に美味しい！」と感動を与えてみた企画をしても面白いのではないだろうか？

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Perceptional changes

While sake and food pairing is now the norm, why not try to change your perception in your approach?

While comparisons are made regularly, wine is compared to other wine, sake is compared to other sake, and shochu is compared to other shochu. This is great to compare the subtle differences in flavor with other brands. Why not try a fun food pairing that invokes a mind-blowing reaction like “I never imagined this type of pairing!” from consumers. For example, serve fresh oysters with champagne and sparkling wine together to have consumers compare the delicious flavors of both pairing.

*Try pairing red wine with cheese, along with Kimoto sake, aged sake.
*For salads, try pinot grigio and flavored sake (yuzu, blueberry)
*For sashimi, try pairing with chardonnay, pinot grigio and Daiginjo
*For main meat dishes, try pairing with Junmai sake or red wine
*For fried dishes or creamy pasta, try pairing with Barley shochu and white wine.

Try pairing with these combinations and have your customers sample them.

While these three types of beverages (wine, sake, shochu) differ greatly in brewing method and ingredients, each are no doubt successful in boosting the dishes they’re paired with. By trying these combinations, why not try to find creative ways to bring a moving culinary experience that would invoke reactions like, “What is this!? This is delicious!” from customers?

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轉變觀念

最近，酒與食物的搭配變得理所當然；但何不稍微變更一下想法？
平常進行的比較，均是葡萄酒與葡萄酒、清酒與清酒，燒酒與燒酒的同酒類比較。當然，對同酒類那味道上細微的分別進行比較固不失為良案；但引起消費者不同的“我甚至沒有想過這一點！”，嘗試探索令人愉快的美食配對何如？
同時為生牡蠣提供香檳和氣泡酒，以比較它們的味道。

·什錦奶酪配以紅葡萄酒、生酛清酒、古酒
·沙拉配以灰皮諾和加香（柚子，藍莓）酒
·生魚片配以灰皮諾、夏多內和大吟釀
·主要肉類菜餚配以純米酒和紅葡萄酒
·油炸食品和奶油類意大利面，配以小麥燒酒和白葡萄酒

等等的組合供顧客享用。
雖然是三種釀造方法和原料等完全不同的酒（葡萄酒，清酒，燒酒）；但能肯定全部都能襯托食物。通過組合它們，計劃出付予消費者“這是什麼，非常美味！”的感動的項目不是很有趣嗎？

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발상의 전환

최근 술과 음식의 푸드 페어링이 당연시 여겨지는데, 생각을 조금 바꿔보면 어떨까요?
보통 와인은 와인끼리, 일본주는 일본주끼리, 소주는 소주끼리 나란히 비교하곤 하는데 이렇게 하면 분명 미묘한 맛을 비교하기는 좋습니다. 그러나 소비자 관점에서 "이런 건 생각하지도 못했다!"며 분위기를 전환시킬 수 있는 색다르고 즐거운 푸드 페어링을 찾아 보면 어떨까요?
생굴에 샴페인과 스파클링을 함께 제공하고 각각의 맛을 비교해 볼 수 있도록 합니다.

・모듬 치즈에 레드 와인, 기모토 방식의 술, 고주
・샐러드에 피노 그리지오와 과일맛(유자, 블루베리) 술
・생선회에 샤르도네, 피노 그리지오와 다이긴죠(大吟醸)
・메인 육류 요리에 쥰마이슈(純米酒)와 레드 와인
・튀김이나 크림 파스타에는 보리 소주와 화이트 와인

위와 같이 음식과 술을 함께 준비해서 고객이 맛을 즐겨볼 수 있도록 합니다.
와인, 일본주, 소주는 양조 방법이나 원료 등은 전혀 다르지만 모두 음식 맛을 더해주는 술이라는 점은 똑같습니다. 이 술들을 조합해서 소비자가 "와, 이거 정말 맛있다!’ 라며 감동할 수 있도록 기획해보는 것도 재미있지 않을까요?

By Aya Ota

Its unique exterior; walls without windows, which make it impossible to peek in, and the thick and heavy door, both of which remind you of a kura (an old-fashioned Japanese building for storage); catches your eyes. This is “Sakagura East Village” which opened its door in September of 2018. As soon as you step inside, its gracious interior space decorated with plentiful of woods and stones, and a small Japanese garden-like space open up in front of you, and you feel as if you suddenly stepped into another world.

“I want to pursue the basics of Japanese food culture. I want people to fully enjoy various kinds of Japanese local sake with authentic Japanese cuisine,” says Bon Yagi, CEO of T.I.C. Group. This Group’s motto is “Enjoy Japan without Airfare (You can enjoy authentic Japanese tastes and ambiences without actually going there)”. From true traditional Japanese foods such as sushi and soba to more current foods like curry and ramen, street foods such as takoyaki and rice burgers, Japanese sake bars and tea salons, a total of as many as 13 different kinds of business models are forming their 20 plus Japanese restaurants under the operation of this Group. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the person who has been making the history of New York’s Japanese cuisine scene for the last 40 plus years. He was awarded for his contribution. He was selected as one of the 5 winners in the world for the Minister's Award for Overseas Promotion of Japanese Food in 2018.

This place is positioned as a sister restaurant of “Sakagura” in Midtown, which has been running as a popular restaurant where the high number of customers has been sustained for more than 20 years, however, this place deserves more than positioned as the second location of a popular restaurant because it is filled with its own charms.

The person, who creates gracious dishes with plentiful seasonal ingredients imported from all over Japan, is Masaru Kajihara, Executive Chef. He has been displaying his skills at notable kaiseki restaurants in both Japan and the US, such as “Suzuki” in Tsukiji, Tokyo, and “Kyoya”, a New York Times 3-starred restaurant. The “Sakagura Omakase Course” is offered only at the East Village location. The first item of the course, the “Pintxo with Truffled Chicken Pâté and Pepitas on Rice Bread”, specially baked bread with cooked rice mixed in the dough, surprises you. The “Carpaccio Medley” is accentuated with ponzu gelee and salted konbu. The “Wagyu Ishiyaki”, served with sizzling sound and aroma, pleases your five senses fully. To show their particularity about rice and miso, the Japanese cuisine basics, a kamameshi, cooked super high-quality rice from Uonuma, Niigata, with a lot of seafood such as scallops, Snow crab meat, etc., is served accompanied by miso soup using uki-koji miso and nukazuke style pickled vegetables to finish the course.

The Japanese sake selection of nearly 100 different brands from about 80 breweries have been carefully selected by Ryoma Miki, General Manger/sake sommelier. There is even a premium kind of sake you cannot find anywhere else. Recommended pairing with the omakase course is well accepted, and it impresses you even more when the sake that matches each dish perfectly is served in each appropriate container that matches the sake. Many sake connoisseurs visits “Sakagura” which carries the most selection of sake in New York, and they like to order unique brands such as Nama-zake, Kimoto, and Yamahai. The casks of sake piled up high by the wall at the deep end of the restaurant are donated by the breweries from all over Japan. This display shows their passion and aspiration to convey enthusiasms of brewery owners and masters of sake brewers of each brand, and to represent characteristics of each sake to as many people as possible.

A unique event called “Taste of Japan” which started to realize their hope to introduce Japanese local cooking specialties, is particularly noteworthy. Every other month, one of Japan’s regions is picked, and a special menu is created and offered featuring the picked region’s local specialty food and their local sake. For the first time of this regular event, Niigata prefecture was picked, and the highest-quality Uonuma-made rice and miso made by Hakkaisan brewery was used. They are planning to continue this event featuring prefectures such as Nagano, Hyogo, Miyagi, etc. in this respective order.

One big difference of this place from the Midtown location is its interior space. You can sit alone at the counter, you can enjoy and relax in a semi-private space with a friend, or you can even bring a group of 20 to use a private space for a large group. This place can accommodate almost any situation. There are plenty of spaces among the tables, and they are creating an ambience which draw a line between them and other casual and noisy East Village restaurant.
　
“Sakagura East Village” which is like a concentration of the wonderfulness of Japanese food culture, is definitely the kind of restaurant you want to visit again and again.


日本各地の地酒と郷土料理を心ゆくまで楽しめる

窓がなく中を伺い知ることのできない壁に、重厚感ある扉…まさに蔵を思わせる外観に目を奪われる。ここは2018年9月に開店した『酒蔵イーストビレッジ』。一歩足を踏み入れると、木や石をふんだんに使った端正な内装や日本庭園を思わせる箱庭が広がり、一瞬にして別世界になる。

「日本食文化の原点を追求したい。日本各地の地酒を、本格的な和食とともに堪能してほしい」と語るのはT.I.C.グループ最高経営責任者、八木秀峰氏。同グループのモットーは「日本に行かなくても本格的な日本の味や雰囲気を楽しめる」ということ。寿司や蕎麦など本格派和食から、カレーやラーメンなどの現代的和食、たこ焼きやライスバーガーなどのストリートフード、日本酒バーや日本茶サロンなど、実に13種類もの業態で約20店舗もの日本食店を経営している。40年以上の長きにわたり、ニューヨークの日本食の歴史を作ってきた人物と言っても過言ではない。その功績が認められ、2018年には、農林水産省の日本食海外普及功労者表彰受賞者として世界5人のうちの1人に選出された。

同店は、ミッドタウン地区で20年以上も客足が衰えることのない人気店『酒蔵』の姉妹店という位置づけではあるが、単なる2号店にとどまらない魅力にあふれている。

日本各地から取り寄せた四季折々の食材をふんだんに取り入れ、端正な味を作り出すのは料理長の梶原勝氏。東京・築地の『すず木』やニューヨーク・タイムズ三つ星『饗屋』など日米の会席料理店で腕を奮ってきたシェフだ。「酒蔵おまかせコース」はイーストビレッジ店のみの展開。はじめに登場する「お米のパンの鶏トリュフピンチョ」は炊いたごはんを練り込んだ特製のパンに驚かされる。「五種の旨味カルパッチョ」は、ポン酢ジュレや塩昆布がアクセント。ジュージューと音と香りを立てて運ばれてくる「和牛石焼き」は五感をフルに楽しませてくれる。日本食の原点であるコメと味噌にこだわり、〆の一品は、新潟県魚沼産の最高級米にホタテやズワイガニなど海産物をふんだんに炊き込んだ釜飯に、浮き麹味噌を使った味噌汁、ぬか漬けが登場する。

約80の蔵から約100種類にも及ぶ日本酒ラインナップは、ジェネラルマネージャー兼酒ソムリエの三木龍馬氏が厳選したもので、同店にしかないプレミアム酒もある。おまかせコースとのペアリングも好評で、それぞれの料理と酒に合った酒器で飲めるのが感動を増す。ニューヨークで最も多くの日本酒を取りそろえる『酒蔵』には、日本酒通の客が多く、生酒、生酛、山廃など、個性ある酒が好まれるという。店内奥の壁を埋め尽くす一斗樽は、全国の蔵から提供されたものだ。「蔵元や杜氏の酒に対する熱い想い、ひとつひとつの酒に込められた個性を、できるだけ多くの人に伝えたい」という同店の心意気が現れている。

特に注目したいのは、日本各地の郷土料理を伝えたいという意図で開始した「Taste of Japan」という独自企画。約2カ月おきに、ひとつの都道府県に焦点を当て、郷土料理と地酒を組み合わせて楽しめるメニューを提供する。初回の新潟県特集でも、魚沼産の最高級米や八海山が醸造する味噌を取り入れた。この後、長野、兵庫、宮城…と続く予定だという。

ミッドタウン店との違いのひとつは内装だ。一人でカウンターに座ってもよいし、個室風に仕切った空間で二人でくつろぐのもいいし、最大20人で使える個室もあり、どんなシチュエーションにも対応できる。客席間隔もゆったりしており、カジュアルで賑やかな店が多いイーストビレッジ地区の中では、一線を画す雰囲気を醸し出している。
　
日本食文化のすばらしさが凝縮されたような『酒蔵イーストビレッジ』、何度も通いたくなる店だ。

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Sakagura East Village
231 E 9th Street
New York, NY 10003
Tel: 212-979-9678
https://www.sakagura.com/eastvillage

Tue–Thu: 6:00PM–10:45PM
Fri & Sat: 6:00PM–11:45PM