Fun last minute trip to Katsu, hit the image limit but there's an ankimo monoka, a kegani hand roll and some nama kuchiko not pictured as well as some other courses I just didn't take pictures of at the time
by MagicalQaz
1 Comment
MagicalQaz
Really fun trip out to Katsu this week, ended up leaving at like 1 am after meeting some other regulars and talking about restaurants & pottery for a while with them and the staff
1. Hamo w tomatoes and tosazu, pleasant and nice to see the knife work but not amazing. Good starter w light acidity
2. Tai shirako, cooked well w nice light ponzu and lemon. A more Americanized course with lots of additional flavors that I really enjoyed
3. Sekisaba marinated in white kombu + lightly smoked katsuo. I usually like their katsuo more than this iteration but the current was not bad either, the sekisaba was quite nice
4. Isaki from Nagasaki, very nice. I usually enjoy it just a little later in the season but still pleasent.
5. Kuruma ebi, nice and meaty. Sadly not large enough piece for there to be much ebimiso, I’ll be sure to ask when I’m able to visit in a non-last minute manner
6. Aji from Ehime, really beautiful taste. Love the fat and well controlled shiojime and sujime that let the fish express itself beautifully
7. Kuromutsu zuke, fantastic. Soy cure went just far enough and really nice with the stronger shari. I love a lot of the zuke here
8. Awabi with liver sauce + tsubugai from Hokkaido. Really pleasent, we have a limited amount of nicer shellfish here in my experience so it’s nice to have these. Wasn’t wowed but I like it
9. Steamed and simmered ankimo. If there is one piece here I think is better than anything else, it’s the simmered ankimo. Routinely the best course here. The steamed was pleasant as well, great cook on both
10. Mehikari tempura hand roll, pretty nice! Liked the citrus from the sauce
11. Kamasu from shimane, for the review with all the fancy Japanese places in the SF Bay Area, I must have had Kamasu 15-20 times – it’s a very popular piece here. Almost all of them were quite bad showings of the fish. I think this was the nicest version of the piece I’ve had in the Bay
12. Did another kuruma ebi, very fun.
13. Ohagi, very nice. Ingredients not as evenly distributed as I’d like but still pretty good
14. Zuke toro, a bit too strong but not bad. Aged 15 days 15. Another mehikari
16. Tachiuo nanbanzuke, good fry but could’ve steeped in the vinegar mix for just a touch longer. Sauce was subtle enough that I think it would’ve worked.
17. Anago bowl, one of the better Anago I’ve had this summer. That’s admittedly not saying much, feel a lot of the Anago and unagi wasn’t that great this last year in the bay. Had much better in 2023
18. Iwashi, really nice – great fat and meaty umami with a lovely texture. One of the better pieces of the night
19. Sekisaba nigiri, great too, fatty with the pickled radish adding a nice sourness that worked nicely
Not pictured since image limit:
1. My classic ankimo mix (simmered + paste they do) monoka, this time with kinome and tsume. I think this is better with the yuzu miso and egg yolk vinegar he’s got, but at this point the folks next to me turned out to be other regulars and we started to drink a bit so I didn’t order another as I forgot
2. Kegani handroll, pleasant but not amazing.
3. Nama kuchiko, great with this fabulous juyondai the people next to opened for the folks who hung back
Not pictured since I forgot to take photos: Sakura masu and another aji + some glasses of an amazing juyondai and very good jikons the nice folks next to me shared with the staff and myself
1 Comment
Really fun trip out to Katsu this week, ended up leaving at like 1 am after meeting some other regulars and talking about restaurants & pottery for a while with them and the staff
1. Hamo w tomatoes and tosazu, pleasant and nice to see the knife work but not amazing. Good starter w light acidity
2. Tai shirako, cooked well w nice light ponzu and lemon. A more Americanized course with lots of additional flavors that I really enjoyed
3. Sekisaba marinated in white kombu + lightly smoked katsuo. I usually like their katsuo more than this iteration but the current was not bad either, the sekisaba was quite nice
4. Isaki from Nagasaki, very nice. I usually enjoy it just a little later in the season but still pleasent.
5. Kuruma ebi, nice and meaty. Sadly not large enough piece for there to be much ebimiso, I’ll be sure to ask when I’m able to visit in a non-last minute manner
6. Aji from Ehime, really beautiful taste. Love the fat and well controlled shiojime and sujime that let the fish express itself beautifully
7. Kuromutsu zuke, fantastic. Soy cure went just far enough and really nice with the stronger shari. I love a lot of the zuke here
8. Awabi with liver sauce + tsubugai from Hokkaido. Really pleasent, we have a limited amount of nicer shellfish here in my experience so it’s nice to have these. Wasn’t wowed but I like it
9. Steamed and simmered ankimo. If there is one piece here I think is better than anything else, it’s the simmered ankimo. Routinely the best course here. The steamed was pleasant as well, great cook on both
10. Mehikari tempura hand roll, pretty nice! Liked the citrus from the sauce
11. Kamasu from shimane, for the review with all the fancy Japanese places in the SF Bay Area, I must have had Kamasu 15-20 times – it’s a very popular piece here. Almost all of them were quite bad showings of the fish. I think this was the nicest version of the piece I’ve had in the Bay
12. Did another kuruma ebi, very fun.
13. Ohagi, very nice. Ingredients not as evenly distributed as I’d like but still pretty good
14. Zuke toro, a bit too strong but not bad. Aged 15 days
15. Another mehikari
16. Tachiuo nanbanzuke, good fry but could’ve steeped in the vinegar mix for just a touch longer. Sauce was subtle enough that I think it would’ve worked.
17. Anago bowl, one of the better Anago I’ve had this summer. That’s admittedly not saying much, feel a lot of the Anago and unagi wasn’t that great this last year in the bay. Had much better in 2023
18. Iwashi, really nice – great fat and meaty umami with a lovely texture. One of the better pieces of the night
19. Sekisaba nigiri, great too, fatty with the pickled radish adding a nice sourness that worked nicely
Not pictured since image limit:
1. My classic ankimo mix (simmered + paste they do) monoka, this time with kinome and tsume. I think this is better with the yuzu miso and egg yolk vinegar he’s got, but at this point the folks next to me turned out to be other regulars and we started to drink a bit so I didn’t order another as I forgot
2. Kegani handroll, pleasant but not amazing.
3. Nama kuchiko, great with this fabulous juyondai the people next to opened for the folks who hung back
Not pictured since I forgot to take photos: Sakura masu and another aji + some glasses of an amazing juyondai and very good jikons the nice folks next to me shared with the staff and myself