| Japanese Restaurants Articles |
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A Likely Local Secret A red lantern and lit-up tree on Guerrero at 22nd Street are the only landmarks that identify Kiji, a Japanese restaurant that replaced La Foccacia last fall. Although it's not likely to attract foodies from far and wide, it exudes a friendly, neighborhood charm. Enter through the red door and, like many Japanese restaurants, the sociable sushi chefs will belt out a warm, enthusiastic greeting. |
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Fresh Fusion and Innovative Ingredients Dressed up with a casual luau ambience, Moki's has the perfect energy for a neighborhood sushi and island seafood restaurant. The menu is extensive and eclectic, including an array of traditional sushi and nigiri options as well as incredibly innovative, Hawaiian-inspired rolls and mouth-watering appetizers, small plates, and entrees. |
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What to do when your reliable cosmo or gin and tonic just aren't doing it for you anymore? Latch onto the latest trend- saké. Brewed like beer, but served like wine, saké has been a popular spirit in Japan for hundreds of years, but has only recently taken this culture-fusion-happy city by storm as the hip new drink. And restaurants featuring saké bars are popping up everywhere. |
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When sushi came into American vogue during the mid-eighties, it was heralded as ‘the food of the gods.’ Raw fish was new to the American palate, and even more than most new ethnic cuisine, seemed dangerous and decadent. It was the sustenance of brokers and starlets, dignitaries and diplomats, and not necessarily intended for consumption by the mortal remainder of the population. Like the raw egged Caesar salad of the thirties, sushi in the eighties embodied a paradoxical duality of classic s.plicity and eccentric frivolity. |
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The New Squid On The Block A narrow sushi bar accented by a quiet koto's gentle ping it is not, but you won't be disappointed for long at Stray Fish -- at least not once the sushi arrives. Despite its first impressions and its horrendous name (I can't get the connotations of feminine hygiene products or weak, slow swimming sea life out of my brain), this new squid on the block is quietly, and economically, slinging some of the freshest fish in town. |
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Chic Sushi and Whiskey Lounge where SOMA meets the Mission Nihon, a chic, understated little Japanese restaurant/whiskey lounge, opened quietly in early 2006 on a nondescript corner of Folsom and 14th, causing quite the buzz in the Mission and surrounding neighborhoods. The Dajani group, also owners of Tsunami Sushi, Bar 821, and Café Abir, have consistently added to the invigoration of the Divisadero strip with their hip, affordable operations. Word on the street is that their latest venture, Nihon, does much the same for its location. Despite the presence of Chez Spencer bistro, the area is known mainly for housing Rainbow Grocery and a handful of big-box retailers beneath a dominating freeway. |
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Martel and Nabiel's latest venture, a sister hot spot to Hyde Street's infamous Sushigroove, has brightened up SOMA, giving even the most crowd-shy diners a reason to wade through the nightlife jungle of 11th and Folsom. This sleek, warm space is most often home to casual swarms of e-society types making eyes at one another over their cold unfiltered lemon sake cocktails. You won't need your beer goggles here -- everyone is attractive, and so is the inventive cuisine. |
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Kyoto style dining in Japantown Kappa is located in Japantown and though directly above the landmark Denny's, it's not easy to find even with directions. The restaurant is "koryori" style that, depending upon your source, translates into English as old-fashioned, pub style, or small plate style. Your meal will likely be unique as the selections are based on seasonality and availability. |
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