Where to Go For Boatloads of Fresh Sushi That Paddle Right Up to You

The Japan Center Mall is a mysterious maze-like shopping center full of stalls selling Asian miscellany and a wide variety of authentic Asian eats. There are many places you could choose to eat at – with specialists for just about every Japanese food type you could think of. There are in fact a number of sushi options, but there is only one sushi purveyor inside of this massive mall that I find myself consistently returning to. It’s called Isobune and its a truly special place.

(more…)

Continue ReadingWhere to Go For Boatloads of Fresh Sushi That Paddle Right Up to You

Find Rich, Porky Tonkotsu Ramen Hidden Deep in Japantown’s Labyrinthine Mall

*Editor’s Note 1/6/16: This J-Town location of Ramen Underground has unfortunately shuttered, but their Financial District location still remains open.

I, like most food lovers over the past five years, have become obsessed with big, authentic bowls of ramen noodle soup. In my nationwide explorations, I’ve come across an extremely wide variety in terms of style and quality, but for some reason I have been struggling to find a great, comforting bowl in San Francisco. I’ve had a number of satisfactory bowls, but I was convinced that if I looked hard enough, I was going to find an outstanding version. For a city so close to Japan and the rest of Asian, I was finding it hard to believe that it would be so difficult to find – especially because I had already found perfection in Silicon Valley of all places.

(more…)

Continue ReadingFind Rich, Porky Tonkotsu Ramen Hidden Deep in Japantown’s Labyrinthine Mall

Wacky Japanese Double Date Night at Suzu & Pika Pika in Japantown

One night a few weeks back, a friend who lives in SF called me to up to ask if Amy and I were free that evening. She and her fiancé wanted to go out for a dinner double-date night and it was up to me to pick the place. Amy and I were not feeling particularly great that night so we decided that ramen would be the perfect pick for a low-key double date that could provide us a delicious meal and make us feel great. I had heard particularly good things about a strange, little place in Japantown called Suzu so I selected that as the destination for all four of us to head to that evening.

(more…)

Continue ReadingWacky Japanese Double Date Night at Suzu & Pika Pika in Japantown