Lunch at Ramen Dojo

Yesterday, a massive power outage struck in the downtown area of Millbrae around noon. A construction truck backed into an electric post causing high voltage wires to get tangled up, hence knocking out the power for hours. Drats! I had a ton of work to do! But the place was dark, the computers were down, and the alarms were going off. Before stress overcame me, I thought there was only one thing to do. Lunch.

Friends have been telling me about a new ramen place that opened very recently in San Mateo, where the old Santa Ramen used to be. So this opportunity to check it out is like a gift from heaven. If you are a ramen enthusiast like me, you don't head to San Francisco or anywhere else in the Bay Area, except to San Mateo. With ramen outlets like Santa Ramen, Himawari, Izakaya Mai, and others, San Mateo is ground zero for the best ramen around the bay.

Typical of ramen houses, each one has a specialty. I like the Okinawan salt flavor and the wonton ramen of Himawari. Santa Ramen has a cult following because of its fatty stewed pork ramen. Years ago at Kaimuki Grill along El Camino, when Okada-san still owned the place (he also started Ramen Club in Burlingame), I enjoyed the al dente, ramen noodles that he made himself from flour milled in Japan.

This new ramen joint in San Mateo is called Ramen Dojo. To cut to the chase, it's a winner and I can't wait to get back!



The style of ramen here is very different. Obviously, it's spicy, as it says clearly on the front signage this is a spicy noodle house. You can order the optional non-spicy, but why even come to this place then?



I sat at the counter and ordered the garlic and pork flavor--as far as I'm concerned the only option--regular, plain without extras ($8.95). I thought there were plenty enough toppings when the bowl was set in front of me just minutes later.

Immediately I noticed the garnish of fresh red-leaf lettuce, instead of the customary sheet of nori. A healthy touch, I thought, and quite San Francisco. There were also sprigs of spring onions, boiled quail egg (very nice and totally Asian), strands of red pepper, slices of kikurage mushrooms (wood ears), fried whole garlic cloves, and the all important char-siu pork. The char-siu pork here is really special, full of roast pork goodness and without any off smells. Clearly they use high quality pork and barbecue it perfectly. I think this char-siu is what makes this place stand out.



The soup itself is mild in terms of pork taste, which I prefer to the milky, fatty broth; highlighting the char-siu flavor and the intensity of the spice. It is served piping hot. Resting underneath, the noodles are what I noticed last. Again, very distinctive, as they are flat, almost like linguine, and, to my satisfaction, quite al dente. I was told the noodles are ordered from Los Angeles, which has some of the best noodle houses this side of the Pacific.

Good thing I don't have to go to L.A. for a slurp. San Mateo has some notable ramen houses, and Ramen Dojo is definitely one of them.


Ramen Dojo
Japanese Spicy Noodle House
805 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
Mon-Sun lunch and dinner
Closed Tues
650.401.6568

Saké and Small Plates at Izakaya Sozai

Izakaya Sozai in the Sunset district of San Francisco opened just last February and is already packing it in nightly. On a lark, Amy and I walked in tonight without a reservation, jostled against the waiting crowd and got a table without a wait! It was meant to be.

Bamboo carafe of extra dry saké ($17) served chilled. Excellent start!

We can't resist this pair of yakitori specials. Grilled Pork Jowl with miso paste ($5.50) and Grilled Duck with port wine sauce ($6.50). Very tasty bar food. Gone in seconds

Ritsu Tonkotsu Ramen ($8) with pork belly ($2) and spicy miso ($1.50). Good, but we expected better, so a bit of a letdown.

Maitake Fritters with truffle salt ($7). Crunchy, rich, perfectly seasoned. Delicious, especially with the dry saké!

Yaki Onigiri ($3). We never fail to order onigiri when we see it on the list, this version is very good, already seasoned and tasty.

Tofu "steak" and Assorted Mushrooms ($7). Served on small sizzling plate. A brilliant concoction. Intense and "meaty".

Interesting restaurant, pretty hip. A Japanese take on the aperitivo habit, though izakayas have been doing it for a while. I'll be back for more. The Sunset corridor is a threat to the Mission scene. All good for sure!


Izakaya Sozai
1500 Irving
San Francisco, CA 94122
415.742.5122
5:30pm - 10pm Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs
5:30pm - 11pm Fri, Sat
Closed - Tues

Barolo Lessons

We celebrated a good friend's birthday last night with a Piemonte theme at a most Piemontese restaurant in San Francisco, Perbacco Ristorante.

To start, we uncorked a 2004 Spumante Extra Brut from Barolo legend Bruno Giacosa. The all Pinot Nero sparkler was magnificent, bone dry and full, it unfolded with a Chablis-like finesse. This was another side of Giacosa's greatness.

The evening's highlight, though, was a side-by-side treat of Giacomo Borgogno's Barolo Riserva 1958 and 1961. Both were great vintages and drank beautifully. We debated which was better. I initially preferred the '58, it was sweet, rustic, superbly elegant, and altogether just charming. At 52 years-old, one couldn't hope for more. But my fondness for the '61 grew, it was a completely different wine. More muscular, structured, upright, with the fruit showing a youthful brightness. Our sommelier pronounced it, "bello".

I flip-flopped between the two wines. In the end, I thought, no matter how great each wine is, it doesn't have what the other has. But together we had a complete experience! So the moral then is, don't drink just one great Barolo, drink two.

California Cherries

Today I got very excited to see the first cherries of the season arrive at my local farmers' market in Millbrae. I always look forward to these two women, hardy cherry farmers, park their truck on Saturdays during spring. They don't have a lot of cherry trees so their crops sell out only after about five weeks or so.



The first ones out are the Burlats. Then the Rainiers and Bings follow. The sweet, golden Rainiers are the crowd favorites, but mine are the Bings--big, crunchy, and tart--I guess this reflects the same preference I have in wine, as I go for the crisp, mineral, high-acid Chablis, rather than for the buttery, oaky, sweet Rombauer-type Chardonnay.



After picking up my weekly ration of cherries, I head to my favorite vegetable farmer to grab sugar peas, fresh-cut onions, bokchoy, chinese lettuce, upo, and bunches of lemon grass, cilantro, and kangkong. What supermarket would have all these?!

Heirloom Café: The Mission's New Wine Bistro

The foodie-driven gentrification of San Francisco's Mission neighborhoods shows no letup. In the past century, it was writers and artists who colonized blighted urban corners at places like Greenwich Village, SoHo, and North Beach. Today, in San Francisco, young, inspired restaurateurs flock to the Mission to open up hipster food joints.

The latest in this parade is Heirloom Café, a project by Matt Straus, a young sommelier from L.A. who cut his teeth at Wilshire and Grace. I was there last night at a closed-door soft opening, and he mentioned that the new 48-seat bistro will open Tuesday, May 11th. What sets off Heirloom from other trendy food establishments in the Mission--Flour + Water, Bar Bambino, Beretta, Delfina--is it's definitely not, yet another Italian joint, but a wine bistro with a cuisine that's decidedly Californian-- fresh, local ingredients that are simply cooked. The menu recalls an Il Cane Rosso or even a Chez Panisse-light, with prices that are very, very reasonable. Apparently, the bistro's model is, whip up some nice, simple food but priced them low and make up the margins with the wines.

The main draw will be Matt's cellar, reportedly numbering over 3,000 bottles and consisting heavily of Burgundy, California, Italian, Loire, and German wines, with vintages stretching back several decades. He told me that it took him the past eight years to put together the collection for his dream restaurant. I didn't have the chance to look at the list of the collection but the regular list is not too shabby, with bottles and by the glass selections of Vineyard Gate faves such as the 2008 Muscadet, Pepiere ($34); 2005 Pouilly-Fuisse "Les Menetrieres", Ferret ($80), 2003 Carema "Etichetta Bianca", Ferrando ($81); and 2008 Coenobium, Monasterio Suore Cistercensi ($39) the luscious "orange" wine by Bea.

And speaking of Bea, Giampiero Bea was with us last night as we tasted his spectacular range of avant-garde wines (more on this in a separate post). Actually, I think us folks in the wine trade where the main crowd.



Curiously, the bistro's corkage policy is slanted: $25/bottle for 2003 vintage and younger, but just $10/bottle for 2002 and older! I may have to bring a few bottles from the old stash to this place. However, there's a two-bottle limit per party. Sigh.

My starter plate of "roasted asparagus, salsa rustica" ($6) was crunchy and tasty, perfect with the 2008 Santa Chiara from Bea. If you're not sure about what to pair with asparagus, I guarantee you an "orange" wine like this from Bea is a perfect match.

My main was a mound of "orechiette, sausage, rapini, yellow eye beans, parmesan" ($7). I love it for the generous portion of well-spiced sausage. It's a meal! I definitely favored the earthier and less lifted 2005, than the 2006, San Valentino from Bea with this dish. The wine is a blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Montepulciano and Sagrantino.

Owner Matt Straus and Giampiero Bea. And by the way, that's the plate of "roasted halibut, ramps, English peas, cauliflower puree" in front of Giampiero. It's part of the $25 3-course menu, with matching glasses of wine for the starter and the main.

The kitchen, tidying up after the first night of service.

I like the vibe of this new bistro. Casual and airy. The place, in a corner spot, where Folsom Street and 21st Street meet, has high-ceilings and plenty of room for just 48 seats, but it's definitely a noise chamber, especially if you're at the long table in the middle of the room. Parking is a challenge in this mainly residential neighborhood, but when you do get to the bistro all that is forgotten.


Heirloom Café
2500 Folsom Street (at 21st Street)
San Francisco, CA
Opening for dinner on Tuesday May 11th

Burgundy at the Sixteen Mile House

During these heady foodie days of hip, purveyor-driven food (Berkshire, Rancho Gordo, La Quercia, Farmstead, Marin Sun, Soul Food, etc.), molecular gastronomy, and small plate cuisine, the local steaks & chops joint is a total relic. Yet, there is something retro-comfort, if not retro-chic, about dining in these disappearing American gut-busting institutions.

One of the Bay Area's classic steaks & chops joints is the Sixteen Mile House. This historic location started out in 1877 as a hotel on the El Camino Real route, then afterwards a stagecoach station for Wells Fargo. Along the stagecoach run from San Francisco, mile houses used to dot El Camino; the surviving Sixteen Mile House was the 16 mile marker from the city.

I'm not sure when the building got converted to a restaurant, but it's been at least a few decades. I first laid eyes on the landmark in the late 1980s when it still had hitching posts on the front curb. About two years ago a local restaurateur took over and remodeled the place to its current glory.

Frankly, I was initially hesitant whether I should feel proud or scared about having this former gambling house and Prohibition-era speakeasy, now throwback restaurant, in our town, just some blocks from the wine store. I'd never set foot on the place. Somehow, the dark, noisy bar in the front room with smokers spilling out on the sidewalk just isn't my scene. When walking past the restaurant at night I usually quicken my pace, fearing either a brawl could break out among redneck patrons or a hairy-chested, tattooed, biker dude might take fancy on me, a scrawny, Asian kid.

But these silly fears proved to be all just my wild imaginings, perhaps from watching too much "Kung Fu" TV series and Quentin Tarantino movies. When I walked in with my bottle of red Burgundy on a recent night, the place was packed with families and polite, middle-aged couples enjoying a drink while listening to a three-piece jazz combo. I found my mates in the cozier dining area in the backroom

We started with plates of fried calamari, pan-friend sand dabs, crab cocktail, and crab cakes. I liked the sand dabs best, a dish that I somewhat regard as a San Francisco specialty, but sadly absent in today's trendy menus.



With these starters I enjoyed a glass of 1971 Remoissenet Pere & Fils Meursault "Cuvée Maurice Chevalier". Its color was deep gold, with a musty smell that gave way to marzipan and almond paste. Though past its prime, it still had good energy left. Soft pears, grapefruit, and creamed corn, still powerful and long.

Amy and I shared a 22-ounce Porterhouse steak with sides of rice pilaf and veggies. In my twenty-something days I put away this slab of beef myself but I'm less Rabelaisian these days. The steak was cooked precisely at medium-rare and attractively cross-marked but I found the taste dull and too chewy. I think the 22-ounce rib-eye sounded better. Anyway, it wasn't bad, but decent at best.



From a little-known négociant house, distant relatives of the more famous Bouchard Pere et Fils, the 1959 Paul Bouchard & Cie Bonnes-Mares had amazingly deep, dark color and a strong funkiness in the nose of metallic notes and onion powder, but in the mouth has nearly opulent black cherries and licorice, fleshy and concentrated with a lasting finish. Red Burgundy never ceases to surprise me!



Simply awesome was the 1995 Domaine Leroy Clos de Vougeot!. This wine exemplified the greatness of this vintage for reds. Magnificent concentration, powerful, and structured. But this Leroy was so well proportioned. Very, very youthful but totally luscious and seductive. I don't know if there's any Clos Vougeot that can exceed or even match a Leroy this good.



Finally, the 1993 Frédéric Esmonin Griottes-Chambertin. Hardly anyone knew the young Frédéric Esmonin at the time this was released, and so this was an obscure label and languished on the shelf. We used to sell it at not much more than $40! This was dark, rich, and powerful, with particularly firm tannins and very good freshness. Still drinking young, I agree with Clive Coates' assessment that this will easily evolve another ten years from today.

We shared a decadent, dark chocolate cake for dessert. I was full but the chocolate was irresistible.


Sixteen Mile House
448 Broadway
Millbrae, CA 94030
Tel 650.697.6118
Closed Monday, lunch Tue-Fri, dinner Tue-Sun

Spoiler Alert! Bordeaux 2009 My First Impression

The 2009 Bordeaux en primeur campaign has just began. Our earliest offers at Vineyard Gate, very modest $30 and under wines from obscure petits châteaux, have been popular and a few even sold out within hours prompting me to scramble for more. Hopelessly.

So, almost by surprise, the campaign is off to a great start. But this is just the opening salvo of modestly priced, albeit high-scoring wines. I expect it to be a long, drawn-out campaign, a la 2000, when it stretched out all the way to June. Parker's inevitable scores would probably come out by the end of this month or early May.

Early posturings by Bordelais show almost uncontained elation about the quality of the vintage, yet taking pains to avoid any discussions of price. "We speak too much about money nowadays, let's just think about the wine at the moment, let's just try to tell people about how excited we are", said the winemaker for a top classed growth producer. Uh-oh, ka-ching! It's the old, if you have to ask the price...

For such a quality vintage an air of smugness is understandable among the Bordelais, but American wine traders are grumbling of being snubbed, of being treated less than uber class now that Asians, particularly, Chinese, have exhibited a highly disposable bent. But, hey, why whine? For centuries the Bordelais have been traders after all, money runs through their veins.

Anyway, I couldn't go to Bordeaux for the en primeur tasting but one of the negociants flew in about a dozen or so barrel samples to taste for a small group of us yesterday afternoon. I won't beat around the bush, 2009 is a really delicious vintage to taste even from barrel because of the big fruit concentration and ripe tannins.

As can be expected, right bank wines--St.-Emilions, Pomerols, Fronscacs, etc.--are big and very ripe, some are almost ringers for Napa Cabs! I favor the ones with more finesse and firmness like Château Canon and Figeac, but the Beau Sejour Becot is incredibly opulent and full and gorgeous. I'll be pouncing on these wines depending on the price.



But it seems to me the left bank produced the best wines. I'm very impressed with
Saint-Juliens like Leoville-Barton and Beychevelle--the latter probably made its best wine ever, certainly the best I've ever tasted, easily eclipsing its 1982 and 1986. Leoville-Barton appears to be one of the must-haves in this vintage, so seamlessly well-knit, really extraordinary class in this vintage, the best young Leoville-Barton I've ever sipped.

And 2009 is totally superb in the high-rent district of Pauillac as a whole. Pichon Lalande is gorgeous, sexy, and precise. Clerc-Milon should be a great buy, and Haut-Bages Liberal is stunning. I would go long on Pauillac but I'm scared of what the prices might be!



Margaux could be a notch below Pauillac and St. Julien, only in the sense that it doesn't have the concentration of the vintage like the latter two, but I need to taste more to be sure. But I very much like Rauzan-Segla, very Margaux, aromatic, rich, and so well proportioned.

The Graves may tout some of the most opulent wines of the vintage. The usual roasted quality is giving way to very ripe, right-bank like fruit, but with spicy aspects, as in the case of the blockbustery Pape-Clement.



There will be no shortage of very affordable wines--under $50--in this vintage. The only question is, how hefty would the prices be for the top classed growths? Hey, the 2008s are looking better and better!