Hey guys, I just got back from Japan!

I saw my family and friends, and met a bunch of new ones along the way (including my newlywed cousin's husband).

Sorry, no pics to share here of those things, yo.

But, it was beautiful, as per usual.

Also, SURPRISE! I ate and drank many delicious things.

It was a fun time, and a time to reflect.

Until next year, Nihon.

Rainy day treat at Ramen Shop.

Corsair Triple Smoked Malt Whiskey

This whiskey out of Kentucky had all the peaty goodness of a good Islay Scotch but a clean finish that paired well with Japanese flavors. I could drink this all the time. Nice pick by my wonderful and incredibly talented illustrator/bar manager friend extraordinaire, Chris Lane.

tsukemono and pork/squid fried rice

Best fried rice in the East Bay. And OMG, the tsukemono -- Ramen Shop has someone who only does pickles, and it shows. The black radish -- the small slices vegetal, the large ones spicy, taking advantage of natural radish variation -- was to die for. 

sesame-miso ramen w/ ground pork belly

Broth so rich and thick, noodles with a firm chew, ground browned pork belly nuggets like little treasures to be dredged up from the bottom: a perfect bowl.

Go get some!



YES.

Kit Kat Specialty Store Opening in Tokyo

All y'all know I'm not a big sweet eater, but I make room in my Japan bag every year for amazing Japanese Kit Kats.

I've only had green tea, sakura, hojicha, strawberry, blueberry cheesecake, and soy sauce flavors, so you can bet your sweet ass I'm making it over to Ikebukuro (also home to Namja Town and its Gyoza Stadium and Ice Cream City and lovely microbrews, oh yes) every time I visit Tokyo.

This is a big deal, people.

Hat tip to fenchurch for this, the truly Life-Changing Loaf of Bread:

Please note: while I am an enthusiastic cook, I (thoroughly and unequivocally) DESPISE baking for its precision. I (tend to, valiantly and sadly) AVOID modern wheat-based bread for its eczema blues. I was almost ready to chuck my toaster oven for lack of use.

But now, now -- I can't stop making this easy-peasy, delicious bread.

PS: I use flax meal to make it more bread-like and mix and bake in a pyrex loaf pan; as such, rather than unmolding halfway through I let it bake the whole while (about 40-45 minutes) and cool in-pan, and it's totally fine. Just be sure to let it sit for at least 4 hours before baking.

BREAD!

And now for something completely different.

What We Eat Affects Everything

This is an excellent interview with Robynne Chutkan, MD, an integrative gastroenterologist, founder of the Digestive Center for Women, and the author of the new book with the really awful name, Gutbliss: A 10-Day Plan to Ban Bloat, Flush Toxins, and Dump Your Digestive Baggage.

Y'all know about my obsession with nutrition and wellness. This interview really explains the why around the increase in gluten-sensitivity, as well as explaining the fascinating differences between men and women's GI tracts. The interview is super informative, but it is fairly long. For those of you not down with the text heavy pages, a couple of highlights for me:

It's really about the 80 percent rule. Most of us are “toxing” 80 percent of the time and detoxing 20 percent of the time. And we should really think about flipping that—we should think about detoxing 80 percent of the time. And I’m not suggesting anything extreme. Today I did some work at home, I made a fruit and veggie smoothie for breakfast, went to spin class, I met some people for lunch, and I had a kale salad with roasted chicken and a big bottle of water. Nothing so profound, but all healthy stuff that made me feel good. And if you're doing that 80 percent of the time, you can tolerate that 20 percent of debauchery in whatever form that might be, whether you’re drinking a bit too much, or not exercising, eating the wrong food, having too much ice cream. And then we don’t have this need to constantly be detoxing and cleansing all the time.

Does your daily food intake look like this...

Or like this?

Oy vey, the band-aid of constant tox/detox/tox/detox. Ugh, just take care of your body most of the time! This is how I rationalize whiskey and the occasional Sherman (and cookie), and why I'm confident I'll look as good as Christy Turlington inside and out in my mid-40s (and hopefully 50s).

You mentioned going gluten-free, and I wanted to get your take on that. It seems like a lot of people going in that direction don’t have a diagnosis of celiac disease. What do you tell people who are interested in trying it? Is there evidence that people who tested negative for celiac disease still benefit?

First of all, I think it’s important to distinguish celiac disease from gluten sensitivity, because celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that is associated with a lot of other problematic things, like osteoporosis, iron deficiency anemia, arthritis, diabetes, even cancer. And if you have celiac disease, whether or not you have symptoms, it’s important to come as close as you can to 100 percent avoidance of gluten, because the ongoing exposure to gluten can damage the small intestine and lead to some of these other associated problems. So that’s the first thing I tell patients, is that we have to figure out what’s going on. And some patients say, Well, can’t I just empirically avoid gluten? And I tell them, no, because if you have celiac disease, you have to be 100 percent regardless of whether you have symptoms. If you have gluten sensitivity (but don't have celiac disease) and you want to eat an almond croissant, go for it. Part of the issue is that the wheat itself is not what it used to be. It’s been hybridized and had different things done to it to increase the crop yield and shorten how long it takes for the wheat to bear. One can make all sorts of scientific and unscientific arguments about what we’re meant to eat, but I don’t think we’re meant to eat animal crackers, for example. I think it's a stretch to call the refined, processed wheat products a food group, but I also don’t think everyone needs to empirically avoid them all the time.

Certainly if you’re having digestive problems, it’s worth trying. I usually tell people to do a six-week elimination trial; if you don’t notice a difference there’s no reason to avoid it. But my biggest caveat is to tell people there’s no point in doing this and then eating gluten-free bread, and gluten-free pancakes, and gluten-free cookies. It’s sort of like sugar-free. If you’re diabetic, I would say to you, you should think about having fruit for dessert. I would never recommend that someone have sugar-free ice cream or a sugar free drink, because that stuff’s worse than the sugar quite frankly. The same thing applies to gluten. If you think you’re gluten sensitive and you feel poorly when you eat gluten, you should avoid wheat. It just makes sense. If you’re lactose intolerant you should avoid dairy. This is your body giving you feedback saying no, I don’t like this thing. But if you decide once a month, I’m going to have a sandwich using regular bread and I may not feel so great, but I don’t have celiac disease, just a sensitivity, I think that’s okay and I think that is preferable to eating gluten-free garbage every day. Gluten-free processed products can be just as bad for you as the regular stuff that contains gluten. They’re not providing you any nutrients, they’re empty calories. So that’s a big challenge that I face with some of my patients. If you’re just gluten sensitive, have a pancake on the weekend if you really want it, but don’t eat gluten-free cookies every day of the week and think that somehow this is being healthy. Just like I would never eat low-fat or sugar free ice cream. If I’m going to have ice cream I’m going to have the real thing—I’m just not going to eat it every day.

Amen. I may not have mentioned before that I have been following a low-gluten diet for the past couple of years. This diet has accomplished something that an army of Western dermatologists, acupuncturists, and Chinese herbalists were unable to do: rid me of my eczema. I still eat the occasional wheat-crusted pizza and white flour tortillas and hand-pulled Chinese noodles and other deliciousness, but in both small quantities AND good quality.

It can be done, people.

Who DOESN'T do this?

Nachos Libre

Been back for a couple of weeks from another successful couple of weeks in Tokyo. This was really a perfect trip this time around: Trevor logged a lot of training time and I got to meet some of the wonderful British Budo folks he met last year, and there was also plenty of time to see our friends and family, and take in a lot of what Japan has to offer -- which is, namely for me:

Excellent food...



(Serious damage being done with friends at all you can eat yakiniku, Akihabara)

And great people...



(Jeebus, just look at that mass of people! [Takeshita Street, Harajuku])

"But saudade!" you exclaim, "I know you've been going to Japan for many years now, but surely you're not so jaded yet that there must be more to visiting than just food and crowds of people-watching?"

I mean, I guess.

;)

I have covered many of the things I love about Japan over the last 7 (!!!) years I have blogged here; my friends have been nearly regaled to death for almost 20. So, you'll have to forgive me if I come across as jaded, which is lame. It's more that I don't want to bore you! Japan, my friends, is super interesting (settle in for the long haul if you ask me sometime about growing pains and tenability around rigid societal constructs there, which is endlessly fascinating to me); more important though, is that IT IS TOTALLY RAD.

Lemme see...something somewhat new to blog about (and, more importantly, give an excuse to put up pictures)...

Okay, so, the gorgeous natural environment (can be) a big winner. Even though I find Japan's reverence of nature juxtaposed with their almost fanatical desire to control and politically monetize it somewhat off-putting, I also tend to waffle and find their control fascinating. From bonsai to parking space-sized park retreats in the middle of highrises to lining rivers with concrete to ostensibly control their flow, it always makes for an interesting environment.

For the last few years I have visited during cherry blossom season. The impermanence of cherry blossoms -- they only bloom for a couple of weeks and then they are gone -- represent the intense and ephemeral qualities of life. All of Japan takes time out for hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, for that short time. We usually go to Inokashira Koen, in Kichijoji, but alas, there were few blossoms left this time around. But spring had definitely sprung.



Architecture, too, is a wonderful thing to behold in Japan. While there are plenty of plain Soviet-style concrete block buildings jutting about, and often it seems there are no zoning laws so you're left with a sort of weird jumble in high density, suburban, and mixed-use areas alike, there also seems to be gorgeous traditional architecture and exciting and innovative new architecture everywhere you turn.

My particular passion is that old-school, proletariat spirit, or shitamachi. While I crave the pounded dirt-floored homes still in use in the more rural areas of Japan, I spend most of my time on the city now, so the tiny, tin-sided, home/business mixed use buildings dating from the early 20th century to post-war tend to be my jam. These are in Shinjuku bordering a park and the pleasure district. Lying somewhere between old and new, I love this shitamachi spirit and seek it out anywhere I can.



These newer, but still old-school, passageways in Nezu -- just a hop, skip, and jump from the museums and shopping in Ueno -- were also lovely to behold.



And finally, no shitamachi-style trek is complete without visits to the old-school drinking establishments, or nomiya, that are centered around shitamachi areas like Asakusa and Ueno. This alleyway was tucked away in a tiny corner of Shinjuku, just bordering the highrises and fancy bars and clubs of Kabuchicho.



*LOVE*

Architecturally, the new and old can be blended seamlessly as well. This is the new gorgeous Asakusa Cultural Center, by Kengo Kuma and Associates, Tokyo.



Beautifully lit up at night, I was still sad it was closed in the evening. I usually go to Asakusa in the evening to avoid the temple crowds and get my old-school outdoor nomiya on, and I had no idea this had just been completed. Next time I am going inside!

Then there's what lies in-between all the glass and steel in one of the most sophisticated cities in the world. Trevor and I happened upon a building removal site in Shinjuku. Wild what lurks beneath, and it ain't all that sophisticated.



But even though you've got some serious analog shizz happening right behind and below the bright lights of the big city, I would be remiss if I didn't mention this other wonderful thing about Japan: the amazing attention to quality, detail, and service. This is in addition to how people are in general helpful and polite, even if they aren't working and supposed to help you; get them drinking, and normally shy Japanese will love you like a brother.

Coming from a place like the Wild West, it can seem almost criminal how well-done and polite even the most simple of things are created and transacted.



So my insanely delicious, healthy, and perfectly presented matcha latte kind of brings me full circle. I always appreciate Japan, and there is always something wonderful to experience and behold there, but really, it is all about the food...



(my udon and umeshu at the gorgeous Maenohara Onsen, Shimura-Sakaue)

And the people...



Ja mata, Nihon.

A subject near and dear to my heart. It's not so much how much (within reason), but what you eat. And you've gotta expend!

Severe Diet Doesn’t Prolong Life, Study of Monkeys Concludes

Lab test results showed lower levels of cholesterol and blood sugar in the male monkeys that started eating 30 percent fewer calories in old age, but not in the females. Males and females that started dieting when they were old had lower levels of triglycerides, which are linked to heart disease risk. Monkeys put on the diet when they were young or middle-aged did not get the same benefits, though they had less cancer. But the bottom line was that the monkeys that ate less did not live any longer than those that ate normally. 

I'd really like to see studies around the stress levels in the "semi-starved" monkeys vs. the well-fed monkeys. I'm surprised this factor isn't addressed.

Back from another successful trip to the land of the rising sun. Quick and dirty this one was (one week and a whirlwind tour of Tokyo for a friend who had never been to Japan), and fruitful: Trevor received his seventh degree black belt.

Other highlights:

It was sakura season, and our favorite park in Kichijoji was the place to be. I can never get enough.

Also took my friend to the most important Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Senso-ji, in another favorite haunt of mine, Asakusa.
 

I love going to Asakusa because of its shitamachi spirit, and the tiny, less than pristine old-school nomiya that fan out from the temple grounds are the best part of that. Always plenty of beer, plus great, uninhibited conversation. I also love the cheap and delicious traditional foods that are served at different spots. This was some of the best nikujaga I've ever had.

When I go to Japan, the food is always the star. I try to go to new places as often as possible, but those old favorites seem to take precedence, like the torched saba with lemon at Shirube in Shimokitazawa.

While I hate having to leave the amazing food every time I come home from Japan, I did discover something wonderful to bring back with me: a new favorite drink! Shochu and salty plum -- a match made in heaven.

And though inexpensive and plentiful alcohol is a big plus, we also tried this for the first time. None of our friends seem to be able to tell us exactly what it is; in fact, the closest we can get to a proper English explanation is "beer waste." Even this doesn't explain exactly what is in it. It tastes kind of like iced tea and IPA mixed together -- anyone know what makes it tick?

Anyway, so much awesome -- too much to ever cram into a blog post. I'm already looking forward to next time.

I love it when a plan comes together.



















Ohitashi at Geta in Oak-o-land-o




















(the first of several) Bulleit bourbons at Club Mallard in Albany

Soundtrack:



What ever happened to the saxophone solo? And why oh why must Monday come 'round?

My mother was an excellent cook. I say "was" because after almost 40 years of cooking meals from scratch for her family, she's decided that she's done with homemade and done with cooking. Now she's strictly a microwave mama. It happens, and I don't blame her, really, but damn, I miss going home to her barbecued chicken. And her pork ribs. And her spaghetti, and casseroles, and stews...

It's funny how that even as I was raised on venison my dad shot and dressed himself, wild rainbow trout my mom fried up in cornmeal, and fat tomatoes, peppers, and peaches from our own garden, as a child I still wanted things like this:

















I know, right?! If you can believe it, TV dinner days were a treat for me as a child (much more so for my mother, I'm sure). I think all kids are like this, non? I cringe when I think back on the oysters I would pass up for Chef Boyardee (one of the few concessions my mom made to convenience food), and how even as my mom was ladling out creamy homemade macaroni and cheese, I would ask her for the stuff that came in a blue box. Ooh, the shame.

I just stumbled across a blog dedicated to vintage ads and pics of these and other "gastronomic atrocities of the past" so I can now get my fix of all sorts of forbidden and forboding delicacies.

Aspic and Other Delights

A favorite for so many reasons (and something I may actually make -- shhhh):

Happy Independence Day!

I just got back from a week in one of the most iconic of American of cities, New Orleans, Louisiana. First time in Dixie for this one, and it was lovely.





















































Music, stunning architecture, excellent (if rich) food, some of the best beer around, and some of the nicest folks I've encountered. Definitely shortlisted as a place I could settle, and I can't wait to go back.

There are good things afoot in the Oakland brewing world.

Y'all know I love a good brew or bourbon now and again. But -- damn those genetics -- I am a lightweight. So I have been one happy camper with the addition of Dying Vines, brewing out of the Linden Street Brewing Company in Oakland.

They seem to be specializing in session beers, with a keen interest in English bitters at that. Crisp, light body, assertive hops, and that all important factor for me, low ABV. I'd only had their Dee'z Mild, which I thought was stellar, though less crisp and more mouthy. But lucky girl I am, last night I was able to taste Dying Vines' newest venture, Old Brick Bitter. Really outstanding -- a true everyday, easy drinking beer. And I had an imperial pint and never even felt it!

I hear from Pete at the equally outstanding Commonwealth** that Dying Vines is looking into doing some barrel-aged beers. Exciting for them, and I will try them for sure because what I have had so far from them is top notch and the complexity of barrel-aged beer can be really fun, but I am a little disappointed as most of those tend to run in the 8 and 9 and up ABV.

Americans. The trend seems to be to build beers that are 8-11 percent and beyond. I recognize the complexity and deliciousness in some, but most just leave me reeling at the alcohol content.

I visited England for the first time in December (I know, I know, why am I just mentioning this NOW?) and had the luck of being in the North, in Yorkshire. Bitters are a specialty, and I was surprised when confronted with the ABVs at the pubs -- low 3s and 4s all. My friends jokingly asked me to not tell Americans that the Brits were such wusses, but I have trumpeted the low ABV factor far and wide. Love it, and also love that the half-pint is commonplace. I like to try many different beers when I go to a pub, and I just cannae do imperial pints of more than, oh, ONE beer in a sitting. And I hate getting sneered at for asking for a halfer!

**also had Commonwealth's Beer and Ale with Yorkshire pudding last night. omnomnomnom.

I started this slideshow in part because the teaser pic made me want a Twinkie, and I ended it, well...wanting one just an eensy bit little less.

What's in a Twinkie?

Apparently, 37 ingredients, some of which you have to buy at a chemical supply store.













[Photographer Dwight] Eschliman says to keep in mind that minuscule portions of these ingredients are used and his intention isn't to scare you and make you feel as if eating a Twinkie will give you cancer. Rather he wants people to think twice about what they're eating and seek out more foods with familiar and fresh ingredients.

Scientists always say that we need to remember that even a food laden with chemicals that are approved for consumption in that product as a whole can be toxic when used in conjunction with other chemical products. Dan White aside, wonder what happens to the chemicals in a Twinkie when you deep fat fry it? I shared one years ago with 3 other people and we couldn't finish it. Like Eschliman and his chemicals, I felt sick just being in its proximity.

But that's deep fried.

James Dewar, the inventor of Twinkies, said at age 83 that he ate 3 Twinkies a day, and fed them to his children and grandchildren. I ate two a week for years (one on the car ride home, and one I saved for later that day) when my dad would take me to the grocery store on Saturdays and let me choose anything from the Hostess rack I wanted. It's a treasured memory for me.

Result? Good times sometimes trump. Maybe I'll see if I can choke one down later. :P

There are so many wild blackberry bushes near my new apartment, I have a full size stove and oven, and it is summer in the Bay Area. So, I've been making PIE!

You know this is homemade, because there was a thorn in the first piece. ;P

I'm always looking for an excuse to eat more oysters...

It's OK for Vegans to Eat Oysters

[W]hat if we could find an animal that thrived in a factory-farm cage, one that subsisted on nutrients plucked from the air and that was insensate to the slaughterhouse blade? Even if that animal looked like a bunny rabbit crossed with a puppy, it would be A-OK to hack it into pieces for your dinner plate. Luckily for those of us who still haven't gotten over the death of Bambi's mother, the creature I'm thinking of is decidedly less cuddly. Biologically, oysters are not in the plant kingdom, but when it comes to ethical eating, they are almost indistinguishable from plants.

Very interesting argument in this article, and plenty of facts about oysters and the good environmental ethics of their cultivation that I didn't know.

Mmmmmmm...can't wait until I get back out to Hog Island.

A. A. Bondy at Cafe du Nord, 1.20.2010







































While Bondy isn't much for stage presence -- his banter was limited (and though sincere, quite awkward) and he kept lowering the lights until the entire stage was black with a tinge of red -- it really didn't matter. His dreamlike, heartfelt lyrics, soulful delivery, and sweet melodies punctuated with big Neil Young-esque chords (on one of two Sunburst guitars) didn't need any additional accoutrement.

I'd been waiting for the show to buy his first album on vinyl, American Hearts, and my friend bought the second (When The Devil's Loose, which made my tops for 2009), and both Bondy and his merch/roadie/sound/lighting guy were just sweet as pie and pleased as punch, thanking us for supporting the show and the records. Good people.

What a lovely way to end a rainy San Francisco night where earlier we actually got into the Monk's Kettle right away, and tucked into creamy mac and cheese and Fuller's London Porter on nitro tap. Yum!