Each week on the Food Chain, we ask a chef to describe a dish he or she recently enjoyed. The chef who prepared the dish responds and then picks his or her own memorable meal. On and on it goes. Last week, Ino Sushi chef Noboru Inoue told us about the marvelous vegetable appetizers at Kappou Gomi. This week, we return to another Japanese corner of San Francisco this week, as we ask Gomi-san where he most likes to eat on a day off.
Who: Masahiko Gomi, chef-owner at Kappou Gomi
What: Aki’s ‘carpaccio’
Where: Tanuki Sushi, San Francisco
“I don’t order anything too fancy when I eat in restaurants. I like a good sushi lunch, or something simple, like the gyoza (Japanese potstickers) at Tanuki. But Aki-san has a new special dish on the menu with sashimi, that he calls carpaccio, like the Italian. It’s very tasty.”
Chef Hisao Akimoto responds:
“I had the same specials for eight years and just decided to change them. This is my version of carpaccio, inspired by San Francisco and the mixing of food cultures here. It is tuna and yellowtail sashimi with pickled onion, red onion, green onion, and a special dressing I make with vinegar, jalapeno and some other spices. So far everyone seems to like it.”
Below, a deep-fried shiso flower, which is also one of Tanuki’s specialties.
