Ozumo

29 October 2009
With the imminent arrival of BTC1, we wanted to enjoy one last fancy dinner out with just the two of us, so we headed down to Ozumo. Since it is next door to the Embarcadero YMCA where GGK moved last summer, I had been wanting to try it as a possible restaurant to take Sensei to when he visits us. And lastly, JT and I were celebrating our two-year wedding anniversary!

We decided to forgo the big plate yaki niku options and stick to the Japanese tapas/izakaya side of menu. We started with hiya yakko (chilled soft tofu topped with bonito flakes) and the futago (thin slices of roast beef on top of a lump of spinach, eggplant and a slice of cucumber). Both were excellent. These were followed by kamo kunse (smoked duck), and the MOST tender kurobuta (roast pork) I have ever tasted: Melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Since I was scouting for Sensei, a ordered some of his favorite sushi items: o-toro, sake, unagi and botanebi. JT abstained from the raw stuff, but at least she could enjoy the deep-fried shrimp heads that Sensei usually makes ME eat. We rounded out the selections with a tasty spicy scallop roll and the nasu dengaku (roasted eggplant) that they almost forgot. For dessert, JT ordered the Meyer lemon pannacotta and our server was pushing the chocolate-azuki beignets, so we had to try those too. Chocolate-azuki sounded a bit strange, but they were hot out of the deep fryer when they arrived at our table, so how could they not have been delicious? They were accompanied by kurogoma (black sesame) ice cream and housemade chocolate truffles. It didn’t say so on the menu, but our server informed us the ice cream was Humphry Slocumbe’s version of “Cookies and Cream.” I think this was supposed to make it sound more enticing, but after our previous experience at HS, we were a bit apprehensive. The ice cream turned out to be quite tasty, the pannacotta was excellent, and the truffles capped off a memorable meal.