OZUMO - Photo Break - Whatcha think?

Blackberry Spritzer

I received a new camera and lens for my anniversary.  I asked the BH for the gift in the hope I might learn to do justice to the artistry of the Chefs in the restaurants I patronize. This article is meant primarily to be a vehicle to showcase a few of my first pics. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think of these early efforts at photography. The magnification and narrow depth of field present new challenges, but I'm up to it. I've never met an artistic challenge I didn't like!

I last reviewed Ozumo in the winter of ‘09. It is a place on the upswing, its smooth, polished, interior beckons to the lunch and dinner crowds it caters to. At the time, I commented that the layout of the restaurant had “empty spaces crying out for people to fill them.”  Well these days, it’s always pretty full and it works for them. The food is good, the service is good if a bit slow (they try, but it’s crazy big and when it’s packed, it can get frenetic). That said, they got me in and out in less than an hour over lunch yesterday, while accommodating a table full of women who kept wanting to be moved around ‘to get out faster.’

At the time I also commented that it was looking for it’s stride. I say its definitely found it.

"Riceless" Sushi Roll with smoky pepper sauce

I go there often these days because it is close to my office, and sushi is fairly light. I had a dinner engagement yesterday night and just can’t eat two huge meals in a day. We had non-alchoholic beverages: tea for me and one of their amazing fresh fruit spritzers for the BH. Their special roll yesterday was this amazing “riceless” roll that was essentially cucumber wrapped around a slice of tuna-esque fish and a Spicy Tuna Roll. As you can see, plating is imaginative and inviting. The BH had a Beef Bento Box special. He loved it, and I have to say it was well done.

Edamame with garlic

I have been here now over a dozen times and the food is always consistently good. The alcoholic drinks, when we indulge in them, are uniformly excellent.

Check it out for yourself. If you like Japanese you won't be disappointed. If you're local, make it dinner. Bon Appetit!


OZUMO (Oakland)
2251 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612
510-287-8476
http://www.ozumo.com/


Dining table size: Adequate
Noise: Probably pretty loud at night, daytime no problem
Dining time: can be in and out over lunch hour no problem

Cost: Pricy.

Spicy Tuna Roll

OZUMO - Slick Sushi & Japanese Lessons in the Restroom! Arigato!

If a restaurant can be the polar opposite of the homey and familiar diner, this would be it. Ozumo is a smooth, polished, fairly chic open space. The layout of the restaurant (which is bigger than huge) wraps around a fairly large open bar just left of center. The entire space is decorated in traditional Japanese modern decor--- loads of black, slick surfaces and paper walls. The place is beautiful, but I find it a bit cold. It's beauty is not a welcoming form of beauty. That said, I'm told the place is hopping at night, and I think that what may seem at lunchtime to lack warmth and appear too empty and holllow, is actually just the empty spaces crying out for people to fill them. If it was full of people, which I believe it is once happy hour kicks in, this place would be loads of fun. This is a place that was clearly designed for large crowds, and so feels a bit off when it isn't full of people.

That said, though, it's a really nice place. It's on the newish side, and thus still sort of finding a stride. Service is attentive enough, and the food is good. They serve pretty standard sushi and sashimi fare, with a few things like simple burgers thrown in.

When we ordered last week, I had two rolls. One was a Spicy Tuna Roll and the other a Rainbow Roll. Both were presented well, the fish was fresh and the seasoning was tasty. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to jump up and down about either. The BH had a Sashimi San Bento Box which consisted of a variety of sashimi, some edamame, miso and rice, all of which he found quite tasty. Our lunch companion ordered the Bento Box as well, his containing a broiled salmon filet. Along with our meals the BH and I ordered their non-alcoholic drink special for the day which was a Blackberry Lemonade Spritzer.

I have been here now several times and the food is consistent. The alcoholic drinks are well mixed and really excellent. I would bet that this place is a great time come an evening. They've got a d.j. station at the bar and a happy hour space that would accommodate quite a good crowd. It's a decent place for lunch, but nothing to travel all the way to Japan for. One of the flashy little touches that shows a real sense of humor can be found in the restrooms. They have Japanese lessons blaring on a closed-circuit speaker that pipes into the stalls.

WARNING: Japanese lessons in the ladies room should come with a disclaimer. I think I learned how to call for a taxi, but with the echo in there, I may have learned something more akin to "Your mother-in-law sleeps with the pigs..."

Check it out for yourself. If you like Japanese you won't be disappointed. If you're local, make it dinner. Bon Appetit!

OZUMO (Oakland)
2251 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612
510-287-8476
http://www.ozumo.com/

Dining table size: Adequate

Noise: Probably pretty loud at night, daytime no problem

Dining time: should be in and out over lunch hour no problem

Cost: Pricy.

NINKIMONO - First class Sushi in a strip mall?

Well, apparently the answer is yes. Almost a year or so ago, the BH and I decided to finally try the little restaurant inside the strip mall very near our home. It used to be a Hof Brau and had been recently re-modeled into a Sushi joint. We saw the "Grand Opening" sign, but the BH was really intrigued by the "all-you-can-eat" flyer that had been sent to our home. Since limitless food is like a siren song for this man, I agreed to accompany him to the restaurant as an experiment in dining.

We found the interior of the restaurant, called Ninkimono, pleasantly surprising. Classy, sleek and black, it was more San Francisco than it was "strip mall Newark." The tables are all equipped with gas flames, that are used in the preparation of Shabu-shabu. We had never tried this before, but since at our first visit it was part of the "all you can eat" offer, we tried it on our first visit. Diners are brought large plates of vegetables and meats, intended to be cooked in a tub of boiling broth. It was tasty, but nothing that really rocked my boat. Next we tried a variety of the fancier sushis. We didn't come close to finishing any of it, of course.

On the next visit, they were no longer offering the carte blanche all you can eat meal. They had altered the menu to an extremely confusing set of choices for various fixed prices, some of which included the Shabu-shabu. The "all you can eat" menu seemed much too prone to abuse, and given the amount of food wasted on our first visit, an entirely understandable decision on the part of management on many levels. It had to be much to expensive to keep indefinitely. However, it did seem that they were still feeling their way as to what amounts to charge for what sort of meal. To date, I am never sure when we go if the menu / cost options will have changed, again.

At least for my darling BH and I, that initial all you can eat experience allowed us a really unique opportunity to sample types and preparations of sushi rolls and specialty dishes we would never have otherwise tried. Ever since, we've kept quite a few of them on our regular menu when we dine there.

The last time we went, we ordered several of the dishes we had learned to love on our first visit. We began with traditional salad and miso. The miso was okay. The salad had the dressing flavor just right, but the lettuce was drenched. Unfortunate beginning, but we just won't order either again.

Next we had one of our favorites, Beef Carpacchio (a platter of paper thin slices of barely cooked red meat and a lovely sort of "au jus" to dip it in). It is really a lovely blending of the flavor of good red meat, and the slight hint of juices that enhance that flavor. I really love this dish. Way more interesting than the Shabu-shabu and of course, I don't have to try to figure out how to cook it myself.

We next received our Snow Rolls (a lovely tempura covered mess of crab meat and tasty goodness), which are a solid sushi roll smothered in a crunchy and light fried tempura batter topping. At least that is what it appears to be, I haven't actually asked the sushi chef. The snow rolls were quickly followed by a tray of bacon wrapped scallops. These were good, the bacon was fresh and I love a good bacon wrapped anything, but they weren't extraordinary. But that sorta figures, since it's not a dish normally associated with sushi. We finished off the meal with an Orange Blossom Roll and a traditional Spicy Tuna Roll.

Since the BH doesn't really do the "spicy" thing, the latter was mostly for me. I have to say it was very well done. This guy is a solid sushi master. The tuna roll was nice and spicy, without overpowering the flavor of the tuna too much. But the Orange Blossom was a real delight. Presented as petals of an orange blossom (of course), the dish consists of several large pieces of salmon slabbed over rice with some tuna. The flavors were more subtle and unusual than any other sushi roll I have tried. There was a hint of orange peel, but it wasn't bitter it was sweet. It was extremely light and delicate, as though the dish were flavored with the "essence" of orange and not the juice itself. Outstanding dish.

Other dishes we love, but didn't have on this occasion are the Godzilla Roll, or the Raiders Roll. The latter is not a roll, but is scallops cooked hot in foil, wrapped in something delicious. I can't remember all the ingredients, so will update later, I just know I love it.

I think that if this restaurant ever figures out it's own marketing, it will be outstanding. I believe they have a first class sushi chef here, but maintaining a restaurant of this quality in the suburbs where people are used to eating a fast-food burger more often than not may be a challenge, particularly in this climate. I hope they make it.

Ninkimono

5790 Jarvis Avenue

Newark, CA 94560

510-793-2988

Price: Moderate - Expensive (as with tapas, depends on how much is ordered)

Dining time: Could easily get out in an hour

Table size: Adequate for food served