Just returned from a weekend trip to vegas with my parents.  Lots of fun, lots of money lost, but oh well.

A few notes:  I used SkyPark at SFO - it was the best parking service I’ve ever used.  You just drop your car of, they park it for you.  Then, when you come back, you give them a call and they pick you up at the terminal and have your car waiting for you.  And I used an online coupon so it was only $12 a day!  Great deal.  You have a choice of indoor or outdoor parking, and you can also get things like a carwash, detailing, etc. while you are out.

The airport itself was a mess, as usual.  I took Ted, United’s low cost carrier.  What worked well though was this online check it.  You just print out your ticket and can go straight to the gate - although you do have to still wait through security.  That was a long and tedious wait as always. 

One thing I don’t get though - these online check-in  tickets allow you to print out your ticket on a common printer.  It has a barcode on it, but this is not used by the security folks at all - all they do it look at the name and verify it with your ID.  So, what you could do is print the ticket  out to a file on your computer, edit it with photoshop or whatever to change your name to match your ID. 

Why is this a threat?  If you were on a security watch list or something, you would probably be flagged once you bought a ticket.  However, if you were able to pass through security with a fake ticket, you could purchase a ticket under anyone’s name - change the name on a copy ticket so you could get through security, and then use the real ticket to get on the plane (since they don’t check your ID at the gate).  Perhaps not a big problem, but it does somewhat diminish the efficacy of the ticket and ID check.

At vegas we stayed at the Hilton, which is an off strip hotel that has a connected convention center.  My mom had an event at the convention center, so that’s why we stayed there.  Off strip wasn’t great, you’re pretty far away from the action, but they do have this monorail now that does get you to the strip pretty quickly.  You can see the tracks in this picture from our room.  But the monorail stops at 3am on weekdays, so after that you’re stuck taking the cab.

I visited Todai in the Aladdin hotel on the strip.  It cost $30, which I believe is on par with other todais.  The buffet there was much bigger than others though, and they had a slightly larger selection of food than california todais.  They had a prime rib station, which was nice, and a teppanyaki station, udon station, and pretty big dessert bar.  They also had a bunch of rolls that I don’t usually see at todai, like the Bacon roll (disgusting), salmon skin roll (not bad) and a bunch of others.  One thing that was new was the todai raw oyster bar.  They had a bunch of pre-shucked oysters and all the fixings, but who really wants to eat raw oysters at a buffet - particularly at todais.  what’s funny is they also had cooked oyster dishes, which looked like the raw oysters with a topping that had been baked.  At least they don’t waste.

Other than todai, I mostly just ate Oxtail soup in downtown.  The first nite we ate at the Cal, but since it was not yet 11pm they did not have oxtail soup available.  I think that’s a dumb rule that makes all the mokes line up at 10:45, but oh well.

The next two days we ate oxtail at the Golden Nugget.  It was decent, but not spectacular.  The oxtail was pretty sparse, and overall the dish was tiny.  The service at the nugget was also poor, although it was just a little coffee shop environment so what can you expect?

The nugget is actually looking pretty nice.  They have this new big swimming pool with a slide and big fish tank.  It was just being finished when we were there.

Other than gaming we went outlet shopping.  We went to primm, which was just so-so, and the vegas outlets, which were busy.  The coach store actually had a line out the door to even get into the store, and to purchase anything you had to stand in another line.  My mom bought a purse and she was in line for like half an hour.

Anyway, that was the trip report.  Total I lost about $700, and that was lucky - I needed a last minute comeback at the aladdin on saturday to get to -$700.  Funny thing about dealers in vegas, you get so many personalities.  There were a lot of asians with no personality, that didn’t really seem to enjoy the job - wouldn’t even crack a smile.  I’m not saying that it’s an asian thing per se, but I’m sure that the mix of english as a second language, a constant stream of drunks and angry gamblers isn’t a great environment to work in.  You also have a lot of dealers that love to talk tho too, and I think that makes it more fun.  I finally doubled on a blackjack, after lots of discussion with the dealer, and I won!  They made a big production out of it too, calling the pit boss and whatever.  But at that point I was so far gone that they probably wouldn’t have been surprised about anything.  After that the pit bosses kept on walking by, and making smart ass comments, which was pretty humiliating, but they were also pretty accomodating with the drinks, etc.

Overall, good trip, always love vegas.  Not really enough time, and I didn’t get to see very much.  Plus, the $ lost is always a bummer, but that trip made me want to go back again real soon.

So, I guess there has been some controversy over south park’s mocking of Steve Irwin.  It’s funny, when it watched the show it didn’t seem that bad - maybe I’ve been desensitized.  Basicially, what happens in the episode is that satan is having a halloween party on earth at the W hotel in los angeles.  He invites people from both earth and hell to attend.  During the party, Satan’s assistant reports to him that some guests are complaining about a person who came up dressed untastefully as steve irwin.  And, yes, the costume is pretty untasteful.  But it turns out that it’s not really a costume - it actually is the steve irwin.  apparently he went to hell.  Anyway, Satan kicks him out for not having a costume, and that’s that.

To me, the steve irwin stuff wasn’t that bad.  I mean, the episode had gandhi in hell, princess diana in hell, priests with naked alterboys on leashes, biggie smalls coming back to life and shooting at people, butters calling the notorious big ‘nigga,’ jeffrey dahlmer, john wayne gacy, and Ted Bundy…Really, in comparison the steve irwin stuff wasn’t over the top.  It was actually pretty funny.  What’s ironic is that in the episode, guests are complaining that the steve irwin costume is innappropriate.

The biggie smalls stuff was pretty funny.  Short clip is below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_YOrWg0SA]

The full episode is here in three parts, but fyi youtube has been really quick to take these links down:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSuHUWRT2_A]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzAxAgbz3-E]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDWUv6nVG_8]

We returned to Kabuto last night after a year-long hiatus.  The last time we visited, the restaurant had recently changed hands from its original owner, Sachio, to its new owner - whose name I believe is Jinsoo.  Yes, the Japanese-owned restaurant was sold to a Korean owner - blasphemous to some, but really it should come as no surprise since a significant portion of Japanese restaurants in the bay are owed by Koreans.

Our last experience at Kabuto was hectic, probably due to the transition from owner to owner.  The selection at that time was limited, and the wait staff and chefs struggled to keep their heads above water.  The menu at that time was also pretty much the same as Kabuto under its original owners.

So, last nite we decided to revisit and give the place a second chance (plus, Oyaji was closed).  One thing that hasn’t changed is the service - it is horrible.  There were two waitresses (and later a kitchen worker, possibly the chef’s wife, who came into the dining room to help out), which could not keep pace with customers.  It took about 20 minutes to order our main dishes and sushi, and we had to flag down the waitress to do so - I think she had completely forgotten about us.  The sushi chefs seemed like they could not care any less about us, even though we were sitting at a prominent position at the bar.  Additionally, our beer order did not come, so we had to order again - but we were charged for both orders. 

Really, these waitresses have to get a bit more organized and figure out which tables they are going to serve, because currently they just seem to take orders from whatever table flags them down first.  It’s not a big restaurant either, I just don’t get how the service could be so poor.  Two waitresses in the restaurant are within a close proximity of pretty much every customer - so there’s really no excuse.

But the food was decent.  Much better than our last experience there.  Kabuto now has a number of special rolls and sushis that are generally innovative and unique.  They don’t overly rely on the special creamy sauce or fried items.

Many of Kabuto’s special sushis have rice on the bottom, topped with nori, and another topping.  This keeps the sushi nice and light, while allowing the flavors to mix well in your mouth and preserving the textures of the crunchy nori and soft rice.

The ceviche accurately reproduced the flavor of spanish ceviche in a bite sized portion.  Similarly, the toro tartar was a nice blend of rich toro and avocado.  The avocado complements the toro well in terms of taste, but tends to make the texture a bit mushy.  The hirame yuzu paired the orange/limey taste of yuzu with hirame - a nice combination that leverages the strong yuzu flavors and light, clean hirame taste.

However, the spicy salmon skin mango was a bit much.  Too many flavors - the salty salmon skin, spiciness from what seemed like like minced jalapenos, and sweet mango puree.  It seemed like this dish was thrown together with hardy any thought.

We also had a dish with unagi and foie gras - i can’t remember the name - but it was waaaay to rich.  I mean, the unagi + bbq sauce is already pretty rich, but adding the foie gras just put it over the top.  I think this is a remnant of the Sachio days, when foie gras sushi was one of his more innovative items - but this dish just seemed like an attempt to integrate foie gras in the menu without any real idea of what to pair it with.

Other notes:  1879 Oysters was decent, but not as good as it looked.  I mean, this thing includes a live oyster, ikura, uzura and gold flakes - so it is a mouthful.  But the oyster was not particularly good - we’re not taking hog island here, and the ikura and uzura didn’t really do anything to complement it.  I would point to blowfish sushi’s oyster shooters as the best japanese/oyster fusion dish (incidentally, blowfish’s version also includes ikura and uzura, but has a light ponzu sauce instead of Kabuto’s drier version).

As far as actual sushi, we had kanpachi, hamachi belly, shima aji and katsuo.  The kanpachi, hamachi belly and shima aji were good.  Pieces of fish were generous, fish was fresh, rice was well structured.  The katsuo however, was not very good.  It seemed flaky and stringy, which was an odd combination.  The taste was a little too fishy - and I know that’s what you’re asking for when you order Katsuo, but this one just seemed a bit too old for me.

As for the chefs, we had an older japanese chef (pictured) and Jinsoo.  The japanese guy barely said anything to us.  Jinsoo interacted a bit more with customers, but was mostly busy with his work.  I think this is one of the biggest differences with Kabuto, and say, Zushi.  You don’t really get any interaction from the chefs, and you certainly don’t get attention from the servers.  At ZP, roger talks to you and gives you recommendations, whereas at Kabuto you’re on your own.  They had a bunch of specials like opakapaka, escolar, etc., but without any chef interaction who knows how good these fishes are.

Overall, Kabuto ranks high in terms of creativity and innovation - although this tends to sometimes get them into trouble with items like the spicy salmon skin.  They’re walking a fine line between faking the funk as an asian fusion sushi bistro, while preserving the traditional japanese items and purist nigiri that made the old Kabuto a hit.  This alone would not be a huge problem - it’s fine for owners to take risks with items and expand the menu, and as guests we like to see that effort - but the poor overall service really detracts from the food and in many ways ruins the overall experience.  You know, cool..oyster, ikura, uzura, gold flake, that’s pretty neat, but if it takes 20 minutes to order, during which time I have no beer or tea, a happy japadamus that does not make.

Also, the place has lost a lot of the appeal of old Kabuto.  The selection of fish is not as extensive, particularly with the tunas (old Kabuto used to offer around 4-8 different types of tuna at different times), and I don’t like this trend of using hawaiian names to make different types of fish seem more unique than they actually are.  Opakapaka is snapper, and snapper is available at every decent sushi restaurant in the city.  just call it snapper.  Roger does the same thing, and it pisses me off and it’s insulting.

Kabuto

5121 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA

(415) 752-5652

 Toro tartar

  Spicy salmon skin with mango puree.

Hirame Yuzu

 1879 oysters

   yaki nasu

Wow, youtube removed the south park episode in record time - right after the company was just bought by google.  Just a coincidence, or a sign of things to come?  There are still a few episodes of SP up on youtube, but they seem to be disappearing quickly.  What’s interesting is that comedy central’s parent, Viacom, was supposedly interested in purchasing youtube.  why?  maybe because of music videos on the site competing with its property MTV/VH1/BET?  But at the same time, clips on youtube of the daily show and colbert report seem to drive traffic for those shows - so win/win?

In any case, anyone watching heroes on NBC?  Basically, the show is about people with super powers, such as flight, reading people’s minds, bending space/time, etc.  They are connected in some way to save the world, and basically the show walks us through the process of these people finding each other and figuring out what to do with their powers and why they have these powers etc.  Good show? maybe, but horribly addicting and you can just feel yourself being led on for years and years.

But one question I had from the last show is:  Is Niki’s ex-husband and the mysterious number 2 guy the same person?  It appears not: 

The first pic is of the mysterious number 2 guy who works with Claire’s dad, who is the #1 bad guy.  The second pic is of Nikki’s ex-husband.  two different people, two different actors.  Although, in their quick scenes in heroes they could easily be mistaken for each other, and it would be an interesting twist if they were the same person.

Actually, I think they may both be tiki barber, although Keri pointed out that tiki’s eyebrows are a bit too thick.  What would tiki’s power be? 

In last nite’s South Park, Carman becomes a hall monitor a la Dog, the Bounty hunter.  Meanwhile Ike and his kindergarten teacher are having an affair.

Cartman as dog was pretty amusing…’you like bear mace ice head?  you’re going to christ!’  He misses some of dog’s finer points, like the long guilt trips and lectures about drugs, but it does include some jesus talk and lots of ‘brahs’.  Also, beth makes an appearance.

The storyline about ike and his teacher begs the question, is a female teacher sleeping with a male student an example of exploitation?  Or should we assume that males are OK to take care of themselves when it comes to sex, even with an older teacher?  When kyle reports the relationship to the police, the detective says, ‘we have to go out and find [ike] and give him the luckiest kid in the world award.’

Another thing that’s funny is that once the teacher is arrested, she blames the problem on alchololism, which cartman describes as the ‘mel gibson defense.’  But actually, this should now be more appropriately referred to as the ‘mark foley defense.’

Anyway, here’s the show:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvPIYeQJ_8o]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AchLBCGTGcA]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqKBLgJRdE8]

Last night we visited Oyaji, in SF.  The term ‘Oyaji’ literally translates to ‘one’s father,’ ‘old man,’ or ‘one’s boss,’ according to freedict.com.  I think in the case of this restaurant, it refers to the owner, Hide-san, who apparently has built a solid reputation among regulars.

However, last night, Hide-san was off in Japan.  His son, who is only 21, and another middle aged chef, were manning the bar.  Hide’s son was working the rolls section of the bar, while the other guy, who’s name escapes me, was working the nigiri and sashimi section.

This was only the second time I’ve been to Oyaji, but both times I’ve noticed that they are fairly understaffed.  Last night there were only two servers working, both of whom were very busy the entire night and not very attentive to things like tea and water refills.  To their credit, they did make the most out of a tough situation and were accommodating once we got their attention.

The menu at Oyaji includes an excellent mix of traditional japanese items that you are not likely to see at other japanese restaurants (particularly those owned by non-japanese).  Items like the Karei Karaage (deep fried halibut), gindara kasuzuke (butterfish to hawaiians) and a thorough selection of skewers (chicken, liver, duck, etc.) filled out the menu nicely.  They even had ika shiokara, which is probably the most vile and disgusting food of any cuisine on the planet.  Oyaji also offers two ramen dishes, both of which looked basic, but generous.

At the same time, Oyaji has a mix of american-style rolls, e.g. california, philadelpia, etc.  We stuck to more traditional rolls, like the natto (fermented soybean) and salmon skin.  Both were adequate, but these items didn’t really give the chefs an opportunity to be spectacular.  We didn’t try any of the more elaborate rolls - instead focusing on nigiri.

I would say the nigiri sushi was the highlight of our meal.  The kanpachi was well done - a little bit more tough than hamachi, but still rich and buttery.  The ‘live’ scallop, pictured in the case below, was also quite nice.  Although, I am afraid that I cannot tell the difference between fresh scallop and live scallop.  I think the scallops they actually used were not literally live, but killed and prepared that day.  It seems they prepare the scallops, then put them back in the scallop shell and saran wrap it shut.  You can see how these wrapped shells are lined up below.  Nonetheless, the live scallop was tender, but gave just enough give to avoid being mushy.  I think that is the texture that you should expect from fresh scallops.

We also had the japanese aji, which was also very good.  You can see several of the ajis lined up in the sushi case below.  The chef leaves the ajis intact until you order them (with the exception of the innards).  Once ordered, you can watch the chef skillfully slice apart the fish, separating each filet from the spine, and manually removing some bones with tweezers.

Our aji dish was really a four piece item - similar to a roll, but without the nori.  It was pressed with the bamboo makisu, but not pressed in a wood mold like oshi zushi.  In any case, this roll was topped with nearly a whole filet of aji, which the chef preforated with cross cutts.  It was served with a ponzu dipping sauce that complemented the aji well.

The aji was clearly very fresh.  You could see the eyes of the fish were clear, and the meat still had a nice firm texture.  The fish was also preserved nicely - Oyaji made a good effort to prevent the meat from being polluted with the rancid fish innards.  This was probably my favorite of the night.  It was fun to both watch the chef slice up the aji, and eat the fish itself.

The other items we had included mirugai, uni with uzura (quail egg) and tamago.  The mirugai and uni were both fine - fresh and well prepared.  The tamago I believe was home made, and had a nice balance between fluffy and firm, without being too sweet.  The tamago was prepared with the rice inside, so it was more of a rice ball wrapped with egg (should have gotten a pic of this - next time).

Overall, Oyaji gets a high grade.  The sushi was better than average, and although the bar lacked the daily specials of say, Zushi Puzzle or Sushi Sams, they made up for it with the aji and scallop.  The robust menu of japanese items will keep me coming back to try new things - and although these items were more traditional than creative/fusiony, they are a nice change from the typical teriyaki/gyoza menus you see at most japanese restaurants.

Oyaji Restaurant
www.oyajirestaurant.com

3123 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 379-3604

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