OZUMA
The best sushi in San Francisco is all
 because of a basketball

Contemporary Japanese Seasonal Cuisine, Tofu Made Tableside, Sake-Tasting

Room, and Robata Grill Manned by Sumo Wrestler Among Unique Elements

at Authentic Japanese Restaurant

By Madelyn Miller

.Jeremy James, a native New Yorker, went to Japan in 1979 as an exchange student to

study at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, a small city in the southern

island of Kyushu.  A pitcher for his college baseball team in the U.S., he

was invited to try out for the Seinan team.  He made the team and became the

first foreigner to play college baseball in Japan - and to throw a no-hitter.  He went on to play professionally for a team in Tokyo and lived in Japan for over 12 years, developing a deep appreciation of Japanese food and culture.

 "I fell in love with the freshness and quality of food in Japan and wanted

to bring that experience to the United States," said James.  "Not only the

food, but the entire eating experience."

James enticed the top-ranked Tokyo-based restaurant design firm, Super

Potato Co., LTD, to come to the U.S. for their first commissioned project.

They have transformed the 6,000-square-foot Ozumo space into a modern-day

Japanese tea garden using only the four elements of a traditional tea

garden - stone, wood, paper, and metal - and adding contemporary flair.

Renowned designer Noriyoshi Muramatsu has created an authentic space

reflecting a distinctly Japanese consciousness.

The long, narrow interior is traversed by a strolling pathway that winds

through the restaurant in traditional tea garden fashion, leading to several

distinct areas.  At the front of the restaurant is a separate bar and a

robata grill, a charcoal grill that is a fixture in many traditional

Japanese country homes.  Ozumo's Kotatsu Room, available for private

bookings, allows guests to experience this cozy country style of eating from

a robata grill.  The tradition of sitting shoeless on floor pillows has been

adapted to Western tastes; there is ample depth beneath the Japanese-style

tables to allow diners' to sit in accustomed comfort.

Another Ozumo highlight is the glass-enclosed sake tasting room, offering

over 30 Japanese sakes and several different fruit and herb tonics.  The

back of the restaurant, facing the Embarcadero with beautiful views of the

bay, holds a 24-seat sushi counter and 60 table seats, including a private

banquet area.

 Sushi is served "Omakase" (trust me) style, wherein guests forego ordering from the menu in favor of the chef's choice.  Ozumo sushi will feature warm rice, intriguing pairings of fish, and a variety of sauces to complement the different flavors of fish.

The chef asked me what I liked, kind of like a personality profile, and then made special things for me. I loved them all. Since I was sitting at the sushi bar, I also noticed what everyone around me was eating.

At 6'2" tall and blond, Jeremy James might look out of place as the owner of

an authentic Japanese restaurant.  But his 12-year career in Japan as a

professional baseball player-turned-investment banker provided him with

unique insights into Japanese culture and cuisine.  Fluent in Japanese,

James recruits staff who either speak Japanese or have a personal interest

in Japanese culture.  He is encouraging workers to begin a Japanese language

course, and daily lessons will be part of each shift, along with pre-shift

calisthenics led in Japanese.

"Besides introducing the Bay Area to the latest in contemporary Japanese

cuisine, we want our guests to experience Japanese culture, design and

language.  Ozumo is ultimately about Western meeting Eastern culture," said

James.

Executive Chef Koji Makiyama  oversees the robata and kitchen menus with

help from a crew of U.S.-based Japanese chefs, including his brother Hideki.

Koji, 42, a 260-pound professional sumo wrestler, is moving to San Francisco

after working for a family restaurant business in Tokyo.  On a more personal

note, he will have the opportunity to reunite with his brother, Hideki, 45,

who owns Saji Restaurant, a popular Marina dining spot.  Hideki will work

part time in the kitchen while continuing to run his sushi restaurant.

Ozumo's menu, which changes daily, features fresh seasonal products from

all over the world.  The menu offers everything from Omakase-style sushi and

sashimi, grilled seasonal vegetables, fish and meats from the robata

charcoal grill to freshly made tofu, appetizers, soups, and salads. 

 The Sumo Lounge serves a large selection of Japan's finest Junmai, Ginjo and

Dai-Ginjo sakes.  Specialties include halibut carpaccio marinated in virgin

olive oil spiked with lemon grass, oyster risotto served with fresh wasabi,

and many ingenious tofu dishes.

Ozumo is open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner seven days a

week:  lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30

p.m. to 12 midnight. 

 The Sumo Lounge area is open until midnight Sunday

through Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.  Ozumo is

located at 161 Steuart St. in the financial district of San Francisco.  (between Mission and Howard, inside Harbor Court Hotel)

Valet parking is available and reservations are accepted at (415) 882-1333

or online at www.ozumo.com or www.opentable.com.

Back to TravelLady Magazine