PATRICIA UNTERMAN
HOT SPOTS
FOOD FOR BREAKING NEWS ABOUT EATING IN AND DINING OUT, VISIT SFEXAMINER.COM
I
f a reader had not raved to
me about Kappou Gomi, a
2-month-old Japanese restaurant
hidden in plain sight on Geary
Boulevard, I might have missed
something marvelous. The front
-- set back from the sidewalk -- has
only a small wooden sign above the
door. The most obvious exterior fea-
ture is a printed notice posted in an
octagonal window that reads "No
sushi. No combination plates."
Of course, what makes Kap-
pou Gomi so remarkable is its
Japanese-ness, an insistence on pri-
vacy, self-effacement and unbending
adherence to tradition.
A kappou chef -- in this case
Masahiko Gomi, formerly chef at
Kiku of Tokyo in the Union Square
Hilton -- spent years mastering the
five cooking techniques of Japanese
cuisine. Gomi's wife, Harumi, with
the help of two
gracious serv-
ers, handles the
dining room.
Far from
offering a set
menu, or kai-
seki service,
Kappou Gomi
gives patrons
a maddeningly
large num-
ber of options
organized by
ingredient. The
whole range of seafood that Japanese
like to cook -- 19 to be exact -- can
be prepared in seven to 10 different
ways, covering sashimi, salt grilling,
steaming, simmering and deep frying.
Eggplant and tofu have four prepara-
tions. Beef, pork, duck and chicken
receive the full complement. Then,
there are separate sections for chilled
appetizers, one-pot dishes, cold and
hot noodles, and rice porridge. One-
pot meals, shabu shabu and sukiyaki,
made with three growingly expensive
grades of beef, are also options.
So, where to begin? Just jump
in. Most dishes are in the $7 to $8
range; sashimi, $10 to $15, and all
others are meant to be shared. Kap-
pou Gomi is the ultimate small-plate
restaurant.
Colorful appetizers like jellyfish
in sesame dressing are charmingly
arranged in ceramic bowls with
chilled, cooked and raw vegetables:
celery, brussels sprouts, spinach,
radishes and turnips.
Hirame (flounder) sashimi was
pearly and mild one night, presented
poetically with two different sea-
weeds. Move on to deep-fried items
like crunchy panko-crusted oysters
or divine anago (sea eel) battered in
long strips and served with fried
pumpkin. Salt-grilled fish, especially
those in the flavorful mackerel family,
are meaty and juicy.
End with Kappou Gomi's comfort-
fooddishes,theonesthatIkeepthink-
ing about. Chef Gomi works magic
with eggs. Lift off the top of a ceramic
plate of beef and burdock bound with
egg and the aroma practically pulls
your face into the dish. A more cus-
tardlike preparation called horaku
tamago tastes like a rustic chawan
mushi with vegetables, mushrooms,
scallops, shrimp, broth and beaten
egg slowly steamed together in the
oven. The result is a tender, savory
pudding loaded with flavor.
A poached "onsen" egg is one dip-
ping sauce for chilled, toothsome
udon or soba noodles.
House-made Japanese sweets
arrive on a lacquer tray with a bowl
of thick green tea, a peaceful ending
to an exciting meal.
I like to eat these riceless (at least
till the end), multifaceted small
plates with a bottle of chilled Suigei
Ginrei ($45), a junmai ginjo, served
in hand-blown sake glasses.
The small, simple dining room
is furnished with two rows of dark
rosewood-trimmed tables and high-
backed rosewood chairs. Solitary
diners can sit at a blond counter in
the back.
A meal, about $40 a person,
delights all the senses. Diners walk
out onto Geary Boulevard refreshed
and transported, amazed at where
they have been.
Patricia Unterman is author of the
just-released second edition of the "San
Francisco Food Lovers' Pocket Guide."
Contact her at pattiu@concentric.net.
Gomi takes palates on journey
VOLCANO CURRY OF JAPAN
5454 Geary Blvd., at 19th Avenue, San Francisco;
(415) 752-7671, www.volcanocurry.com;
open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
If you do not happen to feel flush these days, the
new Volcano Curry of Japan, a block east of Kappou
Gomi, offers a remarkably tasty one-plate meal
of Japanese-style curry and rice for the cost of
a single small dish up the street. Curry came to
Japan from India in the 19th century, but became a
craze in the 1960s. Volcano makes a slow-cooked,
deep-flavored sauce, mahogany in color, a tad
sweet, suggestive of Worcestershire rather than
Indian spices. This sauce (order it spicy, it won't
be too hot) is ladled over soft-cooked carrots, new
potatoes and griddled zucchini. This can be topped
with deep-fried, panko-crusted cutlets of chicken
($5.95) or pork ($6.95), deep-fried shrimp ($6.50),
or mixed with stewed chicken ($5.95) -- my favorite
-- or stewed beef ($6.95). Rice topped with a few
Japanese pickles fills half the plate. You can order
extras, like fried Japanese eggplant ($1.50), very
nice with the stewed chicken, or a boiled egg ($1)
or potato croquette ($1). Everything melds together,
lubricated by the dark, tasty curry.
-- Patricia Unterman
Kappou Gomi
Location: 5524 Geary Blvd.
(between 19th and 20th avenues),
San Francisco
Contact: (415) 221-5353
Hours: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays
through Saturdays
Price range: $7 to $25
Recommended dishes:
Spicy cod roe rolls; fried eggplant
with miso; cold udon and soba;
beef and burdock with egg; panko-
fried oysters; fresh bamboo-shoot
appetizer; deep-fried karei (sole)
with bones; haraku tamago (savory
custard)
Credit cards: All major
Reservations: No
ALL: BRET PUTNAM/SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER
Comfort cuisine: Kappou Gomi in the
Richmond district features spicy cod
roe rolled in cucumber, above, and fresh
bamboo shoot with green dressing, left,
among its many sensational dishes.
COURTESY PHOTO
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30FR I DAY, M AY 15, 2009

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