IZAKAYA RINTARO
Sylvan Mishima Brackett worked for Alice Waters as her assistant and then as creative director, then started hosting pop-up dinners celebrating his Japanese heritage. To start a permanent restaurant, he took over the space that for years was Chez Spencer. His father built much of the interior, including the counter cut from a century-old cedar tree, the beveled beamed ceiling and the walls made of packed clay from where Brackett grew up near Nevada City. The chef has created a fully realized izakaya, featuring fried, skewered and grilled items, and among the best udon to be found in the Bay Area, whether presented in a broth or in a kind of carbonara sauce with egg yolk, butter, ginger, scallion and shavings of dried, fermented tuna. His gyoza looks like a big pancake, but once you crack through the crisp shell, you discover individual dumplings with moist pork filling. He’s also an expert at grilling yakitori and at frying items such as chicken wings. It’s a restaurant born from passion, reflected in the carefully crafted food.
Cuisine Japanese | Specialties Fresh tofu; sashimi with Meyer lemon ponzu; gyoza; chicken yakitori; fried chicken wings with smoky tare and sancho pepper; whole saltgrilled trout; udon noodles; green tea panna cotta. | Seats 50 (plus 14 at the counter and 15 on the patio); private room for 25 | Prices $15-$30 (plus 5% S.F. surcharge) | Noise rating | Parking Street, often difficult Vitals 82 14th St., San Francisco. (415) 589-7022. www.izakayarintaro.com Dinner nightly. Beer, wine and sake. Reservations and credit cards accepted.