An izakaya (居酒屋) is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. The food is usually more substantial than that offered in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars or snack bars.
They are popular, casual and relatively cheap places for after-work drinking.
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With that said, one of my most recent favorite places to dine at in San Francisco is "Izakaya Sozai" This tiny establishment has actually been around for a few years, but they have recently acquired new owners! I'm so glad the new owners came along because the food has improved tenfold. The food is so good, i've gone twice in the past 2 weeks and each outing has racked a bill of over $100.
I do have to mention that I am a ramen fiend. I dont' mean the instant Maruchan crap, I mean real ramen. I'm talking NARUTO ramen, mmmkay? My quest for the best ramen in Northern California has been pretty devastating. Ramen house after ramen house have left me in dismay, especially the ones in San Francisco. Along came revamped Izakaya Sozai bringing with them thee absolute best ramen in the bay area. My favorite had been Santouka in San Jose for quite some time, but now, it is definitely the Ritsu tonkatu ramen here at Izakaya Sozai.
Tako wasabi is one of my absolute favorite dishes whenever having izakaya. If you screw this up, then i know the rest of the meal will suck. This has been perfect both times thus far. I loved every single last slimy morsel of raw, chopped octopus and fresh wasabi. Perfect balance of flavor, crunch, and kick.
hamachi carpaccio (sliced yellow fin sashimi)
hamachi kama - grilled yellowtail collar
tako yaki - they don't skimp on the octopus in this, you get a decent chunk!
*ahem* unlike the stand at the Cherry Blossom Festival *ahem*
spicy tuna on crispy rice - i love love love love love crispy rice. if you like spicy tuna, you should get this too. i don't even want to describe it, just fucking get it and thank me later.
grilled chicken gizzards - mMmMm seasoned beautifully and great crunch
grilled beef tongue
grilled sea bass - so perfect in buttery flavor
gyusuji (braised beef tendon) - definitely one of the stars of the meal. cooked perfectly. reminded me of my mother because she makes a similar dish with huge chunks of stewed daikon. i would have to say this was ONE of my favorites here.
grilled tofu steak w/ mushrooms
ritsu tonkotsu ramen - the best part of the meal!!!! BEST BEST PART OF THE MEAL! I was shocked and in awe at how PERFECT this ramen was. I noted how awesome the boiled egg was. Usually ramen places have tough, over boiled eggs (you can tell when there's a gray ring around the yolk) The egg in this ramen was sooooo good, not to mention it was cured. It reminded me of Chinese tea eggs. They give you a nice sheet of fresh seaweed, a good handful of green onions and plenty of noodles. I cannot express how in love I am with the broth. Perfectly robust, full of flavor, no msg headache, didn't make me thirsty after, I couldn't get enough of it.. The noodles were also al dente.. Oh man, it was better than Hakata Shinsen Gumi in Rosemead, CA. The ramen is meant for eating AFTER sake but by then you'll probably be full so I would advise sharing with someone if you can (which is what I did with my ajusshi)
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Alright, i'm done with the food. Let's get down to the nitty gritty. I finally painted my nails, woop woop! They've been bare for over a week!! I know it's good to let your skin and nails "breathe" every now and then but seriously?? My fingers feel naked without polish on them. Hahahahaha. I did them with OPI for Sephora's "Metro Chic" I had ordered this online and it looked more purple but in real life, it comes out this murky greyish brown color. At first I really didn't like it, but it started to grow on me so I try to wear it more often. I've been more into neutral colors lately so this is definitely getting tossed into the rotation. I don't know why the fuck Blogger is uploading my pictures sideways and the pictures are not sideways when I uploaded to the computer, I rotated them first and saved. I'm frustrated.If anybody can offer a solution to this, i'd be grateful. I am technologically challenged so I don't know why it's all funky. I didn't do anything bad, I promise! It uploaded all my food pix fine! ugh! -_-
I swear by Nail Tek and Seche Vite. I use Nail Tek as my base, put 2 coats of my polish then use the Seche Vite top coat. It truly is the fastest drying top coat out there ladies. I haven't come across anything better. The Sally Hansen & Revlon ones tend to "bubble" on my nails and take for-freaking-evaaa to dry. I usually do my nails on my lunch break at work so I need something that dries quickstyles. Check it out if you can, I believe Ulta carries it.
This is the NYX palette that i've been using on the daily. 10 Color Eyeshadow Pallet (isn't it supposed to be spelled palette? Am I wrong? Iono, I googled this image and got it off ebay, so the seller is maybe doing a fakie?) from The Runway Collection in "Champagne & Caviar".The 2 colors circled are the ones I used in the following pictures. Bad eyeliner job, I know. I've been having a real rough time getting ready in the A.M. You know why? Because i'm a loser that's been playing Restaurant City on Facebook non-stop.Hahahahah i'm totally going to Hell but check out my restaurant hahahahhahahahhaahaha
"wha-evaaa yoo lie, we dooo pho yooo! $5 luv yoo long time!"
brows: MAC charcoal brown
eyes: MAC ricepaper under brow for highlight, 2 NYX colors from the Champagne & Caviar palette
MAC fluid line in Blacktrack, Neutragena under eye concealer
nothing but Carmex on my lips. I'll explain why in a bit >.<
So... Remember that movie "A Christmas Story" ?? The one where the little kid with the glasses wants a Red Ryder BB gun? There's a scene where his classmate gets triple dog dared to stick his tongue onto a flagpole and the kid's tongue got stuck. Who remembers that shit!?!?! Well...Guess what my dumb ass did. I made a delicious lasagna last night at Joy's house. (We made it from scratch too, I ain't no Stouffer bitch mmkay) and sat my fat ass on her couch and ate a red bean ice cream popsicle. I didn't realize how much freezer burn was on that thing my.mouth.got.stuck.on.the.damn.motherfucking.popsicle.
I had to ply my mouth off and tore chunks of my freaking mouth off! I didn't realize it at first since it was numb and I was wearing red lipstick yesterday (Viva Glam I). damn, i'm a dumbass.
epic failure.
