Dear Mango: How to Find REAL Japanese Food Near You

It's Week 2 of my new advice column. Here's this week's Q&A:

Dear Mango,
  How can I tell which Japanese restaurants are authentic? I live in the SF Bay Area. There are tons of sushi places but they're really hit or miss. Is there a foolproof way of finding the real deal without spending tons of money on a shitty meal? Thanks!
From Oakland Hungry Man

See my response after the jump:

Dear Oakland Hungry Man,
'  You're right about one thing—there are plenty of fakes out there! Even Japantown SF isn't really run by Japanese people anymore. While there are never any guarantees, here are some basic rules to follow to make sure you don't end up eating fake ikura and shiso-flavored plastic-with-sushi rice for dindin:
  1. What's the restaurant called? If it's called "Godzilla Sushi" or "Sushi Groove," it's probably geared toward hipsters, not homesick salarymen. If the sign says "Authentic Japanese/Chinese/Korean," then it's not authentic anything.
  2. Inspect the interior. Are the waiters—and more importantly, the sushi chefs—Japanese? If at least one of them is, the chances of it being authentic are higher. (If you can't distinguish between East Asians, hone your skillz by taking the All Look Same test.) Also check the decor. Most authentic Japanese restaurants have handwritten menu items scrawled on chalkboards or vertically on pieces of paper on the wall, and not a whole lot more.
  3. Scan the menu. If there's mushroom soup next to miso soup, that's not Japanese. If there's Vietnamese spring rolls next to kimchee next to fried tofu, it's probably not Japanese either. If there's chicken teriyaki, you should think twice about whether people in Japan really eat chicken teriyaki. (Hint: we don't.)
  4. Pungent aromas of spice, sesame, peanut, or most anything else are usually indicative of a fake. Most Japanese restaurants smell like seaweed, steam, rice, fish, clean oil, or nothing at all.
  5. If the wait staff are dressed like ninjas, samurais, or geishas, it's probably better known for its entertainment value than its fine cuisine.

Feel free to chime in in the comments section if you have other pointers on how to pick a real Japanese restaurant.

To submit a question to Dear Mango, e-mail me.

Comments

[Dragonfang18]

Does this apply to New York as well?
I looked up Ninja New York. Although it does have an authentic owner, there are non authentic japanese cuisines.

[Lisa]

Ya, good point! Let me add that.

[amida23]

Your chances of getting "real" sushi in the States is pretty low. You can't get real wasabi, for example, just green-colored horseradish. Even the rice is likely to be cheap stuff with a fermenting agent added, and the nigiri might be shaped by a machine. I suggest enjoying the "fake" stuff--spicy tuna rolls, rainbow rolls, whatever-- for what it is.

That said, if the staff are dressed up like geisha, I'd still stay away.

[tameguchi]

My friends always tell me how the ramen and sushi taste way better than the stuff found in US Japanese restaurants.

It's as though, all the Japanese chefs who failed cooking school came to the US and set up shop.

[kungfupiggy]

Authentic Japanese restaurants usually smell like combination of bonito, grilled fish and soy sauce right when you walk in.

I find real Japanese restaurants from local Japanese business directory. Around election time, the restaurants with a lot of Japanese customers will have political ads and forms for absentee ballots.

I think the "fake" exist for a reason, they are tailored to local tastes with sensible local ingredients. Shipping everything from Japan can cost a lot of environmental damage.

[gordon]

My advice is to check out the customers is in the restaurant. If it's loaded with native Japanese customers (and staffed by native Japanese, as mentioned by Lisa) then I'd say odds are you've found a good, authentic place.

[stuz]

Can anyone tell me about what actually happened to the "Japanese Restaurant Authentication Plan"? My dad says it's already implemented in Paris but I dunno.. can't seem to find any more info about it..

[umetaro]

the easiest way to tell if a restaurant is "authentic" to ask a Japanese friend.

if you're looking for japanese restaurants of the type they have in japan, go where the salarymen are. in the bay area, between san mateo and san jose would be a good place to start. san francisco has little more than a handful and the east bay has maybe two or three.

some comments on the comments...

a japanese restaurant should not smell "fishy." if it does, run.

you can get hon wasabi in lots of places in the US now. even in SF. you just need to know where they have it and to ask for it.

pick up a copy of the "bayspo" newspaper. the majority of the ads in there are for japanese restaurants owned and run by japanese.

even a restaurant loaded with japanese customers is not that great a criteria to follow (at least in SF). young japanese art students do not always have the kind of income needed to eat at good japanese restaurants.

"fake" japanese exists because most people in SF don't know any better. i'm not blaming them, i just wish they'd stop craving affirmation for their shitty restaurant choices.

i think jetro put the "authentication plan" on hold after they did that bunch of restaurants in paris. i dimly remember some dude from the ministry of uh... agriculture, forestries, and fisheries(maff?) having second thoughts about the whole thing. maybe he was eating nikujaga one day and finally remembered that the dish was created during the 1930s.

lastly, it's called the internet peoples! if you don't have a japanese friend handy (we're dying out), look at some blogs or the like. here's a couple i found in just a few minutes of searching.

http://bayarea.typepad.com/bayarea/bayarea_japanese/index.html
http://thebabybear.yelp.com/

[Hema-kun]

In my home state (Souf Cakalaka), we have maybe one restaurant in the entire state that's actually run by a Japanese guy...and it's not very good. The best-tasting Japanese food is from a place run by Koreans!

It's not necessary to always patronize a fully Japanese-run restaurant to get really good and true-to-form Japanese food. Japanese food is simple and only really has the requirement of being fresh and attractively presented. Even the flavors are simple .

By the criteria of food critics in the US, a large portion of places here in Japan wouldn't be considered "Japanese." Especially in Okinawa.

The key point is to focus on the food and Lisa's/Umetaro's tips will help you find that tasty food. The atmosphere isn't as important, ne?

[Lisa]

stuz--The government's authenticity stamp plan was cancelled in March:

http://www.tokyomango.com/tokyo_mango/2007/03/food_authentici.html

[edjusted]

I was laughing at #5 because I just saw a place called "Ninja Sushi" a few weeks ago. I mean, what kind of customers are they trying to attract with that kind of name. Also, watch out for the word "Asian" or "Oriental" in the name, or *especially* in the description. If any place says they're serving "authentic Asian food," you might wanna stay clear.

[sidruid]

This inspired me to write blog my own thoughts on what makes a place authentic (vs just tasty).
on Tristate Sushi: http://sidruid.livejournal.com/89905.html?thread=171825
(trackback service isn't working)

[mpg31337]

San Mateo has a few good places on 2nd. My Japanese friends tell me theyre better than SF Japan-town. Forgot the names though...

There is an excellent Ramen place in Mountain View called Ryowa. Seems pretty authentic, except they do have Kim-chee...

Yelp can be your friend here.

[Pon-chyan]

I find that many of the "Japanese" and sushi restaurants in the South Bay are Korean owned an operated. It seems that Japanese cuisine offers better financial prospects than Korean.

I tend to avoid sushi bars with floaty boats for two reasons: sushi should be made to order and served fresh; and whenever the focus is on theater, the food is usually lacking.

Perhaps the number one place for ex-pat salarymen in the South Bay is Hatcho in the Washington Mall in Downtown Santa Clara. However, you may find that you need a salaryman's expense account to eat there.

Yuki Sushi, also in Santa Clara, has great sushi at reasonable prices, along with other home-style offerings.

Check out the restaurants at the complex the hosts the Mitsuwa supermarket on Saratoga Ave (at HWY 280) for some authentic cuisine.