Tag Archives: Ozumo San Jose

My Top 10 Eats of 2020

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As someone who rarely used to order takeout, I never thought I’d be turning my annual Top 10 list of the year’s best dishes into one centered solely on food picked up at restaurants to enjoy in my own home.

But 2020 has been like no year we’ve ever experienced.

It was more difficult than usual to cull my favorite eats down to only 10 mentions, because every restaurant or bakery that I visited has something wonderful to offer in these most challenging time. What’s more, each place I visited this year deserves an enormous thanks and pat on the back for persevering in this extremely difficult situation.

With 2021 around the corner, and the beginnings of a very slow return to normalcy just inching forward, I hope you’ll join me in continuing to support your local restaurants by getting takeout. Do pick up the food yourself if you can, rather than relying on delivery apps that eat into the already slim margins that restaurants reap from your order.

Without further ado, in no particular order, here are my Top 10 takeout picks of 2020.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late, Part 8

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A heap of yaki soba with pork belly chashu, cabbage, shiitakes, and pickled ginger -- from Ozumo.
A heap of yaki soba with pork belly chashu, cabbage, shiitakes, and pickled ginger — from Ozumo.

Ozumo, San Jose and San Francisco

What foods have you missed most during shelter-in-place? French fries, or most any fried foods for that matter, and sushi? That’s the consensus among my friends and family. Understandable, given that those are things most of us rarely prepare for ourselves at home.

Ozumo comes to the rescue on so many of those fronts. Former professional baseball player Jeremy Upland founded the restaurants after falling hard for Japanese cuisine during his time playing in the Japanese Pacific League. Its location in San Jose’s Santana Row is especially convenient because there are plenty of free parking lots just yards away.

To satisfy those fried foods cravings, look no further than karaage ($14) and Ozumo shrimp ($18).

Classic karaaage (front), and Ozumo shrimp (back).
Classic karaaage (front), and Ozumo shrimp (back).

I’m not going to lie — when you get these to-go, their crunchy coatings will suffer a bit by the time you get them home. But the fried white shrimp coated with shichimi can be re-crisped fairly well by just searing them in a hot frying pan on the stovetop. The accompanying yuzu-honey aioli is sweet and creamy like Japanese Kewpie mayo, with a citrusy and spicy edge. Our little plastic container of it got slightly melted when it was tucked inside the to-go container with the straight-from-the-fryer shrimp. But you can always transfer the sauce to your own dipping bowl at home.

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Warm-Rice Hand Rolls and Okinawan-Style Doughnuts at the New Ozumo

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Salmon hand-roll made to order with warm rice -- available at the bar at Ozumo.

Salmon hand-roll made to order with warm rice — available at the bar at Ozumo.

 

As much as I love sushi and Japanese food in general, I rarely could bring myself to step foot inside this spot in San Jose’s Santana Row when it was the former Blowfish Sushi to Die For.

That’s because it was small, dark, and blared pulsating club-like music non-stop, making it impossible to hold any kind of conversation, let alone relax.

What a difference a new concept makes.

Late last month, Ozumo took over that spot, renovating it with a light, bright interior, as well as adding an outdoor beer garden in the Valencia Hotel alcove right below Burke Williams spa.

Lanterns overhead in the beer garden.

Lanterns overhead in the beer garden.

A much more soothing palette than the previous restaurant in this spot.

A much more soothing palette than the previous restaurant in this spot.

The dining room.

The dining room.

Jeremy Umland founded the original Ozumo in San Francisco in 2001. A New York native, he became passionate about Japanese food and culture when he played professional baseball in the Japanese Pacific League.

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