We’ve got a bone to pick with all y’all, and it’s in the shape of Izmi Sushi. The Marcy Street sushi haunt has been on our radar a number of years as a fairly dependable if imperfect spot for a bit of Japanese fare, but ever since SFR moved from its downtown offices to Midtown and then into the Design Center, we admittedly haven’t done a great job at keeping up with Marcy Street food stuff. OK, so maybe that’s on us a bit, but for a group of people who write to us to be like, “Did you know they sell bread at the store and fruit? They sell almost everything there!” you sure as heck didn’t let us know that Izmi renovated from a kind of dark-toned space into the light and airy restaurant it is today. No, you didn’t tell us shit. We had to find out ourselves during a recent dinner with a pal that was, and pardon our language, pretty dang excellent.
Honestly, this was the best meal we’ve ever had at Izmi, and that might have something to do with ambiance. Izmi is a street-facing biz that is connected to the Palace Modern hotel (which runs $200-ish a night based on a cursory Google search and also we hate the name of the hotel), but it’s really its own thing. With the new renovation, too, it has
become one of the lightest and brightest rooms in all of the downtown zone, which is pretty nice for a late-spring nosh with your dumb buddy who loves Japan even more than you do (we’re not anime nerds, though, so no need to tell us what’s up with One Piece because we don’t actually give a shit). We were seated quickly, addressed by staff quickly and had ordered quickly, all while the restaurant was bustling with large groups, hot dates and dorky tourists.
What’d your old pal The Fork order? Some classics, including an edamame app ($4), the shrimp tempura roll ($10) and hamachi nigiri ($8). We spun some yarn about how we’d likely order more, which we might have had we not wound up plenty full from that small-ish assortment of bites. Our dumb buddy, meanwhile, went nuts on the chicken katsu dinner entree, a wildly generous portion of fried Panko chicken breast with rice and veggies and a thick ’n’ tangy tonkatsu sauce. What were the highlights, you ask?
Well….
- The edamame, while simple, was salted just right and came in what we’d call a heaping portion.
- The hamachi was fresh as you like, and so tender if practically melted away in our mouth.
- The shrimp tempura roll came with some seriously fat-ass prawns, which were still hot and crispy by the time we got to them.
- The chicken katsu dinner entree might be the most insane value we’ve noticed in town just now. This damn thing came with what looked like two full chicken breasts, and they were juicy, man.
- The tonkatsu was maybe one of the tastiest we’ve had in recent memory—it was almost fruity but not oversweet, and as a chicken accoutrement…well, it did its job.
So to recap (in another list):
- Izmi Sushi renovated at some point, but we don’t know when and it’s not like we’re gonna call someone about that, because, like, who cares about the date of a renovation. It’s new in there, we’re sorry we didn’t notice before now, we loved it.
- The food is wildly affordable and wildly tasty.
- The service was prompt and courteous and friendly and we never went thirsty/without water for even a second.
- We should all go over there for some sush, brah!
Also
- We know that the May 11 Mother’s Day is still, like, a month-ish away, but we’re telling you about at least one thing here real quick, because we saw it online and because you’re not nice enough to your mom (fine print: we include ourselves in the not nice enough to our mom category; the fork understands not everyone has or wants a relationship with their mom; some moms are cool, others aren’t; no purchase necessary; void where prohibited), and that thing is the upcoming Tea For Me: A Vietnamese-Inspired Mother’s Day High Tea at Alkemē. On Sunday, May 11 for $55, the downtown fusion restaurant joins with tea/food pop-up champs The Ox 1985 for some seriously tasty teas and special dishes meant to celebrate dear old (or young) mom. Apparently there will be a full drink menu available, too, in case it’s all too much. We get it. Hi, mom! If you’re reading this we love you.
- Please note that there are likely all kinds of other Mother’s Day things happening, and it’s never too early to make a plan or to hold onto the information like a silver bullet the next time your mom comes by and calls your house “sad,” and you just need to quiet her down. Hi, mom! If you’re reading this we need you to quiet down.
- Regular readers know we’re pretty down with Café Catron, even if the oatmeal we so dearly loved there was but a special that popped off for one month (seriously, y’all, just put it on the menu permanently). That said, we couldn’t help but notice online that one of April’s monthly specials looks pretty dang good. Spicy Asian tofu bowl with rice and what appears to be zucchini? Sign us the heck up. Please note we’re aware that not all tofu is created equal and it can actually be quite tricky to make it well—fingers crossed on this one.
- Locally beloved donut truck Craft Donuts has temporarily closed its little donut truck (you know, the one that’s kind of by Kaune’s right there at Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe), which is maybe tough for some folks who need them some donuts. Don’t fret, though, because Craft’s Southside location (in the San Isidro Center) is still kickin’ it old-school or donut-style or whatever. We haven’t heard of a reopening date yet, but we hear the closure is about making improvements.
- Speaking of sweet treats you can try downtown, Eldorado’s much-ballyhooed ice cream shop Hello Sweet Cream has officially opened its new outpost inside the CHOMP food hall. We tried to go over there Monday, because we forgot CHOMP is closed on Mondays, but we for sure are gonna try this ice cream. If you have it, let us know, but we’re excited for sure. We’re talkin’ small batch artisanal creams, baby! And we know La Lecheria is right there in the Railyard, but if we don’t try new things regularly, then we’ll have the time to stop and think about the absurdity of existence. Have you ever sat quietly and considered how strange it is that you, personally, exist? That’s not a thread to unravel if you’re not ready, so get some ice cream and relax until you’ve read up on Kant and Camus and, like, we dunno…Plato or something. Anyway, yay, ice cream!
- Lastly in this week’s local news roundup, don’t forget about Angels Dine Out this week from local nonprofit Kitchen Angels. Here are the broad strokes: Kitchen Angles serves meals to homebound Santa Feans, but they can’t do it without support, so a whole gaggle of local restaurants have set aside Thursday, April 17 as a special day during which 25% of every check will go to KA to help them keep on feeding people. You can learn more (and get a full list of participating restaurants) by clicking right here. You don’t even have to do anything special—you eat, the donations happen. Just go eat, dang!
Also
- Are you hitting that fitness temple known as the gym so you can shred them lats and gain those swoles and…the…deadlift the…tris and bis? Turns out that adding grapes to your regularly scheduled eatin’ times can help bolster your muscles. Click here to read more about how it works, but know that a study in mice recently found that grape consumption showed numerous muscle-y benefits thanks to their polyphenols, which can reduce inflammation and improve circulation. There have not been human trials yet, but it’s not nothing.
- You might have already seen tariff nonsense causing chaos in the things-you-buy-o-sphere, but in no arena are we more concerned than that of coffee—the one thing keeping us alive. Mayhap you’ve noticed prices going up in the stores and at your favorite local shops? And though stupid-ass-assing-ass-dumb-ass Trump has now paused at least some of his tariff nonsense (not for China, though), there’s no telling what’ll happen next, and businesses will need to prepare. And so will you. Ugh. We hate it here. Anyway, check out this story from CNBC-dot-com about a coffee biz owner who is scared about what the future holds. Then shop locally and don’t fucking complain to small business owners who are trying to keep it cool and don’t have a choice but to charge what they charge in most cases. As always, our go-to is Ohori’s, but you do whatever you want, little buddies.
- Lastly in not-just-local news, egg prices have gone up again, this time to record highs, which AP News-dot-com points out might be a huge bummer for people who do Easter egg stuff. We remember when eggs were so affordable you’d literally throw them at houses or cars. Now we’ve got a carton in the fridge that we’re protecting come hell or highwater. Point is, this is so bogus and we love eggs.
A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
This week in the print edition of SFR, our food critic remembers why Rowley Farmhouse Ales is a locals-first establishment while also going to town on a killer burger. Read that starting Wednesday.
Number of Letters Received
4
*OK, we’re not sure what’s happening, but we miss hearing from everyone. Please send your emails to thefork@sfreporter.com. We know we can’t respond like we used to there, but we really would like to at least address your thoughts and concerns publicly!
Most Helpful Tip (A Barely Edited Comment From a Reader)
Nada.
*Que lastima.
Actually Helpful Tip
*We could bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon?
Official Izmi Sushi Fan,
The Fork
