Koja Kitchen in Berkeley & San Francisco

Koja opened up a new location in the Inner Richmond neighborhood of SF, on Clement. I've been to the Berkeley location multiple times, getting the same thing (a Pork Koja). We decided to try some new stuff.

Short Rib (Beef) Bowl: tender short rib beef with mild chile, scallion, sesame. Kim Chee and Mixed Greens on the side.

Umami Fries. Waffle fries, miso coconut pork, aioli, masago, green onion, fried shallot, red sauce. The latter is a chile sauce that gives this dish a slight kick, IMHO. Other folks might find the heat pretty high. Sublime. 

Beef Taco: Korean beef, nori, sauteed onion, fried shallot, red sauce, japanese major, sesame vinaigrette. The contents of the taco: utterly divine. The tortillas themselves? Your basic corn tortillas, not warmed up or charred in the least. The closest thing to a miscue I've experienced at one of the Bay Area's best new chains.

I still think their Kojas are the best thing. Check them out:

http://kojakitchen.com/restaurant-menu

Amazingly great cuisine, especially for a small chain calling itself Korean & Japanese Reinvented.

Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. Some great bookstores still around, some great record stores. Plus People's Park nearby. So: kind of grungy.

But here's the place at hand. We'd been there once before. We were amazed.

Sorry my photos are fuzzy. OK, here's the deal. This place represents the best of the future. Not just great ingredients, and good execution of traditional cuisines, but reinvented. There's a bit, just a small bit, of El Bulli here--just barely--just a whiff of high tech gastronomy. But this Koja pictured above, hey, it's like eating a burger or a sandwich. Familiar. But those "buns" are toasted rice. Great crunch. Every ingredient--pork, rice, mayo, arugula, fish roe, was the appropriate temperature. New and innovative without dumbing it down. This might be the most exciting cuisine happening in the Bay Area. And this Koja was only about $7.

Robin had the "Bowl" with chicken, kind of a quasi salad. She thought it was good, but we both had Kojas before. The Koja is definitely what to get here. We'll be back, with more reporting. If you live here, you've got to try this place. If you visit the East Bay, go to Moe's Books, Amoeba, then have lunch here. Seriously.