eiji

317 sanchez st at 16th, 1/2 castro 1/2 mission

motivation: pinky and i were invited to a fake-pretentious cocktail party around the corner, and thought we'd check this place out.

pinky had heard rumors of eiji's famous homemade oboro tofu so we ordered that first. this was a good move because it takes a while to make, but it was so very totally completely worth it. the tofu was pillowy like clouds, with a green flavor belying its soy vegetable roots; it was comforting and hot and i'd never had anything like it. wow. we started well and kept going with a salmon skin salad that was crunchy and flavorful, the shiso balancing the fatty salmon. the kelp salad was colorful; the white meat fish carpaccio amazing: thinthinly sliced and seasoned with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lemon - an italian dish done with japanese minimalism. another first, and well establishing eiji as a new favorite. but we weren't done yet. we had iwashi nigiri, a fresh sardine cousin of aji that floored me. it was sushi so soft and so packed with deliciousness i could eat it all night long. kind of like good sex. we ended the evening on the recommendation of our neighbors, two lesbians so in love they barely noticed when we inquired as to their purple dessert. it was yokan, a sweet potato concoction that stayed light and grainy on the tongue. the entire meal was accompanied by my old friend ginjo wakatake, aka demon slayer, sake from the oi river in shizuoka prefecture. in fact, we drank a whole bottle between the two of us, which connoisseurs will recognize as a quick path to happiness. or drunkenness, whatever the difference may be.

the prices at eiji were perfect for the great quality. not too much, but just high enough to weed out the riff-raff and keep the employees happy to make you happy. and since it's not a big place, there are always people looking to get happy there. plan to wait a bit for a table, and don't be put off by the inappropriate dave matthews music playing the background, or the low-key wood decor. it really doesn't matter when the food is this good.

last note - surprisingly for the area, the flirtability is not too high. it seems to be a slightly intellectual crowd, people really there for the food and not the scene. pinky and i were not discouraged by this in the least, however, and neither should you be. bring a philosopher with you and enjoy the feast.

itadakimasu!