I've lived in the Grand Lake district of Oakland for four years now, and we've never had a proper wine shop. Popular restaurants like Camino dot Grand Avenue, along with nail salons, bike shops, a wonderful book store, Oaktown Spice Shop -- but if...
We are ECSTATIC to announce our first partnership with The Trappist, our wonderful neighbor, and one of the Bay Area's most revered beer bars. The Trappist specializes in Belgian, European and American microbrews, and its menu contains pages of specialty beers...
U M A M I: What is it? What does it taste like? Is it Japanese cartoon character? We get a lot of inquiries about the definition and concepts of umami at our Oakland shop, so we decided to team up with John over at...
Our first year as Umami Mart in 3D has zipped by. We opened our doors at 815 Broadway on August 3, 2012, and what a year it's been! It seems like only yesterday that Yoko and I were having one of our weekly meetings at...
Guess what?? Umami Mart Oakland will celebrate its ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY in August!!! Both Yoko and I are so grateful for all the support we've received this past year from our community, the Bay Area, and beyond. It's one thing to start...
Umami Mart is a place where ideas and people come together, take charge and create magic. This is true for the blog, the online shop, and our brick-and-mortar space in Oakland, CA. When writers, friends, friends of friends, customers, food + drink enthusiasts, and...
We learned, we drank and we ate all things ume during our Umeshu Class last Sunday. During the two-hour session, we learned about the history of ume and umeshu, how to make it and ate an array of dishes that highlighted ume. Along side sips of...
Photos by Josh Urich, The Joy of Drinking We did it! We signed a lease! After six months of free rent with Popuphood to see if we could "make it" in Old Oakland, we have proven to the world, and to...
Come out for the 2nd edition of the Ippo Ramen pop-up here at Umami Mart. Last month, the ramen sold out in record time -- 56 bowls in 56 minutes. You know what that means... get here EARLY if you want a...
We are SUPER EXCITED to host a pop-up by Ippo Ramen this First Friday 4/5. Proprietor Steve Yee will be here starting at 6pm, ready to cook up some noodles to serve you his ramen. His simple menu consists of three...
Based in Brooklyn, NY, Kelly Geary is the founder and chef for Sweet Deliverance, a thriving subscription program where she prepares healthy, delicious home-cooked meals out of her CSA shares. All with fresh and organic produce, she charts out each...
It all started with a vision. Three guys, slaving away at Chez Panisse for years, decided to open a ramen shop in Oakland. Hot damn! The East Bay needs nothing more than a GREAT ramen shop, and the Food Gods know it. They...
As you may have heard, there's a highly anticipated ramen shop coming to Oakland. Our good friends Sam, Rayneil and JJ are the masterminds behind Ramen Shop (that's right!), opening in Rockridge. The opening is still a few months away,...
That's right, we be grillin' balls this Friday! Our good friends Koichi, Ryoji and Steven of YATAIYA will be making yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls), and serving them alongside some house-made tsukemono (pickles). They are irresistible, smoky flavor-bombs! If we're lucky, they'll have other...
Photos by Erin Gleeson We did it! With the loving support from our friends, family, and community, Yoko and I have opened Umami Mart, a retail shop in Oakland, CA, specializing in kitchen + barware from Japan. The idea for starting a brick-and-mortar shop really...
Photos by Erin Gleeson After weeks of painting, building, going to Home Depot five times a day (ugh), sleepless nights, banh mis for breakfast/lunch/dinner, pestering our friends and families (are you done with that project yet? Can you cut wood for...
ARE YOU READY FOR THIS??? Umami Mart's big grand opening is tomorrow night! The doors will officially open at 6pm sharp, and we'll be having a special kagamiwari ceremony at 6:30pm, which is a tradition of breaking open a cask of sake. It symbolizes the...
Hello! Sorry I haven't been blogging much, but I wanted to update you on how the shop is coming along. Our big opening day will be next Friday 8/3! Waaaaa! We're slaving away here every day and have put everyone we know to work. Ha!...
I am ecstatic to announce that Yoko and I will be opening a real-deal brick and mortar store in Oakland, California!!! This all happened very quickly for us and these last few weeks have been filled with meetings, many trips to...
The Umami Mart Shop popped up in Old Oakland for five days last week inside Piper + John General Goods, located on the charming brick road of 9th Street. It was a great success! We launched on the bustling "First Friday", which is a huge sprawling...
