Medicine': a taste of zen

[Guest guest]

http://www.marinij.com/dining/ci_2972028

 

 

Medicine': a taste of zen

Leslie Harlib

 

In San Francisco, taking your medicine has developed a

whole new meaning.

 

On Aug. 10, what may the city's most interesting

concept for a restaurant, opened in the Crocker

Galleria. It seats 170 in the space that was formerly

Faz, and, before that, The Old Poodle Dog.

 

Called Medicine, it serves Shojin, the temple cuisine

of Kyoto. This ancient form of Japanese cooking is

based on the Zen Buddhist ideal that food should be

eaten for health. I haven't had a chance to eat there

yet, but I wanted to get the word out, especially for

those Marin folks who enjoy vegan cooking and are

always seeking a new place to eat it.

 

" We're serving our dishes in a relaxing atmosphere,

very modern, but we're very serious about the

cuisine, " says Will Petty, who owns Medicine with Skye

Thompson and chef Ryuta Sakamoto, who came over from

Kyoto to help found the venture and be its head chef.

" You're getting here what you'd get in the Japanese

temples. We haven't Americanized it or turned it into

fusion, either. That should be interesting for people,

I think. "

 

Medicine's menu features largely organic foods with a

vegan focus; there's no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.

It's based on composed foundation sets of three to

four dishes that complement each other. There are

optional a la carte items as well. To drink, there are

specialty loose teas, coffee, fresh juices, sak} and a

small list of beer and organic wines.

 

" We have a few items that we think are a touch

challenging, " Thompson says. " We call them the Black

Diamond items. "

 

They're certainly not something Americans have seen on

U.S. Japanese menus much - if ever. In one clear soup,

there's a waterplant called Junsai known for its

unusual gelatinous coating.

 

" It comes as surprise as you're drinking the soup, "

Petty says. " When you look in the bowl, you see the

shoot but can't see the coating. "

 

There's natto, a glutinous paste of fermented soy

beans.

 

" It's one of the standard things that everybody loves

to hate in Japanese cuisine, " Petty says. " We've been

putting in dishes where people are really loving it,

such as an item we'll launch next week called Jade

Nuggets. The natto is wrapped in a shiso leaf and

dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried. "

 

Or how about Mountain Monk? It features two hand

rolls. One combines astringent chrysanthemum leaf and

dried sweetened gourd; the other is based on natto,

rice and nori seaweed with a bit of flax seed. Petty

calls it " A very shibui Kyoto dish. "

 

There are more accessible dishes as well. The current

menu offers a Soba set, made with fresh buckwheat

noodles flown in from Japan. For $6.95, it includes

three items: organic buckwheat noodles in shojin broth

topped with wild and seasonal vegetables; fresh

artisan tofu with garnish; and fresh lightly pickled

organic vegetables. The tempura set, $9.95, includes

the day's organic assortment of tempura vegetables,

fresh artisan tofu with garnish, the day's organic

vegetable clear soup, and fresh, lightly pickled

organic vegetables.

 

Petty was the catalyst for Medicine. As he tells it,

he lived in Japan 15 years ago, and on a visit to a

monastery in Kyoto he decided to eat at the small,

on-site restaurant. He fell in love with the monastic

style of cooking, called shojin.

 

" I thought it was the best food I ever had in my

life, " he remembers. " It's entirely vegan. I myself

have never been a vegetarian. I still thought it was

the most amazing thing I ever tasted. I came back to

the states with the idea that I'd like to bring this

cuisine to America. "

 

The problem, he says, was that shojin cuisine is

difficult to cook. It's not only vegan, but it allows

no onion or garlic.

 

" Those are such fundamental flavors for our Western

palates that, if you eliminate those, you're left with

the raw subtlety of the ingredients you're working

with, " Petty explains. " It's a huge challenge to cook

this way. I knew if such a restaurant would work, I'd

have to put together a partnership with some Japanese

who could really cook it. "

 

While dreaming of how to bring Shojin cuisine to the

U.S., Petty went ahead and built a career in the

restaurant business. He also owns The Jailhouse Cafe

in Moab, Utah.

 

It was when he participated as a singer in an event

with the Telluride Renaissance Singers in Telluride,

Colo., that Petty met fellow singer Skye Thompson, a

head waiter at a top Telluride restaurant. Thompson's

dream was to create a restaurant based on sustainable

cuisine, environmentally conscientious design, and

ethical employee relations. The two were conceptually

in synch. They became fast friends and business

partners.

 

The third component to Medicine was finding just the

right chef. Petty says he approached Kichizo Sakamoto,

who owns Kappo Sakamoto, a Kyoto restaurant that has

been Petty's favorite, he says, for many years. The

family became the third part of the business

triumvirate. Ryuta Sakamoto, Kichizo's son, came to

the U.S. to be Medicine's head chef.

 

Visually, Medicine is about clean lines and a sleekly

modern atmosphere, designed by architect Janet Crane.

 

" It's calm but it's hip, " says Priscilla Coe, a

spokesperson for the restaurant. " I think it's

extremely understated. I also think the owners have

chosen a very refined selection of materials. It's a

place that's about people, rather than the interior

hitting you over the head to say, pay attention. I

think it's a welcome addition to downtown San

Francisco. People think of Crocker Galleria and they

think, 'Oh boy, fast food.' But Medicine has its own

private entrance off Sutter. You take the elevator up

and you're there. "

 

One challenge for Americans may be getting around the

name. In the U.S., medicine is most typically seen as

something you have to suffer through to achieve good

health.

 

" The word doesn't always have a weird connotation, "

Petty refutes. " Native Americans talk about good

medicine, they celebrate the idea. The reason for our

name is, the Zen monks of Japan see that food should

be taken as medicine - for health. Half the customers

love the name and the other half hates it, but nobody

forgets it. "

 

Medicine is at 161 Sutter Street, San Francisco. It's

open weekdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from

11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. There's a Web site:

www.medicinerestaurant.com. At this point in time, the

restaurant does not take reservations. For more

information, phone 677-4405.

 

Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib.

 

 

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can still do

something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the

something that I can do.

[Guest guest]

That sounds interesting.

 

Jo

 

>

> Medicine': a taste of zen

> Leslie Harlib

>

> In San Francisco, taking your medicine has developed a

> whole new meaning.

>

> On Aug. 10, what may the city's most interesting

> concept for a restaurant, opened in the Crocker

> Galleria. It seats 170 in the space that was formerly

> Faz, and, before that, The Old Poodle Dog.

>

> Called Medicine, it serves Shojin, the temple cuisine