Yonsei Handrolls - East Bay, Albany

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

Last night my sister and I went to the recently opened Yonsei Handrolls on San Pablo, right around the corner from Solano Ave. Chef Kyle Itani (formerly of Hopscotch in Oakland fame - a favorite of ours, and sadly closed - which is still doing pop-ups at Itani Sushi) opened Yonsei in Oakland and now in Albany. The restaurant has a full bar and an Asahi Super Dry draft beer machine straight from Japan (which serves the beer colder than cold (as you get it in Japan.) The walls are lined with photos he himself took on a recent trip, we were told. The handrolls here are open-faced, served in little wooden box-like containers, so that the nori stays crispy.

There are three omakase sets: the OG, the Yonsei, and the Baller. We went with the Yonsei and added a chu-toro handroll ($18 add-on) instead of the salmon belly with yuzu kosho ($10 add-on) because my sister can’t do spicy. https://www.yonseihandrolls.com/albany-menu You can also order the rolls ala carte.

We also ordered the duck tataki and hamachi carpaccio, and when while we still had room (we split each of the handrolls - each taking a bite off one end), we also got the grilled squid, and yuzu olive oil cake. for dessert

Everything was stellar, but my favorites were the duck, the hamachi, the ika, and of the rolls, the chu-toro (of course) and the black cod and truffle butter. I think I’d get one of the latter all for myself next time. Probably my least favorite was the salmon, sesame and lemon single roll - it was fine and fresh but just not as special as everything else. The soy sauce comes in a dropper bottle so you don’t overdo it, and their soy is a blend of two soy sauces (which I’d only seen for the first time at Kuriya Japanese Kitchen (also in Albany) and then what we bought in Tokyo.

Pics don’t do the food justice - all were little works of art, and each a delicious morsel.

the Metropolis

the Lychee Peachy

hamachi carpaccio

duck tataki (i’d get this just for me too next time!)

Chu-toro and some type of golden roe. fatty goodness!

Seared albacore with black garlic

i believe these were the tako wasa and saba…

which would make these the toro and takuan and the black cod & truffle butter (OMG).

Asahi draft - icy cold. it makes a difference!

I also had a Suntory Toki shot, neat.

Grilled ika with what we believe was a pickled ginger root (meant to ask and forgot):

salmon, sesame, and lemon.

and finally, the yuzu olive oil cake with yuzu curd - to die for. the toasted walnuts had a real bitter edge tot hem, which i didn’t mind.

They’ve got a good selection of whiskey (including some rare choices), sake, beer, non-alcoholic drinks, and wine. Yonsei doesn’t do take-out, which is understandable, they want to keep that nori impeccably crispy, (although the Oakland location does take-out handroll “kits”). They take reservations, but when we got there at 5:45 we could have just walked in. the place filled up before we left. There is also seating at the bar (it’s just a bar, not a sushi bar). It isn’t cheap, but if you share, and you don’t overdue it on extras (as we did), it’s not crazy ridiculous. (Our bill was almost $200 for all that food and 2 drinks each. - a splurge, for sure, but worth it.)

I looked it up: Yonsei (四世, “fourth generation”) - a Japanese diasporic term. Chef Itani is half Japanese, half American, so this tracks. He’s obviously got quite a love for the cuisine.

This is a really great addition to the neighborhood.

[sck]

@mariacarmen

with yuzu kosho ($10 add-on) because my sister can’t do spicy.

I don’t think yuzu kosho is that spicy?

I was looking to get some and bring back home before I go to Japan last year, but didn’t look very hard and didn’t.

[ricepad (Steve)]

@mariacarmen

Chef Itani is half Japanese, half American

So…one of his parents was born in Japan, and the other was born in the Americas…? That would make him nisei, not yonsei. And hapa, too. If, of course, his Japanese ancestry has two prior generations born in the Americas, that would probably make him 100% American, but of half (or other percentage) Japanese descent and would correctly be yonsei.

I’m being a little (but only a little) facetious here, because I’m pretty sure I know what you’re saying: Itani is half Japanese, his American-born ethnically Japanese parents are sansei and children of the first generation Japanese-Americans born in the United States, and his ethnically Japanese grandparents were actually Japanese. IOW, they’re the immigrant generation from Japan. I’m also willing to bet that his “American half” that you note is white, although I’m not as certain. Unfortunately, “American” is not an ethnicity, and it most certainly does not mean “white” without some very significant racist assumptions.

I am not white. I was born in Walnut Creek, California of an immigrant from Asia and a native-born Californian (Terminal Island, Los Angeles County) of Asian immigrants. How would you characterize me?

[GretchenS]

It all looks and sounds amazing! Love the “open-faced” handrolls - excellent idea to maintain crispiness.

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

I was just going by the meaning of the name of the restaurant, and having been told by a server that the chef was half Japanese, I assumed the term “Yonsei” had some personal relevance for him. Perhaps I shouldn’t have made that assumption. And I wouldn’t characterize you, either. I’ll leave that up to you!

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

it’s not that spicy, but my sister is a total spice wimp! I did buy myself two jars of it on our first trip. Found them in regular grocery stores!

[ML8000 (M)]

His mother is Italian, and I guess Italian American. Categories seem to be dissolving as the US integrates from many different backgrounds. Gen Z in particular seems to lack categories, or are changing them because they don’t like labels. That’s what I gather talking to young relatives.

Asians often get tagged as not being American, given stereotypes, history and prejudice. My family came to the US as 49ers (real ones, not football)…before the potus’ family, and yet racial and societal perceptions are very different.

[ricepad (Steve)]

@ML8000

Asians often get tagged as not being American

Boy, don’t I know it. In sociological circles, it’s known as a ‘micro-aggression’. Just like the line of questioning: “Where are you from? No, where are you REALLY from?” Seems innocent enough until you scratch the surface.

Sorry for the digression. Also, I didn’t mean to take @mariacarmen to task so publicly, and in retrospect perhaps I should have just messaged her, so my apologies for being insensitive to her, too.

[ML8000 (M)]

My apologies as well.

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

@ML8000
neither one of you owes an apology, all comments are appreciated. It’s so important - especially with what’s going on now - to be sensitive about aggressions/micro-aggressions/assumptions/categorizations we make. I should be more conscientious about what i write, too.

[ricepad (Steve)]

I did owe you an apology: I should not have been public with my comments. Thank you for extending me some grace.

[Lethe2020 (Jeane)]

Kyle Itani is a Yonsei:
Half Japanese, Fully Legit: Yonsei Chef Kyle Itani keeps on rolling
Alec Yoshio MacDonald, Nichi Bei News, Sep 28, 2023

[GretchenS]

Such an interesting article, thanks for posting it. Now I want even more to eat his food!

[digga]

And just to complicate things even further, my Korean-born parents both attended Yonsei University in Seoul.

[sck]

I actually thought the restaurant was Korean when I first saw the title, because I just met with some folks this week from Yonsei University.

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

come over!

[mariacarmen (maria ascarrunz)]

great article, thanks!