Japantown in San Jose has been right under my nose for almost a decade. If memory serves me right, over those years, I made two half-hearted attempts to find it without a map, and missed it by three blocks on both occasions. Japantown appears to have fewer shops today than it did twenty or thirty years ago, but also has a vital core that is poised for growth. We enjoyed ramen at Kumako, which opened maybe about a year ago and is curiously the only dedicated Ramen shop in town. Shuei-do is a Japanese confection shop, remniscent of my trips to Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo home of Fugetsu-do and the gigantor Mikawaya. The newest gem of a shop is Roy’s Station, which opened only a month ago, and is a fantastic re-use of an old thirties-era gas and service station, converted to a coffee shop. Alicia is a big fan of Shuei-do’s kinako mochi and Roy’s unsweetened tea latte. The both of us enjoyed Kumako’s Mabo Ramen.

Mieko is a coworker of mine from Japan, and remains politely confounded by my “Americanness.” She blogged about her lunch with us. We brought our DSLRs so I could share with her a few “ProTips.” Her entry just cracked me up! Translated from Japanese: she trips out about how my Japaneseness somehow does not include speaking the mother language. My relative hugeness also trips her out: I’m six feet tall and weigh well over 200 lbs. (I am lying about my weight so that her family and friends in Japan won’t faint). I think she had a good time, and was also happy to find Shuei-do, Roy’s Station and tasty ramen. Turned out that lattes and spicy ramen don’t mix well with her, so I hope she feels better. I’m not entirely sure she was satisfied with my ProTips, so I’ll have to work on improving myself in that area.

After some struggling with an online dictionary, I replied to her in Japanese.

実際、私は日本語を話すことはできません

これは非常にユーモラスです!

Roughly translated to English: “Indeed, I cannot speak Japanese. This is too funny!”

A most excellent place. Everything is good, and according to my Mexican friends, very authentic. Its proper name is “Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana.” An antojeria is a “place of little cravings,” and sincerely describes this small restaurant in downtown Oakland.

Everyone that works there is beautiful. The dishes are beautiful. Its small interior is casual, elegant, comfortable and well thought-out.

For the big portions crowd, you may be disappointed, but seriously these small plates are meant to be savored and remembered. It’s good stuff, and each plate is $3-$8 so feel free to just order more if your appetite demands it.

As with everything, their Saturday brunch is a winner. I’m a fan of their Huevos con Machaca: Two scrambled eggs mixed with shredded carnitas, sautéed onion and fresh jalapeno. If you want something different than the typical burrito or taco special for lunch or dinner, try the Sopecitos Surtidos: Three small corn masa patties, topped with chorizo and potato, carnitas rajas and cotija, or the Empanaditas de Camaron Estilo Nayarit: which are small shrimp empanadas empanadas made two different ways. If you just can’t remove yourself from tacos, you still won’t go wrong as they are made with your choice of Asada, Carnitas, Pollo Asado, Lengua, Rajas, or Shrimp. Their corn tortillas are all hand-made.

Dinner entrees vary, and range from new takes on traditional dishes to true

Treat yourself to a Mexican hot chocolate. I watched them make a cup: Spices like cinnamon, cardamom and others that I can’t place are hand ground in a mortar with chopped almonds to add body, boquet and depth. Another treat is their flan — don’t get me started about good flan… I’ll have to save that for a future entry. Anyway, their flan is perfectly executed with toasted coconut on top.

I highly recommend this place. Don’t forget to make reservations because this place is small and getting more popular by the minute.

Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana
468 8th Street
Oakland, California
510.444.1944
[email protected]
www.tamarindoantojeria.com