The Verdict
IZAKAYA RINTARO is Sylvan Mishima Brackett's Western Addition Japanese izakaya on 14th Street whose hand-crafted interior - the cedar and cypress joinery, the clay walls, and the specific Japanese architectural vocabulary applied through a San Francisco craftsman's specific engagement with the materials - communicates a restaurant whose physical environment is as seriously considered as the food it serves. The yakitori programme whose specific preparation communicates genuine knowledge of what the Japanese charcoal grill culture requires; the handmade soba whose daily fresh production communicates genuine knowledge of what the buckwheat noodle tradition requires; and the sake programme whose specific selections communicate genuine knowledge of the Japanese regional sake culture.
The Japanese izakaya menu at Rintaro reflects Brackett's specific approach to the tradition: the yakitori and small plates programme whose quality communicates genuine knowledge of what the Japanese izakaya culture requires; the handmade soba whose daily fresh production communicates genuine commitment to what the buckwheat noodle tradition specifies; and the hand-crafted interior whose specific Japanese architectural vocabulary communicates a restaurant whose engagement with the Japanese culinary tradition extends to the physical environment whose character amplifies the food.
In the Western Addition for the Japanese izakaya whose hand-crafted interior and handmade soba communicate the most seriously culturally engaged available San Francisco Japanese izakaya experience - the yakitori, the sake, and the Japanese architectural vocabulary applied in the neighbourhood whose creative community creates the most culturally sophisticated available daily izakaya audience.
Why It Works for a First Date
Izakaya Rintaro's hand-crafted Western Addition interior and the handmade soba - the Japanese architectural vocabulary, the yakitori programme, the sake selections - creates the first date that communicates the most seriously culturally engaged available San Francisco Japanese izakaya experience.
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