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Review: Ippuku brings the izakaya scene to Berkeley.

One of the best things in life in the Bay Area is the depth and diversity of the restaurant scene. Japanese cuisine, for example, is not limited to sushi bars, ramen joints or shabu shabu house.

A perfect example is Ippuku, an upscale pub-style izakaya kushiyaki-ya and that brings the wonders of Japanese Grilling for residents of Berkeley and beyond. Kushiyaki are Japanese skewers: meat, vegetables and other delicacies that are threaded on skewers and grilled.

The most well known type of kushiyaki is yakitori, or skewered chicken, a specialty Ippuku.Chef-owner Christian Geideman, who has lived and traveled in Japan for 12 years, fell in love with yakitori while living in Tokyo.

"In my neighborhood, there was a very good yakitori restaurant in my street," he said. "I do not know when it was the best in town."

Geideman becomes captivated by yakitori, befriended the owner and he worked to learn the trade. Now the customer Ippuku reaps the rewards, not only with skewers of chicken, but also the skin, organs and cartilage, grilled on bincho - white batons and dense, charcoal clean burning.

Torn by indecision, we opted for gushi omakase ($ 14) and let the chef choose for us. The result: five skewers of meat, which included the thigh with leek, breast meat, gizzard, heart and neck. Although all were seasoned in a traditional and simple - either with a pinch of salt or a slather of tare, a mixture of sweet soy sauce - the selection displayed a nice range of textures, soft, nervous quality of the neck meat consistency inflatable gizzard.

Japanese cuisine famous textures and Ippuku provides on this point.Kushiyaki menu (usually two skewers with a prescription), customers can take advantage of the slipperiness of mountain potato ($ 6) or charred, chewy bacon-wrapped mochi ($ 5). The kurobuta bara (pork belly, $ 8) had a tasty chew with its fattiness perfectly offset by a squeeze of lemon. The salinity has also been supplemented by frequent sips of shochu, a Japanese liquor distilled from ingredients like sweet potato or rice.

Shochu and sake

Geideman is a former distributor sake, and returned two dozen bottles suspended above the bar are a vivid testimony of his passion for shochu. A flight of three ($ 12) allows the uninitiated to plunge in the list, which in 55 varieties, it is bigger in California. Non-drinkers can choose shochu about a dozen sakes, teas and beers (including Hitachino Red on the project, a total gem, 10).

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