SSSIA

By Elli Sekine

In June of this year, the very first long-awaited teuchi (handmade) soba specialty store has opened in Oakland, which is located across the bay from San Francisco. “Soba Ichi” is a full-fledged soba specialty restaurant where fresh soba noodles are handmade every day with their house-milled flour. It took no time for the news to spread through SNS and local papers, and they have been doing so well. A long line of people forms everyday since the opening. They really had a smooth sailing start.

In the San Francisco/Bay Area, the food industry people and Japanese food fans anticipate what would be the next boom after ramen, and “Soba” is slowly surfacing to the top. With the background where the popularity of Asian noodles has stabilized in the past 4 to 5 years, Japanese udon and soba are also gaining more popularity. In the Bay Area where there are many people who have traveled to Japan, there are many soba noodle fans. One reason is that soba seems relatively healthier and light compared to ramen, and also dashi flavor is well received. “Soba Ichi” does not really have ideal conditions. It is located outside of the city center, and they are open only for lunch (as of October 1). Nevertheless, customers come from eveywhere, and the daily limit of 100 servings always sells out before closing.

“Soba Ichi” is located in a corner of a property where container storage places of West Oakland gather, but its classy appearance separates it from the surrounding industrial atmosphere. The reason why you feel relaxed once you step in the entrance, may be because the building was designed by Paul Discoe, who is a Zen monk/shrine carpenter, who also owns the area property. Presence of a chozuya (Shinto ritual hand cleansing place) on the terrace, simple tables that give the warm feeling of wood, and contrast of greenery, etc., provide a Japan-like ambience, and makes you feel the Zen mood. A lot of outdoor light comes in to create a bright interior space, and you see a bar, and a room for making noodles, too. The bowls and plates for the food, and cloth napkins are also hand-crafted, which provides the dining area with a feel full of artisanship.

Who are the people responsible for the “Soba Ichi” project? They are Koichi Ishii, a soba artisan, and his partner, Shinichi Washino. This restaurant was originated from a popular Japanese restaurant, “Ippuku”, in Berkeley. “Ippuku”, which is run by Christian Geideman, is also designed by Paul Discoe. It is a stylish Japanese style izakaya equipped with a private horigotatu room, and they serve highquality yakitori. This place took over the Japanese restaurant scene by storm. Mr. Ishii, who worked for Ippuku, trained in the Yamagata Prefecture, brought back the knowledge and technique to the US, and became the soba artisan. From 2012, hand-made soba was added to Ippuku’s menu on a twice a week basis, but it became difficult to continue due to its time-consuming process and lack of artisans. “So, we’d better do it at a separate place.” The idea of an independent place was brought up, and more than 2 years later, this place finally opened.

“Soba Ichi” is a spin-off place with the high hopes of the “Ippuku” team.

The selling point of “Soba Ichi” must be the process of making the completely made-in-USA soba. What made it possible should be the passion of the project team for soba making. The buckwheat is from Washington State, and is milled in house, and hand-made into soba noodles. There are two kinds of soba on the menu; Jyuwari soba, 100% buckwheat ($16), and Nihachi Soba (80% buckwheat + 20% wheat flour) ($14). You can order both either as a cold or hot dish. When it is fresh, even Jyuwari is smooth, not rough, and easy to swallow. Both Jyuwari and Nihachi are made slightly wide, and excellent in flavor. The soup is made in the Yamagata style, and a kind of which you can taste the artisanship in it. It is mild and also flavorful. Besides those, they also serve Nameko soba ($17), duck, or tempura soba, ($20), and Tenseiro (100% buckwheat soba with tempura) ($20~). Their popular a-la-carte menu contains Tendon ($15), Duck salad, Tofu, Tsukemono pickles, and Dashimaki eggs. I recommend the home-made Sobacha Mousse ($6) for dessert. Hand-crafted soba keeps obtaining more and more of a wide variety of fans among not only regular soba fans, but also Americans who don’t even know much about soba, and people on a gluten-free diet.

The opening of this long-awaited, very first soba specialty restaurant in the Bay Area is slowly changing the scene of the town by drawing many people in. What’s innovative is that the whole process, from cultivating to crafting the final noodle product, gets completed within the US. “I think, in the future, there should exist some American soba artisans. I would like to spread Japanese traditional food culture further in the US,” says Mr. Ishii. Reflecting his words, “Soba Ichi” has started to present the signs of the beginning of a new boom.


待望の自家製粉、手打ち蕎麦専門店がオープン！

今年６月、サンフランシスコの対岸にある街、オークランドにベイエリア初となる待望の手打ち蕎麦専門店が誕生した。「Soba Ichi」は、毎日自家製粉したフレッシュな蕎麦を手打ちをする本格的な蕎麦店。あっという間にSNSや地元紙から話題が拡散し、オープン当初から長蛇の列が出来る盛況ぶり。順風満帆のスタートを切っている。

サンフランシスコ・ベイエリアではラーメンブームから業界と日本食ファンが次のブームを予測する中、「蕎麦」の頭角が少しずつ現れている。アジアンヌードル人気がこの４、５年定着していることを背景に、日本のうどんやそばも人気を伸ばしている。日本への旅行経験者が多いベイエリアでは蕎麦好きなアメリカ人が増えている。ラーメンに比べ比較的ヘルシーでライトなイメージに加え「出汁」味が受け入れられているのも要素の一つ。「Soba Ichi」は、街外れの立地条件や営業時間（10月1日時点で昼のみの営業）など考慮すれば、決して理想的ではないが、すでに方々から客が訪れ、一日限定100 食の蕎麦は閉店前に完売する。

ウェストオークランドのコンテナ倉庫が集まる敷地の一角にある「Soba Ichi」は、周囲のインダストリアルな雰囲気から一線を画する品格がある。エントランスに足を踏み入れると落ち着いた気持ちになるのは、この一帯を所有する禅の僧侶で宮大工のポール・ディスコー氏が手がけた建物だからなのだろう。テラスに手水舎があったり、木の温もりを感じるシンプルなテーブルと緑のコントラストが和テイストで「禅」を感じる。採光をふんだんに取り入れた店内は明るくバー
や手打ちルームもある。食事を盛る器や布ナプキンも手作りで、クラフト感溢れるダイニングだ。

　「Soba Ichi」プロジェクトを担うのは蕎麦職人の石井こういち氏とマネージャーの鷲野しんいち氏。元々同店は前身であるバークレーの人気和食店、「Ippuku」から始まった。クリスチャン・ゲイドマン氏が経営する「Ippuku」もまたポール氏の設計による掘りごたつの個室を備えたお洒落な和テイストの内装。高品質の焼き鳥居酒屋で、それまでの和食店を一斉を風靡した。「Ippuku」の従業員であった石井氏は、山形県で修行を積み、その知識と技術を米国に持ち帰り蕎麦職人となった。2012 年から手打ち蕎麦は週２回のペースで「Ippuku」のメニューに加わったが、あまりに手がかかるのと職人が足りないことから継続が難しくなった。「それならば独立店舗を」と同店の構想が持ち上がり、それから2 年以上の歳月を経て今回のオープンに至った。「Soba Ichi」は“「Ippuku」チーム” による待望のスピンオフ店だ。

　「Soba Ichi」の魅力は何と言っても完全メイドインUSA の蕎麦プロセスだろう。それを可能にしたのは、このプロジェクトチームの蕎麦に対する熱意に他ならない。蕎麦の実はワシントン州で栽培したキセワセ種。毎日石臼で自家製粉し蕎麦打ちをしている。メニューは十割($16) と二八($14)。せいろと暖かい蕎麦を選べる。フレッシュな蕎麦は10割でも滑らかで粗さがないので食べやすい。二八供にやや太めの麺で風味が際立つ絶品だ。つゆも職人のこだわりが伺える山形風でマイルドで味わい。他になめこ蕎麦($17）、カモや天ぷらそば($20）、せいろとのセットメニュー($20 〜)を揃える。一品メニューでは、天丼($15）、鴨サラダ、豆腐、漬物、出汁巻などが人気。デザートのそば茶ムース($6）も自家製でオススメ品。手打ち蕎麦は、蕎麦ファンはもちろんのこと、あまり蕎麦を知らないアメリカ人からグルテンフリーダイエット者まで多様性に富んだファンが続出している。

待ちに待ったベイエリア初の蕎麦店の登場は、多くの人を呼び込むことで、街の様相も少しづつ変わりつつある。革新的なのは栽培から製麺まで米国内で完結していること。「将来アメリカ人の蕎麦職人がいても良いと思う。日本の伝統食文化をもっとアメリカに広げたい」と語る石井氏の言葉に反映する様に、「SobaIchi」は新しいブームの兆しをみせている。