Skip to content

Rikomatic

Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff

Menu
  • Follow Me on Instagram
  • My Professional Site RangerRik.com
  • Every Roller Rink in California (Map)
Menu

Umami Mart: an Adorable Japanese Foodie Shop in Downtown Oakland

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

Umami Mart signMy friend Kayoko and her partner Yoko launched a couple of years ago Umami Mart, a foodie-oriented store focusing on Japanese products and other fine barware, glassware and kitchen gadgets.  I finally stopped by their downtown Oakland shop this weekend and was very pleased with what I saw.

Inside the shop, they have a carefully curated selection of kitchen and foodie items, from beautiful Japanese paring knives to complete sets of bar glassware.  I was impressed with the very reasonable pricepoint on the products, as well as their aesthetic appeal.  I only bought a large Japanese mortar and pestle (a steal at $20), but once I get my holiday gift list in order I'm sure I'll be back for more.

Kayoko and Yoko were very helpful in explaining the different Japanese items, not all of which were obvious to me.  If I never need to make my own Japanese pickles, I know where to go!

In front of the store, they cleverly put out a small table selling delicious snacks to draw in people.  The day I was there they were serving yummy Asian fusion tostadas, one with Japanese peppers and the other with shredded pork.  A steal at $5 for two! 

Umami Mart Tostadas with sauce

Their strategy was clearly working from the numbers of folks gathered out there.

Busy Umami Mart entrance

Definitely an asset to the nabe and a unique vendor, I hope that Umami Mart sticks around for a long time.

Umami Mart is located at 815 Broadway, in Old Town, Oakland, California.  You can also shop online on their website.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Freestyle to “Booty Swing” by Parov Stelar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3pMWtX0DdE

Recent Posts

  • Poor and Alone in Geneva
  • I Bought the 1982 EPCOT Map (print)
  • Yummiest Things I Ate in 2022
  • The Way to Prevent Alzheimer’s Is Right in Front of Us
  • 2022 in Review: Cake Bakes, Feeding the ‘Gram, Flexing My Diet, Disney with a Kid!

Categories

  • Books
  • Cats
  • Civil Society
  • Creative Writing
  • Current Affairs
  • Dancing / Music
  • Education
  • Family
  • Film
  • Food and Drink
  • Frankie Manning
  • Games
  • General
  • Health
  • Information Society
  • Machinima
  • Media Reform
  • Music
  • New York
  • Politics
  • Real World Places in SL
  • Religion
  • Science
  • SF Bay Area
  • Television
  • The Spirit
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • Virtual Worlds
  • Web/Tech
  • Weblogs

Tags

b-boy (75) breakdance (50) breaking (26) brooklyn (36) charleston (11) competition (11) coney island (10) dance (17) dancing (30) documentary (15) education (21) festival (12) frankie95 (16) frankie manning (52) frim fram (10) global kids (70) hip-hop (31) human rights (11) inaug09 (11) jazz (12) lindyhop (17) lindy hop (141) lowcarb (18) lxd (11) macarthur foundation (12) machinima (22) memorial (14) mermaidparade (22) mtv (13) performance (16) pmt (10) popping (11) quaker (27) recipe (38) rockclimbing (16) second life (81) shim sham (15) skating (40) soul music (14) swing (51) swing dance (45) united nations (10) virtual world (19) virtual worlds (29) yehoodi (38)
© 2023 Rikomatic | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme