Ototo is back, opening its doors again this August with a new concept and menu inspired by Toshi Kizaki’s recent travels to Japan.
Menu items may change, as Toshi is still fine-tuning his vision, but right now, he’s thinking of things grilled: whole fish and foie gras, live sea urchin, noodles like ramen and udon, and robata-style grilled fish and meat skewers.
There’s a Catch of the Day raw bar, with selections served raw or grilled, and in the new kitchen, there’s a robata grill with rotisserie. Robata grilling is a deep link to the passion that Toshi and his brother Yasu have for this native country of Japan, a country cooking style that started centuries ago in northern Japan.
Skewers are slow-grilled over hot charcoal, a cooking technique that is linked to the Japanese love of tea. In ancient homes, the hearth was often a pit dug in the center of the home, and a teakettle was attached to a chain linked to the ceiling. Eventually, people began to cook over the charcoal pit, which led to robata-style grilling.
Ototo is part of the group called Hiro & Company, which includes Sushi Den and Izakaya Den.
Both Toshi and Yasu often visit Japan, and while those trips inspiried Toshi to a new restaurant concept, they’ve inspired Yasu to start gastronomic tours. He visited Japan in March to meet with key people to help him create a gastronomic gour in Tokyo and Kyoto, which he’ll launch in March 2016.
, continue to pursue their goal of promoting authentic Japanese cuisine.
Ototo, 1501 S. Pearl St. 303- 733-2503,
The post appeared first on .
