LUCKY HAND & NOJO

Thanks to recent press, and their relationship with the sustainable fish distribution company Two X Sea, Nojo has been on my radar as a restaurant to visit for a while.  I was finally able to visit earlier this week to photograph some of the pairings between their unique dishes and both Lucky Hand beers. 

Nojo has a great story, and is meant to be "a unique neighborhood restaurant specializing in Japanese style skewers and pub food."  The word 'nojo' itself means 'farm'... the restaurant emphasizes local, seasonal, and sustainably produced food.  They also utilize MANY different parts of the meats they serve.  This week, Lucky Hand Black Lager has been paired with a Salad of Beef Tendon, Radishes, Daikon Sprouts, Mung Beans & Kansuri Vinaigrette.  I will admit, hearing "beef tendon" threw me, but I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater, so I went for it... and I was amazed.  I was worried about the texture.  Would it be tough?  Chewy?  Some other weird consistency I hadn't considered?  But it was really like eating a delicious noodle salad.  It was probably one of my favorite dishes we sampled. 

Speaking of parts I don't normally see on a menu, we also tried duck neck, gizzards, and tongues.  This is the kind of eating experience I seriously enjoy and will be back for... a chance to try something new, different, maybe slightly bizarre, but ultimately awesome and delicious. 

In my mind Japanese food has pretty much become synonymous with sushi, udon noodles, and tempura.  This is unfortunate because, clearly, there is a LOT more to explore.  Left: Fried Potatoes, Tonkatsu Sauce, Scallions, Mayonnaise & Shaved Katsuo Bushi.  Right: Tsukune, Egg Yolk Sauce (chicken).

Left: Lucky Hand Black Lager.  Right: The infamous (at least in my mind) Beef Tendon Salad.

LUCKY HAND BREWING @ SF BEER WEEK!

SF Beer Week runs from February 10 until the 19th this year.  It's a madhouse of meet-the-brewer events, special dinners, food and beer pairings, and even a fun run with pit stops to sample new brews.  I was asked by Lucky Hand Brewing Company to document some of their events this week and it has been a blast! 

Lucky Hand is an organic beer company with two different beers thusfar... the Cali Common, a California Common Lager, and their Black Lager, a dark but very drinkable Schwarzbier.

The first event I photographed was a tasting event at Electric Mayhem on Mission St.  Adam and Bill of Lucky Hand poured samples of Cali Common and the Black Lager.  Electric Mayhem also made special onion rings using Cali Common in the batter.

{Adam and Bill of Lucky Hand}

After sampling the fare at Electric Mayhem, we headed over to Q Restaurant on Clement St.  Q was hosting a meet the brewer event, with a keg of Cali Common tapped and bottles of both beers available as well.  The specials for the evening also included food and beer pairings... Lucky Hand Black Lager and molasses braised beef medallion with Cypress Grove goat cheese on mashed potatoes, for example ;)

I was also able to sample Q's apple crisp, which was awesome... I would highly recommend a visit.  Check back for more beer week posts.  There will be more food and beer images to drool over ;)