Posted by Bill Sullivan | Apr 8, 2025 2:19 pm | El Dorado Hills, Food & Drink
The wait is finally over—Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar is officially opening its doors to its much highly anticipated location in El Dorado Hills
The newest location for the local restaurant group opened its doors for a soft launch Monday and Tuesday and will officially open with full operations this Wednesday
bringing its signature Japanese cuisine to El Dorado Hills Town Center
the new Mikuni marks a milestone not only for the restaurant group but also for the local community—this is the very first Mikuni location to open in El Dorado County
With an enthusiastic “Let’s Go!” shared by Chief Dreaming Officer Taro Arai on social media
Mikuni made its quiet debut in a space formerly occupied by Aji Japanese Bistro
closed last May due to rising operational costs
Bringing Mikuni to El Dorado Hills has been a long-standing dream for Arai
who has spent more than 15 years working to make it happen
After years of negotiation and searching for the right location
a deal was finally struck in 2024 with El Dorado Hills Town Center
“This endeavor represents a significant milestone for us as we continue our mission of delivering exceptional Japanese cuisine and unparalleled dining experiences to communities across Northern California,” said Arai
The El Dorado Hills opening brings Mikuni’s total number of restaurants to 10 across the Sacramento region
El Dorado Hills residents have driven to Folsom or Fair Oaks to enjoy Mikuni’s famous sushi rolls and Japanese dishes
those same diners have a much more convenient option
and that restaurant was too small,” Arai shared in a previous Folsom Times interview when they announced the expansion to El Dorado Hills.
“That was a mistake I made when we opened in Folsom.”
Mikuni has grown into one of Northern California’s most beloved restaurant brands
who affectionately refers to himself as Mikuni’s “Chief Dreaming Officer,” has long been a trailblazer in the local culinary scene
He’s also known for his community spirit and philanthropy—raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through creative campaigns like the “Rescue Roll” in times of disaster
“This is such an exciting addition to our community,” said Debbie Manning
CEO and President of the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce
“We are thrilled to welcome Mikuni into Town Center as a restaurant business partner
Their successful history of serving exceptional Japanese cuisine will benefit the community greatly.”
a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Pan Pacific International Holdings
Mikuni emphasized that it will remain locally operated
with the Arai family continuing to lead day-to-day management
“We want to emphasize that Mikuni’s heart and soul will remain true as we live by our mission to be the most loving and loved company in the world,” Arai said in a statement
The acquisition is expected to help fuel Mikuni’s longtime expansion goal of 50 locations by its 50th anniversary
Mikuni El Dorado Hills is welcoming diners for an early look at its newest location
Full operations will continue to ramp up in the coming days
offering everything from the beloved Fair Oaks Roll to inventive creations inspired by Arai’s culinary imagination
For more information and updates, visit www.mikunisushi.com or follow Mikuni on social media
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Bill Sullivan has over 25 years of professional journalism and content creation experience in which he has earned 37 professional awards
He is the co-founder/publisher of Folsom Times an All Town Media LLC product
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As reported last week
Mikuni Restaurant Group has announced its acquisition by Vanshow California
a subsidiary of Pan Pacific International Holdings
operations or local employment are expected
with Mikuni’s more than 1,000 employees set to remain part of the organization
PPIH Group and the MRG owners emphasize that the culture and values that have made Mikuni special will remain foundational to the restaurant group.”
“We want to emphasize that Mikuni’s heart and soul will remain true as we live by our mission to be the most loving and loved company in the world.” Arai added that
you can expect the same amazing and innovative sushi creations
and even more exciting developments as we grow.”
The Arai family “immigrated to the United States nearly 40 years ago
opening the first Mikuni location in 1987 in Fair Oaks
the restaurant has grown into a Northern California favorite
with nine locations across the Sacramento region and Bay Area
A tenth location is set to open in El Dorado Hills Town Center in early April.”
PPIH Group “brings global expertise to the hospitality industry
as leaders in offering high-quality Japanese goods
and specialty items.” The group’s portfolio includes
Tokyo Central and Marukai markets across California and Hawaii.” The group’s “focus on supporting businesses that prioritize local communities aligns seamlessly with Mikuni’s commitment to its customers and employees
The acquisition and financial backing will propel Mikuni toward its ambitious growth goals while preserving the passion
and excellence that have been its hallmark for nearly four decades.”
president and CEO of Pan Pacific International Holdings
“Our acquisition of Mikuni Restaurant Group demonstrates our shared commitment to growing a brand that delivers an exceptional sushi experience
outstanding customer service and meaningful community involvement … Together
we remain steadfast in our core principle; ‘The customer matters most.’”
Progress Ranch was the beneficiary of the Davis Food Co-op’s Round-Up at the Registers fundraiser for January
The Co-op’s community-driven initiative allowed customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar
with proceeds benefiting Progress Ranch and its mission to provide safe
“We are incredibly thankful to the Davis Food Co-op and all the shoppers who participated in this fundraiser,” said Alyssum Maguire
“Every donation helps us continue our work of creating a safe and supportive environment for children in need.”
To learn more about the Progress Ranch mission, visit progressranch.org
February’s beneficiary is Make it Happen Yolo County
which provides under-resourced youths in Yolo County who are transitioning into independent living
household goods and resources to furnish their first apartment or home
The Davis Craft and Vintage Fair returns Sunday
to the Farmers Market Pavilion in Central Park
open-air market for local artisans and vintage vendors
— New in town? Opening or closing? Having a milestone? Let us know about it at https://www.davisenterprise.com/site/forms/announcements/new_business_announcement/
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The deal will close in the second quarter of 2025
is to be acquired by a US subsidiary of Tokyo-based Pan Pacific International Holdings.
This deal will see Vanshow California, the subsidiary of Pan Pacific, acquire Mikuni’s eight locations in the Sacramento region and one in Concord, as reported by The Sacramento Bee
The deal is set to close in the second quarter of 2025
The strategic move was announced on Thursday and aligns with Mikuni’s ambitious expansion plans
the “chief dreaming officer” and master sushi chef at Mikuni
stated that financial specifics of the acquisition cannot be disclosed
but emphasised that the deal would significantly propel the company towards its target of 50 locations by its 50th anniversary
The first Mikuni restaurant was established by Arai’s family in 1987 in Fair Oaks.
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Taro Arai was quoted by The Sacramento Bee: “We want to emphasise that Mikuni’s heart and soul will remain true as we live by our mission to be the most loving and loved company in the world.”
and the 1,000 employees under Mikuni’s brand will be retained
Arai expressed confidence in the synergy between Mikuni Restaurant Group and Pan Pacific International Holdings
community engagement and leadership as key factors driving the decision to join forces with the Japanese conglomerate
Mikuni will inaugurate its 10th location in El Dorado Hills
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Heading several miles slightly southeast of North Fork in Madera County will lead you to a unique destination: the geographic center of California
If you search it on Google Maps
you’ll see an unfussy marker with says latitude 37 degrees
9 minutes and 58.23 seconds north and longitude 119 degrees
The marker declares these coordinates as the exact center of California
What is less immediately clear is how this was determined and what it means to be a geographic center
But a decades-old episode of “California’s Gold” with Huell Howser
the long-running series that explored the state’s history and its residents
reveals insights into how this location in Madera County came to be known as the geographic center
Trying to explain a geographic center to a general audience was exactly what Alan Mikuni was tasked to do when he became involved in the “California’s Gold” episode in 1995
Mikuni was then the assistant chief of the western mapping center with the U.S
Imagine you have a triangle on a piece of graph paper
Each triangle point — three points — has an X and Y coordinate
You’d add up all the X and Y coordinates and divide those sums by the number of points you have
The number you end up for the X’s and Y’s is the center
That’s how Mikuni described it to the Desert Sun
calculating this for California is a lot different than a triangle on a piece of graph paper
you’d be looking at the boundary of California
and dividing by millions of points to get the center
Mikuni isn’t saying this is how the coordinates known as the geographic center today was derived
That belonged to volunteers from California State University
and Mikuni doesn’t recall how they came up with the coordinates
Geological Survey did do was provide a simple demonstration to audiences about what a center of something signifies
A map of California was pasted to a foam board cut in the shape of the state
If you stuck a pin through it and held it up
where it balanced perfectly was where the center was
This demonstration showed California's geographic center as the center of gravity
assuming California is flat and that it doesn’t account for pieces of land such as the Channel Islands
it was clear that where California was balanced
A geographic center is not related to boundaries or property rights
associate professor and program coordinator with Fresno State's geomatics engineering program
it’s just a neat thing to say that it’s possible to calculate something like that
“It is a conception that depends almost entirely for its existence upon the curiosity of mankind,” read an undated article about geographic centers from a senior mathematician with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, which became part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970, said NOAA
“It is inevitable that there are as many geographic centers of a state or country or other area as there are persons determining them,” read the article
“Any reasonable method employed will give a center as satisfactory as any other one.”
as Howser pointed out in the episode of “California’s Gold.”
“California’s Gold” said that the research done for the episode found that the center of California was generally agreed to be somewhere in Madera County
although several towns claimed to have that honor
Geological Survey published in 1930 that approximated the center of California at 35 miles northeast of Madera
“Maps don't just randomly get data like that without it having been surveyed at one point in one time,” said Peterson
the geographic center of California was determined when Madera County commissioned a survey in 1972 that computed the latitude and longitude of the state's exact center
The original site marking the center of California had been destroyed because of a buried telephone cable
Fresno State was tapped in — a professor who coordinated the surveying engineering program and a student
the episode did not describe how they found the center
did research using GPS technology to locate the center of California
saying that they came within about a meter of the point known as the center
I could go out with better technology than what existed back then in the ‘90s
that is your center,” Peterson said — or rather
The 2020 census shows California’s population center — half of the population lives north or south —is in Shafter
Since the 1880s, the population center of California has moved steadily south as Los Angeles has grown, according to the U.S. Census
which determines that data point for every state
that center had moved from the northern San Joaquin Valley to the Fresno area in the middle of the Valley
the population moved further south to the Bakersfield area
Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com
sushi chain Mikuni Company looks to boost expertise in North America ingredient-sourcing
Pan Pacific International Holdings has sushi restaurants in the U.S.
as well as in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries
TOKYO -- The operator of discount chain Don Quijote will acquire all shares of U.S
as it looks to bolster its overseas sushi business using the target's know-how in sourcing ingredients
restaurant chain under Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH) will acquire Mikuni for an undisclosed price
The acquisition of shares is expected to take place in early April
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Mikuni Minato is a small port town in western Japan on the coast of Fukui Prefecture
It is a quiet area that borders the Kuzuryu River
devoid of the high-rise buildings and mass of chain stores that you find in the country’s urban centers
restaurants and cafes in repurposed historic buildings and family-run saka manju (steamed buns made with sake lees) shops
All are within walking distance of each other
But the area wasn’t always a quiet space for the offbeat traveler
Once an important part of Japan’s most famous marine trade route: the Kitamae-bune
The Kitamae-bune were ships that traveled between Osaka and Hokkaido
One of their iconic exports was shakudani ishi
a desirable type of stone sourced from Fukui’s Mt
the town started truly making a name for itself bringing wealth to its resident merchants
You can still see elements of the merchants’ pride and their former wealth through the town’s decorative use of the shakudani ishi stone and their signature architectural style called kagura date
The stone is especially distinct in the rain when its color shifts to a muted turquoise
is a bit more discreet to an untrained eye but it is marked by the awning underneath the rooftop
While some traditional buildings around Japan have awnings as well
the kagura date is closer to the rooftop giving it a layered look
They are distinguishable on the outside only by their blue noren (entrance curtains) and a bonsai on the porch
Staying at one of these homes immerses you in a historic atmosphere while offering modern comforts – like the heating that you will certainly need during a winter visit
On my recent trip there I was glad to see that these new hotel residences blend in
Rather than intruding on the town’s landscape with a cement block hotel
The town felt more accessible and untouched
encouraging me to explore my immediate surroundings
you’ll find plenty of other examples of kagura date rooftops and occasional nods to its seafaring past
I’m referring to the tansu (chest of drawers) that were kept on the trade ships
They were made in a way that valuables could be hidden in boxes within boxes
Their special wood also expands in water to keep everything dry should it end up in the ocean
You’ll find plenty of these as well as other historic items throughout both spots
More hands-on activities include workshops or crafting experiences that you can find around the town
After immersing yourself in small-town life
finish the evening with a bite to eat or a hot sake
The historic Uoshiro is a restaurant that was once a geisha house and later a “salon” that served meals to both businessmen and geisha
allowing you to taste some of the area’s local specialties
which features local amaebi (sweet shrimp) as the spotlight ingredient
It is usually served raw or as tempura along with small side dishes
While Mikuni Minato makes for a peaceful town stay
extending your stay allows you to explore more of Fukui Prefecture
Mikuni Minato is the furthest thing from a typical tourist attraction
its history as a once-thriving port town gives it a character you can’t find elsewhere
that respite from the crowded chaos is just what we need
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Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH) – operator of Japanese discount retail chain Don Quijote – has acquired American sushi restaurant Mikuni for an undisclosed amount
made through PPIH subsidiary Vanshow California
aims to strengthen the company’s sushi business and help Mikuni expand nationwide
the sushi chain currently operates eight upscale
casual dining locations in the Sacramento region and one in the East San Fransisco Bay area
said there would be no changes in leadership
“We want to emphasize that Mikuni’s heart and soul will remain true as we live by our mission to be the most loving and loved company in the world,” added Arai
The acquisition of shares will commence in April for an undisclosed amount
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Posted by Local Business News | May 28, 2024 11:21 am | Business
It was just a few weeks back that Aji Japanese Restaurant announced it was closing its doors in El Dorado Hills after 11 eleven years in business
one of the region’s well known Japanese restaurant groups is planning to fill what was soon to be a vacant spot in El Dorado Hills Town Center. Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar is set to replace the longtime eatery
According to records with the Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC)
Mikuni Restaurant Group Incorporated has applied for licensing at Suite 111 of 4361 Town Center Boulevard
the current home to the soon to shutter Aji Japanese Bistro
Mikuni applied for the licensing last Wednesday
They have applied for both an on sale general eating place as well as a catering status
The application is a request for transfer of the license currently held by Simple Hospitality Partners LLC and Russell Okubo
owner of Aji. The original license was scheduled to expire in November of this year.
Okubo cited his decision to close the doors after more than a decade of serving the El Dorado Hills community as being financially driven with rising costs in the current economy
Aji has been known for its “Tokyo-style “foods as well as ramen and a variety of sushi dishes.
Please come in and order your favorite craft cocktails and food
Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar was founded in 1987 in Fair Oaks
which is still home to one of its locations in the region today and where the famed “Fair Oaks Roll,” was born
a menu item that Mikuni’s Chief Dreaming Officer
Taro Arai often cites as one of the family’s early keys to success
“We are thrilled about the prospect of expanding our presence into El Dorado Hills,” said Arai
“This endeavor represents a significant milestone for us as we continue our mission of delivering exceptional Japanese cuisine and unparalleled dining experiences to communities across Northern California.”
The family owned and operated restaurant group has continued to grow through recent years under the management of the Arai family
As of today Mikuni operated nine different locations
another location off Eureka Road in Roseville
Concord and its most recently opening location known as The Oaks near the Pavillions off Fair Oaks Boulevard in Sacramento.
Officials from El Dorado Hills Town Center are excited to hear the news of Mikuni coming to the property as well on Tuesday
“We are thrilled to welcome Mikuni into Town Center as a restaurant business partner,” said Kevin Nagle
“Their successful history of serving exceptional Japanese cuisine will benefit the community greatly.”
At this time no plans or details have been announced on the official opening of Mikuni once Aji officially closes its doors
The third and newest heroine PV trailer has been released for the upcoming Japanese dub of The Girl Downstairs donghua animated series
highlighting the recently single older woman Sara Mikuni
The anime will premiere in Japan on July 3
Previous heroine trailers were released earlier in the month, focusing on Mio Kisaragi and Makoto Momoi
The main Japanese voice cast for The Girl Downstairs includes:
The donghua animated series was first streamed on bilibili in April 2023 for 22 episodes
It was produced at RED DOG CULTURE HOUSE and directed by Dong Yi
The series is based on a South Korean manhwa webtoon series by Min Songa and was serialized on Naver’s WEBTOON platform from July 17
Five physical volumes have been released as of October 2023
The manhwa is published in English digitally by Line Webtoon
A live-action TV series premiered on Netflix on October 20
WEBTOON describes the story of The Girl Downstairs as:
When Joon moves into his new apartment on his first day of college
he wasn’t expecting beautiful ex-celebrity Doona (Duna) to be living downstairs
but finds himself growing more and more curious about her mysterious life
Source: B8Station Official Twitter
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It’s nearly impossible to read stories about Japan today without seeing mention of the country’s population decline
What’s less common is the recognition that some corners of the country have been lamenting the loss of their halcyon days for a while
a once-thriving port town in Fukui Prefecture left behind over 100 years ago by Japan’s turn-of-the-century shift toward modernity.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); });
You wouldn’t know it by looking at Mikuni Minato now
but this sleepy community of around 20,000 residents used to be Japan’s third-largest port behind Osaka and Yokohama
Thanks to the kitamaebune — an Edo Period (1603-1868) shipping route linking the commercial centers of Kansai with ports along Japan’s eastern coast all the way up to Hokkaido — Mikuni Minato’s merchants got rich off this coastal trade
setting prices to their liking as befit their status as a crucial link in cross-country trade
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served as inspiration for Cantina Pedregal’s terra-cotta design theme
High-profile pairings do not always work out
But the collaboration between Michelin-rated chefs Patricio Wise (Roseville’s Nixtaco) and Brad Cecchi (East Sacramento’s Canon)
turns out to be even better on koji-marinated
once tucked into house-made flour tortillas served on the side
transform a Caesar salad into a full sensory experience.
When visiting the chefs’ Cantina Pedregal in Folsom
try not to fill up before sampling the hearty “cortadillo” beef and potato stew
one of the menu’s many tributes to meat-centric Monterrey
the northeastern Mexico hometown of Wise and his wife and business partner
The couple launched Pedregal in July with co-owners Cecchi and Clay Nutting
partners in Canon and West Sacramento’s Franquette
The cortadillo represents “an everyday meal in Mexico,” Martinez says
the wildly popular taqueria she and Wise opened almost a decade ago
already introduced many in the Sacramento region to northeastern Mexican cooking
“I always tell our guests … it’s not like we eat tacos every day.”
Pedregal also serves tacos but focuses on what Wise calls “more composed plates” like the cortadillo
Featuring bacon and beef sirloin cooked in bacon fat and braised in a cumin- and oregano-laden liquid
which sits atop a bed of fresh rosemary present entirely for its aromatics
The dish inspires deep nostalgia for Martinez and honestly
with its meat-and-potatoes comfort and craft
a bit of the same in a person tasting it for the first time
Pedregal’s Caesar salad features charcoal-grilled romaine lettuce spears
anchovies and roasted peanuts seasoned with chili and lime
The dish comes with house-made tortillas for making tacos
Pedregal’s family-style dishes complement its interior design by architect Gennifer Muñoz of Sacramento’s Studio Oxeye
The dark woods of the restaurant’s tables and artwork highlighting Monterrey’s mountainous topography punctuate the dining room’s terra-cotta color scheme
The décor is “meant to be very earthen,” Wise says
which translates to “rocky terrain.” Although the temptation is to stretch this motif to the cantina’s location just off East Bidwell Street
where the valley begins its lift into the Sierra Nevada foothills
Wise resists the perhaps overly romantic comparison
Monterrey and Folsom mostly have “the heat” in common
Yet a Sacramentan seeking to be transported by Pedregal still can be
It’s probably smart to make a reservation beforehand
“We are busy,” understates Cecchi in a phone conversation a few days after I visited Pedregal on a packed Saturday evening in August
“The community response has been enormous.”
I arrived just after the cantina opened for dinner at 5
Every bar seat was occupied and the other 150 or so chairs were spoken for by reservations
after a few brief consultations with fellow staff
“We did a lot of training prior to opening—we really want to give a great experience from start to finish,” Martinez says
Such friendliness amid the frenzy impressed me after the brush-offs I have been given under similar circumstances at buzzy new restaurants
But so many aspects of Pedregal are distinctive
from its matchup of the owners of two acclaimed eateries (both Nixtaco and Canon maintained their Michelin Bib Gourmand status this year) to its exaltation of black pepper
oregano and citrus—authentic Monterrey flavors still mostly specific to Nixtaco among local Mexican establishments
from left: Clay Nutting and Brad Cecchi of Canon with Cinthia Martinez and Patricio Wise of Nixtaco
A hit from the start for its irresistible offerings like a chicharron taco made from pork belly cooked in salsa verde and its stunningly fresh corn tortillas crafted from kernels ground in-house
Nixtaco—which started as a pop-up concept in 2015 and graduated to a brick-and-mortar restaurant a year later—draws taco lovers from throughout Northern California and has earned praise from publications like Food & Wine
which declared it “one of the best chef-driven taquerias in the U.S.” Self-taught and endlessly innovative
omakase-style Mexican food tastings at Nixtaco
opening a distillery in 2021 that produces Nixtaco-branded spirits like Emilia vodka
Wise and Cecchi previously worked together on the annual Tower Bridge Dinner
a Culinary Institute of America graduate who grew up in Carmichael
served as executive chef at Calistoga’s Solbar and retained its Michelin star before returning to the Sacramento area in 2017 to co-found Canon
a celebrated fine-dining restaurant focused on shared plates
Cecchi—who says he and Nutting are “always looking for new opportunities”—was invited to tour the Folsom space that would become Pedregal
Cecchi was interested but did not want to overextend himself
So their two restaurant groups joined forces to realize Wise’s concept of a high-end cantina in the style of those currently popular in Monterrey
The menu consists mostly of Wise’s takes on traditional Monterrey dishes
filtered through Sacramento’s farm-to-fork ethos and Cecchi’s fine-dining sensibilities.
Cecchi saw not just Pedregal’s cuisine
but its pricey new charcoal-fueled Vesuvio grill oven as a defining feature of the venture
‘How are we going to make that come into play
Because it is a marquee piece of equipment,’ ” he recalls.
That Mexican-made oven contains an open fire but “does not flare up,” Wise says
sear everything from the cantina’s 36-ounce rib eye to its most pointed culinary homage to Monterrey—the centuries-old regional favorite of cabrito
But whereas “cabrito refers to milk-fed and very
Pedregal serves “teenaged” goat supplied through a special program with Dixon-based Superior Farms and served in tacos at lunch and family style at dinner
Its multistep cooking process involves curing
smoking in the Vesuvio—with pieces of wood added to the charcoal—and braising in a tomato-based sauce
juicy meat leads with smokiness but retains hints of tomato brightness
the usual pungency associated with goat only a faint suggestion.
A fan of preparing goat since creating a popular West African-inspired dish at Canon
Cecchi declares cabrito to be not just Monterrey’s signature dish
but “our signature dish here at Pedregal.”
READ MORE: Where the Chefs Eat – Recommendations from local chefs, including Cecchi and Wise
The Caesar should be at least a close second
Although the original Caesar salad famously was invented in Tijuana
Wise’s inspiration for Pedregal’s Caesar came from a meal in a different part of northern Mexico—Valle de Guadalupe
“We were presented with a grilled romaine lettuce and very Asian flavors,” Wise remembers
and it was grilled and presented with anchovies
‘I got it.’ ” Cecchi blends koji—corn inoculated with a fermentation culture that is the source of most sweet-savory umami goodness—with salt and water to create a marinade in which the romaine sits before hitting the Vesuvio
How does the lettuce maintain its shape all the way to the table
“We got the timing right,” Wise says
Dressed in a classic Caesar dressing with raw egg
Pedregal’s Caesar salad is served with anchovies and roasted
chili-lime-seasoned peanuts superior to any crouton
Once the still-warm romaine is ensconced in a tortilla
as you marvel at the interplay of textures
The eagerly anticipated restaurant was an instant hit when it opened in Folsom in July
A food menu as carefully considered as Pedregal’s demands liquid accompaniments beyond the usual Triple Sec margarita
Bar chief Chris Mansury—a former beverage director at Napa’s ZuZu and general manager at San Francisco’s Rickhouse and Berkeley’s Tupper & Reed—created a stirred
spirit-forward margarita served “up.”
the drink hints at the traditional sugary margarita but maintains its (and your) composure with a boozy sting that discourages chugging
But what if people just want regular margaritas
“We’ll make ’em,” Cecchi says
affirming the hospitality focus likely to ensure Pedregal will outlast its status as one of this year’s hottest new local restaurants to become something rarer—a celebrated pairing headed for longevity.
Cantina Pedregal. 185 Placerville Rd. Folsom. 916-790-8479. cantinapedregal.com
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Our council-manager form of government combines the civic leadership of elected officials with the managerial experience of an appointed city manager
Roseville is the largest city in Placer County and called home by 150,000 people
We are a place where businesses small and large find success
the award-winning Mikuni Restaurant Group has blended traditional Japanese cuisine and sushi with American innovation
casual dining locations in the Sacramento region
as well as one location in the East San Francisco Bay area
The extensive Mikuni menu features more than 300 fresh and original sushi creations served in eclectic
Mikuni serves more than 40 tons of seafood each month and 20 tons of rice each month
The Mikuni mission statement is to be the most loving and loved company in the world
Mikuni has a legacy of giving back to the community and to date the Mikuni Charitable Organization has donated more than $3.7 million to local nonprofits serving a wide range of health and human services
Website: mikunisushi.com
Runners-up: Best Japanese Restaurant: Huku Japanese Bistro
Protons are tiny yet they carry a lot of heft
They inhabit the center of every atom in the universe and play a critical role in one of the strongest forces in Nature
protons have spin that act like tiny magnets
Flipping a proton’s spin or polarity may sound like science fiction
but it is the basis of technological breakthroughs that have become essential to our daily lives
the proton’s inner workings remain a mystery
“Basically everything around you exists because of protons – and yet we still don’t understand everything about them
One huge puzzle that physicists want to solve is the proton’s spin,” said Ben Nachman
a physicist who leads the Machine Learning Group in the Physics Division at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
Understanding how and why protons spin could lead to technological advancements we can’t even imagine today
a fundamental property that gives all protons and therefore atoms mass
But it’s not such an easy problem to solve
you can’t exactly pick up a proton and place it in a petri dish: Protons are unfathomably small – Their radius is a hair shy of one quadrillionth of a meter
and visible light passes right through them
you can’t even observe their insides with the world’s most powerful electron microscopes
Recent work by Nachman and his team could bring us closer to solving this perplexing proton puzzle
As a member of the H1 Collaboration – an international group that now includes 150 scientists from 50 institutes and 15 countries
and is based at the DESY national research center in Germany – Nachman has been developing new machine learning algorithms to accelerate the analysis of data collected decades ago by HERA
the world’s most powerful electron-proton collider that ran at DESY from 1992 to 2007
HERA – a ring 4 miles in circumference – worked like a giant microscope that accelerated both electrons and protons to nearly the speed of light
which could scatter a proton into its constituent parts: quarks and gluons
Scientists at HERA took measurements of the particle debris cascading from these electron-proton collisions
what physicists call “deep inelastic scattering,” through sophisticated cameras called particle detectors
the H1 Collaboration is still analyzing the data and publishing results in scientific journals
It can take a year or more when using conventional computational techniques to measure quantities related to proton structure and the strong force
such as how many particles are produced when a proton collides with an electron
The HERA electron-proton collider accelerated both electrons and protons to nearly the speed of light
which could scatter a proton into its constituent parts: quarks (shown as green and purple balls in the illustration above) and gluons (illustrated as black coils)
And if a researcher wants to examine a different quantity
such as how fast particles are flying in the wake of a quark-gluon jet stream
they would have to start the long computational process all over again
A new machine learning tool called OmniFold – which Nachman co-developed – can simultaneously measure many quantities at once
thereby reducing the amount of time to run an analysis from years to minutes
OmniFold does this by using neural networks at once to combine computer simulations with data
(A neural network is a machine learning tool that processes complex data that is impossible for scientists to do manually.)
Nachman and his team applied OmniFold to H1 experimental data for the first time in a June issue of the journal Physical Review Letters and more recently at the 2022 Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) Conference
To develop OmniFold and test its robustness against H1 data, Nachman and Vinicius Mikuni, a postdoctoral researcher in the Data and Analytics Services (DAS) group at Berkeley Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and a NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program for Learning fellow
needed a supercomputer with a lot of powerful GPUs (graphics processing units)
Coincidentally, Perlmutter
a new supercomputer designed to support simulation
and artificial intelligence experiments requiring multiple GPUs at a time
had just opened up in the summer of 2021 for an “early science phase,” allowing scientists to test the system on real data
(The Perlmutter supercomputer is named for the Berkeley Lab cosmologist and Nobel laureate Saul Perlmutter.)
“Because the Perlmutter supercomputer allowed us to use 128 GPUs simultaneously
we were able to run all the steps of the analysis
from data processing to the derivation of the results
This improvement allows us to quickly optimize the neural networks we trained and to achieve a more precise result for the observables we measured,” said Mikuni
who is also a member of the H1 Collaboration
A central task in these measurements is accounting for detector distortions
like a watchful guard standing sentry at the entrance of a sold-out concert arena
One source of measurement errors happens when particles fly around the detector rather than through it
for example – sort of like a ticketless concert goer jumping over an unmonitored fence rather than entering through the ticketed security gate
Correcting for all distortions simultaneously had not been possible due to limited computational methods available at the time
“Our understanding of subatomic physics and data analysis techniques have advanced significantly since 2007
scientists can use new insights to analyze the H1 data,” Nachman said
Scientists today have a renewed interest in HERA’s particle experiments, as they hope to use the data – and more precise computer simulations informed by tools like OmniFold – to aid in the analysis of results from future electron-proton experiments, such as at the Department of Energy’s next-generation Electron-Ion Collider (EIC)
The EIC – to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory in partnership with Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility – will be a powerful and versatile new machine capable of colliding high-energy beams of polarized electrons with a wide range of ions (or charged atoms) across many energies
including polarized protons and some polarized ions
“It’s exciting to think that our method could one day help scientists answer questions that still remain about the strong force,” Nachman said
“Even though this work might not lead to practical applications in the near term
understanding the building blocks of nature is why we’re here – to seek the ultimate truth
These are steps to understanding at the most basic level what everything is made of
we will never know what exciting new technological advances we’ll get to benefit future societies.”
H1 team members at Berkeley Lab include Fernando Torales Acosta and Yao Xu of the Physics Division
and Peter Jacobs of the Nuclear Sciences Division
NERSC is a DOE Office of Science user facility located at Berkeley Lab
The work was supported by the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program
the Berkeley Lab Laboratory Directed Research and Development program
Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its scientists have been recognized with 16 Nobel Prizes
Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions
Scientists from around the world rely on the Lab’s facilities for their own discovery science
Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory
managed by the University of California for the U.S
DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science
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the Japanese inspired a kind of puzzled awe
They had pulled themselves together from the ruin of war
built at breakneck speed a formidable array of export..
built at breakneck speed a formidable array of export champions
and emerged as the world’s number-two economy and largest net creditor nation
And they did it by flouting every rule of economic orthodoxy
But today only the puzzlement remains—at Japan’s inability to arrest its economic decline
Why can’t the Japanese government find the political will to fix the country’s problems
Japan’s Policy Trap offers a provocative new analysis of the country’s protracted economic stagnation
Japanese insider Akio Mikuni and long-term Japan resident R
Taggart Murphy contend that the country has landed in a policy trap that defies easy solution
who have together spent decades at the heart of Japanese finance
expose the deep-rooted political arrangements that have distorted Japan’s monetary policy in a deflationary direction
They link Japan’s economic difficulties to the Achilles’ heel of the U.S
Japan’s dollar-denominated trade surplus has outstripped official reserves and currency in circulation
These huge accumulated surpluses have long exercised a growing and perverse influence on monetary policy
forcing Japan’s authorities to support a build-up of deflationary dollars
Mikuni and Murphy trace the origins of Japan’s policy trap far back into history
in the measures taken by Japan’s officials to preserve their economic independence in what they saw as a hostile world
Mobilizing every resource to accumulate precious dollars
the authorities eventually found themselves coping with a hoard they could neither use nor exchange
Japanese authorities resorted to the creation of yen liabilities unrelated to production via the largest financial bubble in history
The bursting of that bubble was followed by massive public works spending that has resulted in an explosion in public sector debt
Japan’s Policy Trap points to the likelihood that Japan will run out of ways to support its vast pile of dollar claims
Should the day come when those claims can no longer be supported
the world could see a horrific deflationary spiral in Japan
The effects would reach far beyond Japan’s borders
Mikuni and Murphy suggest that a reduction in Japan’s surplus must be accompanied by a reduction in deficits somewhere else—most obviously through far-reaching shifts in the American economy
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The MICHELIN Guide Croatia 2022 was released last June
which seduces international travelers with its dreamy littoral
the impressive richness of its territory and its crystal-like sea
still charms the MICHELIN Guide’s inspectors with its gastronomy
chef at the restaurant Fleur de Pavé (Paris
He obtained his first MICHELIN Star while working on Paris's Left Bank
where he made a name for himself with his high-calibre bistro cuisine
This was the time he became a devotee of Japan and its green teas
Beyti is a dish known to almost everyone in Türkiye
Even though there may be different versions
everyone still thinks of a delicious meat dish upon hearing the word “beyti.” While often we aren’t aware when a certain dish is made for the first time or who created it
but that’s not the case for beyti: the creator and namesake
is one of the most prominent masters alive
We take a closer look at why you’ll find rabbit on the menu at many restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide Malta
Opened in 2019 by celebrity chef Ákos Sárközi
the owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Borkonyha
Textúra offers an augmented fine dining experience
visually creative plates and impeccable gastronomy (in which Hungarian game meat finds a modern incarnation) await the gourmet diners of Budapest
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