Sanraku sake barrel breaking ceremony

breaking the sake barrel

Sanraku restaurant is our favorite Japanese place in San Francisco . They have two locations: one in the Tenderloin/Nob Hill neighborhood at 704 Sutter, and another in the Metreon, 101 4th street in SOMA. We’ve been going to the Metreon location for as long we’ve been living here; about 6 years now. We even got a Sanraku membership card that gives us points that you can redeem later for discount coupons for future visits to the restaurant. Food there is consistently good: the fish is always fresh, the service is attentive and the atmosphere is pleasantly spare. That’s why we keep coming back. I think we help their business a bit too because we frequently bring our friends there 😉 For instance I remember last year when my friend Chico was here from Brazil for a visit we took him there one night for dinner. He loved the food so much that he ordered two platters of sushi deluxe and ate everything! Well done Chico!

This year, in honor of the restaurant’s 20th anniversary, we were invited to the main (Sutter) location for a sake barrel breaking ceremony. We RSVP’ed weeks ahead but Steven was not able to make it at the last minute. He was in New England attending his grandfather’s funeral. I made a silent sake toast to you, Stanley Sr., and to life and renewal! Cheers and rest in peace!

Because Steven couldn’t attend, I invited my work colleague and friend, Chris Stone, to enjoy the ceremony with me. But what is a sake barrel breaking ceremony anyway? I had vaguely heard about this kind of thing before, but I didn’t quite understand what it was about. Apparently a sake barrel breaking ceremony is a centuries old Japanese celebration to beseech the gods for good health and good fortune. It is commonly done at weddings, house warming parties, companies’ events, etc. The Sanraku owner made a charming speech thanking her husband, friends, clients, suppliers, staff members and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce for the support she has received over the years while wishing all of us many more years of happiness, health and prosperity.

The actual sake barrel breaking is quite dramatic. Using a special wooden mallet, several people struck the sake barrel until the wine splashed all over the place in an exciting way. We then all tried some while nibbling on numerous delectable morsels: tuna, shrimp and yellow tail nigiri; tuna, albacore, yellow tale and abalone sashimi; California , spicy tuna and salmon rolls; and shitake mushroom, carrot, okra, lotus, and shrimp tempura.

tasting the sake

Besides sake we also tasted a Japanese beer and a spirit distilled from barley that reminded me of a very smooth vodka. I can see myself enjoying a martini prepared with it.

Overall the experience was great. I chatted with a bunch of people, some very pleasant. I listened to lots of Japanese and that exercised my ears. I thought of my Nyhongo gakko classes when I was a kid and how I enjoyed learning about Japanese culture. Thank you, Sanraku, for honoring us with your celebration!

happy at the Sanraku sake barrel breaking