Muracci’s (307 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108) was on our shortlist of places to try in San Francsico for a long time, so when I had a work trip there, I jumped at the chance. We were intrigued by the concept of Japanese curry, a version we had never tried before, despite being extremely well-acquainted with Thai and Indian curries. Legend has it that the dish was introduced to Japan by the British in the 1800s (when India was still a British colony). It is definitely not an elegant or refined dish, and is generally seen as “home cuisine,” and is not commonly available in Chicago Japanese restaurants.
When we went to the counter to order we noticed the large 64-plus gallon vats of curry stacked on the side of the counter, which we took as a good sign. You can order 3 strengths of curry: mild, medium and hot. There were several varieties of meat that could be topped with the ubiquitous crurry – and the chicken katsu ($10.25) and pork tonkatsu ($10.25) seemed to be favorites, though you could also get prawns, salmon, beefs and veggies. I went with the medium-spice chicken katsu, which was a chicken breast, pounded flat and breaded, served with choice of rice, slaw and pickles. Other non-curry options included chicken teriyaki, hot curry noodle soup and homemade mochi.
There is really nowhere to sit in the counter-only postage stamp-sized shop, and they did a brisk trade in takeout. I did particularly enjoy the miniature shrine with a cow they had set up right by the cash register. I took my meal back to the hotel, where I unpacked the little Styrofoam container, which had the curry in a separate tub – which was nice because you could add as much or little as you wanted. The curry was delicious and fragrant, with similar spaces to a mild Korma curry, heavy in garlic and onion. It was a perfect compliment to the juicy boneless fried chicken. This curry was a great, quick filling meal, and a new taste of Japan. We are itching to try some Japanese curry in Chicago, and Time Out found a couple of spots that serve this rarer dish. Another option is to make it at home, using “curry roux” pre-formed blocks, or even from scratch.
Eating The World 