08/13/2026
Crowd Favorite: Japanese “Loaded” Sweet Potatoes
Japanese sweet potatoes are coal roasted, paying homage to the classic Japanese street food yaki-imo, where vendors traditionally push hot stone loaded carts through the streets during the colder months, selling sweet potatoes roasted right on the stones.
We brush each piece with katsu sauce, then layer on umeboshi, or salted plum paste, and yuzu kosho, a fermented blend of citrus rind and hot peppers. From there, we treat them much like an American loaded baked potato, finishing them with crème fraîche, chives, and crispy shallots.
For Chef Nate, this dish is a bridge between his American and Japanese heritage. It takes something deeply familiar from both cultures and brings them together in a way that feels completely natural.
It’s a dish we serve everyone at least once. More often than not, they end up asking for it again.
Simple, nostalgic, and unmistakably ours.