Chef Shota creates Japanese-fusion, Detroit-style pizza at Kobo
Chef Shota Nakajima has traveled all over the country, cooking for adoring crowds and testing his skills in culinary competitions, but Capitol Hill will always be home.
"I love it. I grew up in Seattle, and I'd say for the last six to seven years, I've been operating restaurants [in Capitol Hill]. I live in the neighborhood, as well. So, it's a very special place to me," said Nakajima.
His latest project is inside the Redhook Brewlab, literally next door to his Japanese fried chicken spot, Taku. While the location certainly isn't a surprise, the concept is both fun and, maybe, a bit unexpected.
"Kobo Pizza is Detroit-style pizza inspired by Japanese ingredients," said Nakajima.
At Kobo, Nakajima and his team are putting their own spin on traditional square-shaped, pan-cooked Detroit-style pies. It all starts with the dough.
"In Japan, there's a big thing going on where you put a little bit of mochi flour in pizza. So, we have a tiny bit of mochi flour in our pizza. It adds that nice crispiness. On top of it, that nice little mochi chew, if you like that. Then we add buttermilk koji to the brine as well. It smells like milk bread when it cooks up," said Nakajima.
Pizza wasn't initially the plan for this space. It was Japanese pub food. But Nakajima wanted to make sure the menu appealed to Redhook's regulars. He was looking for that perfect middle ground. During his search, he tried Detroit-style pizza for the first time.
"It instantly clicked for me because I trained in Osaka, which is a city that's very starch-heavy," said Nakajima. "You get yakisoba inside of bread, and it's not uncommon to eat that with a side of fried rice. Ramen you always get with a side of fried rice. So, it's a very carb-heavy city."
"That idea, it made a lot of sense. I've been really interested in this mochi pizza in general, so I thought it would be a great experiment. Why not try it out, and hopefully, everyone likes it."
The menu is loaded with crowd-pleasing options. It runs the gamut from more traditional pies to ultra-creative offerings like the Hot Neighbor, topped with Taku fried chicken and house-made koji hot sauce. But, Nakajima's personal favorite is, fittingly, a pizza named after his very good dog, The Dodger.
"The Dodger has some short ribs that are marinated in teriyaki sauce, onions, and fried egg aioli, which is one of my favorite aiolis to make. And it's a little dedication to (my dog), so that's definitely one of the ones you should try," said Nakajima.
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While Kobo may be primarily a pizza spot, Nakajima has plans to host parties, collaborations and events with chef friends in the space. It's all in keeping with his goal of continuing to create community in Capitol Hill.
"At the end of the day, most of us got into the service industry because we like to see happy faces that have food in front of them. So, it feels really nice coming in here, Taku next door, walking the streets and seeing this whole entire community vibing again."
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