The Missus recently celebrated Her Birthday. And in keeping with tradition, we did our "5 days of feasting". Where we go and have 5 meals at 5 of the Missus’s favorite restaurants. Now since I’ve posted on most of the restaurants before, and really wouldn’t want to bore you. I’ll do our "5 days" posts intermittently over the next week or so.
One the first day of feasting, we decided to work up an appetite, and visit the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
If you’ve never visited, please do, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself. Along with the popular shark reef, tidal pool, and kelp forest exhibits….
Our favorite part are the various "habitat" displays, which feature sea life from sixty different habitats, from the Pacific Northwest down to the waters of Mexico, and thru the Pacific.
We had a nice relaxing time, and built up an appetite.
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
2300 Expedition Way
La Jolla, CA 92037
For our first "feast" we headed over to Izakaya Sakura on Convoy Street, an honest to goodness Izakaya. As I noted on my previous Sakura post. Izakaya Sakura may be a bit hard to find, with no signage.
Sakura also has the distinction of being Ed from Yuma’s favorite restaurant in San Diego. The food at Sakura includes everything from Sashimi and sushi to various Agemono(fried items). On this evening we started with one of my favorites, Maguro Yamakake:
Usually simply cubes of raw maguro(tuna), with grated yamaimo(mountain yam), topped with strips of toasted nori(seaweed). Kazu (the Itamae) also adds a touch of Shoyu(soy sauce) to the maguro, which adds a nice sweet-salty touch, and takes it to the next level. The Wasabi also gives the dish a little zip. I’m sure the glooey-gloppy texture of the yamaimo may be off-putting to some, but we enjoy it.
Albacore Tataki:
Slices of seared albacore, topped with onions and green onions, and topped with ponzu sauce. Think of it as a refreshing seared albacore salad. I enjoy the ponzu sauce that Kazu serves, it is neither too sweet, nor too sour, and complements the albacore and sweet onions. So refreshing, it also helps to stimulate your appetite.
Fried Oyster:
If there was anything we ordered on this evening that was even close to being a "clunker", it was the Kaki-Furai. Though the oysters were fried perfectly with an excellent crunch and no trace of oiliness, the oysters were on the dry side. Again, the little touches shine, the oysters are served with tartar sauce, mayo, and a cocktail sauce.
And the "star" of the evening Karei Karaage (Deep Fried Flounder):
The spine of the flounder is removed and fried separately creating a "sail" for the fish. The bones are also one of the favorite parts, when fried with expertise like this, the bones have achieved a cracker like texture, this is why we call it "senbei"(cracker in Japanese). The meat is mildly flavored, as most flounder is, and not overly seasoned so you can taste the fish. The meat is moist, and the fish is fried to perfection. In the end, there was not much left of the fish, just some head parts, and part of the spinal column. Everything else, fins, skin, ribs, have been happily devoured.
Izakaya Sakura, is not cheap. Our bill came out to $45(the karei karaage is not a menu item, and runs about $18) without alcohol, but the food is well worth it. So if you visit Sakura, bring your wallet, I’m sure you’ll leave satisfied.
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111