Welcome to mmm-yoso the blog. Today, it's Cathy's turn because Kirk just doesn't want to blog.
Hello again, friends. As you know I live in East County and sort of know the area. If you are familiar, then…over there on Fletcher Parkway, where the Souplantation and Michael's are – in that strip mall- is, and has been, Shizuoka
. There are 12 or 13 tables inside, depending how you divide up those in the center, they have never expanded or extended their lunch hours or dinner hours, and the menu has stayed pretty much the same over all these years. (The dinners are 50¢ more than lunch and beef is $1 more than chicken). 17 or 18 years, in fact. Sure, prices have gone up in general, but for the most part, that is it. You still walk in and the nice ladies all say 'hello' (and they all say 'goodbye' when you leave). The tables are always set with paper napkins and chopsticks. The hot tea has always been free. Sure, its served in a plastic teapot, with plastic teacups , but it is always fresh and tasty. 
Pretty much everything comes with miso soup, which always has seaweed and tofu in it and it is always hot. It isn't the instant miso but made from the paste. 
Rich broth. Soft, silky tofu. Re-hydrated seaweed, with flavor.
We got the Chicken Karage
as an appetizer ($3.20). Quite a lot of dark meat chicken, lightly breaded with a slightly spicy batter and served with a Ponzu sauce.
Light, crispy, flavorful without the sauce and…well…only $3.20. It was a great start.
We each just wanted teriyaki Bentos this evening and I got the chicken with gyoza as my other choice. 
($6.20)
All the Bento Boxes are served with a green salad with a nice ginger sesame dressing , a delightful cold noodle salad that is consistently al dente and has a wonderful mayonnaise based sauce and, the square of tofu in the middle. 
The Mister got the beef teriyaki with his additional choice being sashimi- tuna, sliced thinly, in three pieces… but it had flavor.
Oh, the teriyaki sauce is a deeper flavor than I have had at other places and is not sickly sweet. My gyoza were filled with a well seasoned ground pork filling with water chestnuts and a small amount of scallion, adding just the right flavor as well as texture. The gyoza skins are not too thick nor thin and the gyoza are fried to a nice crispness.
This place does a brisk take out business and is always busy. There is a wait, it is a teensy waiting area and you will be seated in the order you walk in and stand there. It is best to get there when they first open (they are closed between lunch and dinner) so you can be assured of a seat. It is a wonderful, small, not fancy place with great fresh food.
Shizuoka Japanese Restaurant 9118 Fletcher Parkway La Mesa 91942 (619)461-1151 (in the mall with the Souplantation and Michael's)
Tues-Fri 11:30-1:45, 4:30-8:45 Sat and Sun 4:30-8:45