Hello again. You just found mmm-yoso!!! and probably are looking for some sort of blog post about food. Kirk and ed are still too busy to write, so Cathy is posting.
I wrote a post about Shizuoka in June 2007 and took it for granted, not posting again. Yet The Mister and I do eat here. It's located at the La Mesa-El Cajon border, next to the Michael's in the same mall as Souplantation and Weevil Burger on Fletcher Parkway.
Shizuoka has been here more than 20 years. The interior has not changed much. There are 16 chairs to go with six tables tables and 6 four-person booths. There is a wait to get in almost every evening.
The menu is not extensive. The prices have not increased much since 2007. Good food prepared well. I suppose it's a neighborhood place and not a destination. It could be.
The miso soup is pretty standard, made from miso paste. It has a deep flavor and the tofu cubes are a firm consistency and always tasty.
The teriyaki chicken broiled mackerel plate is still $6.20. The Mister always orders one of the mackerel plates. The mackerel is particularly good tasting large piece of fish, broiled and placed on top of shredded cabbage so the bottom stays crispy and doesn't get soft when the juice flows from the cooked meaty mackerel. The teriyaki sauce on the grilled chicken is not too sweet and made here (not from a bottle). The chicken is placed on top of bean sprouts, again so the meat does not wallow in sauce. A lettuce salad, cold noodle salad and three freshly steamed edamame beans round out the plate.
My usual meal here is centered on the chicken karage ($4). Lots of dark thigh meat lightly coated and fried and always perfect.
This time I rounded my meal out with a (shared with The Mister) seaweed salad ($2.75) and Sunomono salad ($3.50). Both are tasty, fresh made and hit the taste points I want for lunch. The seaweed is apparently 'foreign' to diners here, and free samples are offered. The sunomono has a sweet vinegar-fresh ginger dressing and is made with that fake krab stuff. The plentiful amount of shredded radish, cucumber and (different than in the other salad) seaweed makes this salad a perfect compliment to the karage.
This is a small, not fancy, great neighborhood place, serving really good 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 Closed Monday CASH ONLY
That’s a lot of chicken for 4 bucks! Crazy, I haven’t heard of this place before. I want to go try their Katsudon. I shall… 🙂
Their katsudon is very good. During winters, I am very fond of their nabeyaki udon – which is pure heaven.
Wow, that is a lot of chicken for the bang. Yum, sunomono and seaweed salad! I always order those whenever it’s on the menu.
Hi again, I just came back from dinner, haha! As Adam says the katsudon is good here. Flavored on the sweet side but I enjoy that. They take credit cards. Bonus.
I drive by this place all the time and have always wondered about it. Thanks so much for yet another great tip! And BTW the menu reminds me so much of the old Suehiro on King Street (before it was prettified and turned into Gyotaku).
Hi Dennis- I’m glad to see you went right out and tried the food here! I had seen signage that they stopped taking credit cards; maybe there is a minimum- must return soon. Yes, the katsudon has a sweet-edge to it. The nabeyaki is very good and addicting, Adam. Welcome to the commenting side of our blog. Yes, Carol-sunomono and seaweed is an automatic order for me too. This is a great place, James. So glad you had noticed the signage. It’s kind of lost in that mall. “Prettified” is my new word of the day!