At the dinner table a few nights back the Missus and I like I think many other folks are these days, were discussing about where we'd want to have our first dinner out "AC" (After Covid)……whenever that would be……I'm not sure how or when we'd feel comfortable enough to actually dine in; nor are we sure what changes would be in store for dining in. Yakitori Taisho was definitely on the top of that list. Granted, we haven't been back much after Taka-san left, but we were and are, craving yakitori.
By coincidence, on March 12th the Missus had plans to have dinner with Her friends so I decided to pay Taisho a visit.
It had been quite a while since I had walked thru the door at Taisho and hadn't visited since they expanded. The place now holds twice the amount of people, though it seems to have lost that cozy, intimate atmosphere…..which, in light of our current situation, may play in their favor when they do try to reopen.
I was greeted with a big smile from Kuma-san; who still remembers us from our visit to the original location of Yakyuudori in Nagoya, where he was manning the konro on that evening. He cracked us up, when he'd declare he was "better than Taka" while handing us our skewers! He does have some major Yakitori chops.
And of course; things started with some draft Sapporo.
And I was happy that nankotsu (chicken cartlidge) was on the menu. I really enjoy the distinct, crunchy-chewy texture of nankotsu.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Yakitori. I did notice that while Taka-san often had a lighter touch in terms of tare, salt, and carmelization; Kuma is more flavor forward…..knowing the personality of both of them, it just makes sense. It's all good!
Man, I really miss our meals at Taisho, what took me so long since I'd last visited? When the Missus got home from Her dinner, we chatted about Taisho and made plans on having dinner at Taisho in the near future. Then of course, March 16th came along. So, we're hoping to be able to safely and comfortably visit Taisho when we get on the other side of this pandemic. We're hoping……
Yakitori Taisho
(Currently Temporarily Closed Due to You Know What)
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
I'm sure many of you are thinking about places you're missing, and hoping to have meals at once restaurants open for dining in and you feel comfortable with eating in a restaurant.
Where would that be?