Man, it's been pretty warm the last couple of weeks, huh? And not just hot, but humid as well. I was looking for a place to grab lunch in the Convoy area and of course Izakaya Sakura came to mind. Funny thing; even though Sakura has long been a favorite of mine; I'd only dined in twice since the days of Covid and my last visit had been over a year ago! Well, it seemed like the right time for a revisit.
There were actually 8 folks waiting ahead of me when I arrived at 1130 for lunch. On an interesting note; everyone seemed on the "older" side of things. I guess time is passing and the customer base for more traditional Japanese is just getting older?
Second item of note; several of my favorites, especially the item I had in mind, the Gyokai Natto is no longer on the menu. I was tempted to go for the Chirashi; but Kazu wasn't behind the bar; plus, I didn't feel like spending $32 for lunch on this day!
So, I went with another warm weather favorite from Sakura, the Zaru Soba, which, in these days where pho is $12+, seemed price right at $10. In need of a protein option; I went with a side of Karaage ($6.50) as well. What was also interesting was the service….I had gotten used to sometimes experiencing rude and perfunctory service here. But the two women working were so nice. I got my water refilled without asking, I was asked how my meal was not once, but twice! Man, what is going on here?
My zaru soba arrived looking pretty much the same as always. The tsukemono, mildly pickled, crunchy, which I enjoy with a touch of shoyu seemed so familiar.
Things looked the same as always, until I removed the top of the little bowl of Tsuyu. Let me stress "little". This was probably half the amount of tsuyu I recalled being provided.
As I will usually do when having zaru soba, I have a taste of the tsuyu straight up. And man, this was potent! Very strong dashi, nice soy sauce tones, quite savory. I'd only be doing a one-third "dunk" of my noodles in this! I added all the fresh wasabi and scallions, and a bit of ginger which really added a pleasurable pungency and palate cleansing layer to things.
As for the noodles; they were as expected; perfectly cooked, with a nice springy "pull".
In the end, perhaps my palate had become adjusted to things, but I chugged the last bit of tsuyu. Which by this time seemed somewhat invigorating.
As for the chicken. Over the years, as I've noted in previous posts, the karaage can be somewhat inconsistent. Today, it was quite good.
Much more flavor than I recall; I didn't even need the dipping sauce! Less crunchy, more on the crisp side, the chicken was moist and tender. Heck, I swear I could make out some togarashi in this? And $16.50 for lunch! Heck, we sometimes pay more for a sandwich these days, right?
I had one more pleasant surprise. I went to the restroom and saw this posted.
Man, this brought back some great memories! I looked at the date; a this was from almost 14 years ago! Since we all know that nothing is ever lost on the Internet, I went and found the original article by the one and only Naomi Wise (RIP, we miss you!). You can read it here if desired. Gosh, this was back in those days, before the place had a sign put up! BTW, that "sign of the times" post was one of my favorites.
Well, it's good to know, even though time has passed, with all the new fads, and generational differences, Izakaya Sakura still delivered.
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Suite 121
San Diego, CA 92111
Hope everyone is keeping cool and enjoying the weekend!
And as always, if you have some suggestions for places to eat during our heatwave; please feel free to let me know!