I can understand, if upon reading the title of this post you do the "head slap"…….and sigh….Izakaya Sakura again you may ask. And yes, I do understand….I just counted and this is our forty-first post on Izakaya Sakura or "Izzy" as a good "FOY' calls it. There are many great memories I have of the place, dating from my first post back in July 2005 on a wonderful meal with the late Ed from Yuma. And over the course of the last 15 years or so, there have been ups and downs. And many of my favorite dishes are no longer on the menu.
Yes, much has changed at Sakura over the years. And I've sometimes gotten folks emailing or telling me about the impending demise of Sakura. From back when they first started serving California Rolls….the place used to have posted notes around the dining area stating "we do not serve California rolls". To when the business finally put up a sign…yes, the restaurant never had a sign for over a decade! Which one "FOY" equated that to the "Tearing Down of the Berlin Wall"….such drama. And in recent years the place has tried to keep up with some fads…though it's always a couple of years late, by adding stuffs like ramen to the menu. I've jokingly said "in 2028 they're going to add KFC to the menu"!
All the changes and the sometimes surly service and to be perfectly honest, the increased variety of what was offered in San Diego had decreased my visits over the last couple of years. Still, I make it a point to drop by Sakura every once in a while. And on a recent day, with temperatures hitting the high 70's…..I'm thinking the change in temps from the high 40's to the 70's in a couple of days intensified the perception of "warm", I decided to head on back to Sakura for lunch.
I walked in a few minutes after 11. There were several tables already filled with folks. Back in the day, Sakura would be full of salarymen. The great shift over the years was magnified by the conversations I overheard. No Japanese, several tables speaking Mandarin; the guys behind the sushi bar conversed to each other in Spanish. In some ways this is great as it emphasizes the diversity of San Diego.
I've noted that one of my warm weather favorites, the Gyokai Natto Don is no longer on the lunch menu….perhaps not to scare off those afraid of the "fragrance and neba-neba"? A chirashi would have been good, but heck, I just couldn't justify parting with $34 on this day.
So, I decided on my usual warm weather favorite these days at Sakura; the Zaru Soba. But, I wanted a bit more and decided to push my luck. You see, Sakura for a period had some pretty surly service. I had enjoyed the Ebi Kakiage don over the years and wondered if I could get the Tempura Zaru Soba, but with Ebi Kakiage instead of the shrimp tempura. The woman waiting on me said "ok, no problem"! Nice!
Good lord, look at the amount of Ebi Kakiage!
Granted, there was a lot more veggies to shrimp than I recall. But the nice crunch, variety of flavors, with a dip in the wasabi and ginger enhanced Tsuyu, alternated with the perfectly cooked slightly stretchy soba was just what the doctor ordered on this day.
And at least on this day, to paraphrase a famous quote; "word of Sakura's demise have been greatly exaggerated". For now. Though I'm not sure what I'd do if they started serving "KFC"!
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Suite 121
San Diego, CA 92111
Have a great week everyone!