You know….I’m so easily swayed by the wonderful folks who comment on our blog. Back in August, “FOY” Junichi mentioned getting Tenkatori….which is always a good choice for me. But, he also mentioned that they still didn’t have nankotsu, chicken cartiladge, something that I really enjoy. I know “FOY” ChrisR has always been mentioning that to me in emails over the years.
So, I decided to take a chance and headed by last week for lunch. And regardless if they had nankotsu or not….I was craving some tori nanban anyway.
Well, I did order my Tori Nanban Bento which is now $14.30 and asked if they had Nankotsu….and was surprised when the nice young lady said “yes”! So guess what….I placed an order for a small portion ($8.30). There was one caveat though….I was told that it was chicken knee cartilage – Hiza Nankotsu, not the typical Yagen Nankotsu, the stuff that I’m used to. Still, I was kind of excited about trying it.
I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination, but the portion size seems to have increased since my last visit?
And way more tartar sauce too! I did kind of the enjoy the sauce, which had a nice sour-tanginess and wasn’t overly mayonnaise heavy…at least to me. Huge pieces of chicken…perhaps a bit too large as it cut down on the batter to chicken ratio; but it was nicely seasoned, the flesh moist.
The large portion of rice was decently cooked and the potato salad was nice and creamy as always.
As for the Nankotsu……well, this was a bit different from what I’m used to as it was more meaty. I did enjoy the crunchy batter and the use of togarashi which gave it a bit of spice.
While I still prefer the larger crunch of Yagen Nankotsu, I still enjoyed this….especially the seasoning and when you did get a nice crunch!
So, Junichi….I’m not sure if you have a preference with regards to your chicken cartilage…..but it seems that they have it back in stock…sort of!
And yes, the inspiration and power of suggestion that exudes from all your comments comes thru so strongely!
Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121