Recently, my good friends "XiangJiao" and "YummyYummy" told me that I needed to have dinner at Izakaya Sakura. Izakaya Sakura? My goodness, I mean, I think Sakura has the most posts on our humble little blog. I mean Cathy, the late Ed from Yuma (we miss you so much!), and I have done numerous posts on Sakura, from the "old days" to the day Sakura actually had a sign put up. I mean, what more was there for me to see there?
Still, it had been eight months since I visited, which filled a gap of of three years since I dined in at Sakura…though I did do takeout during the "days of Covid".
So, I thought why not?
And when I walked in, it was a surprise indeed!
But first, the food. I had always enjoyed the Chicken Karaage at Sakura, so I ordered that.
And got some sashimi.
Does the presentation of the sashimi look familiar? Well, it should. When I sat, I was told "Sashimi Kirk-san…." it wasn't a question, more of an affirmation.
And I got quite the sashimi plate; a great combination of what was fresh and available. And then of course the "aji-senbei" to end things.
I'm sure you figured it out by now; Sam was now working at Sakura. It's kind of funny in a way. I've known and been a customer of Sam's for over 20 years. From the days at Katzra, to Sammy Sushi, then Wal-Mi-Do, and finally Sushi Yaro. It's quite ironic and interesting to see him working at Sakura, our most posted on restaurant….side by side with Kazu.
Sam is looking happy and seems to have recovered well from previous health issues.
Yes, the smile is back.
And I think it's more then a bit ironic to think that the purveyor of what I thought was a great example of the neighborhood sushi bar was now at one of our most posted on restaurants.
Life is interesting, isn't it?
Sam currently works evenings on Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fridays.
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
On this morning the parking lot was empty. I walked on over and took a look at the posted menu and noticed the opening time was noon. I also noted that there were donburi and ramen lunch specials going for as low as ten bucks! In these days that's a bargain. I decided that I'd return on another day and check the place out. As I started walking away the "open" sign came on and the really friendly gentleman who runs the front of house waved me in. My lucky day I guess.
I would go on record to say this was more sausage than tsukune. It was hard, rubbery, tough…..I'm sure there are more synonyms I could come up with given time. Not much flavor at all….I guess that's why salt was provided.
And my worries were well placed. Ok, so since the ownership is under Olleh, my expectations were low, but this was even below that!
The chashu wasn't bad, nicely marinated, tender, decent porkiness. The noodles were standard issue, curly, a bit overcooked and mushy…which did nothing to enhance the dish. It had me thinking….at ten bucks what should I have expected?
I loved the presentation. And overall, I enjoyed this dish the most. Nothing fancy, just a by the book beef bowl. The beef was on the chewy side, flavors were quite typical, soy sauce – mirin – sake, which is not bad at all. A generous portion of rice….I wish there was more egg, but this was a decent donburi.
Nothing fancy mind you; but for a ten buck for lunch…I wouldn't pay $15 to have this for dinner, this might work out fine for you. After all, how much is a bento from Nijiya these days?
The Missus really loved the yamaimo and the meat was buttery, beefy, and so tender.
There is seating outdoors in front as well as inside tables and there is a lengthy counter for the sushi bar.
I ordered the Shrimp and Veggie tempura appetizer ($9.95) to check out the frying technique here. The veggies (two each of green bean, onion, carrot and potato) were battered and the two shrimp were also dipped in bread crumbs. The tempura sauce (soy, sugar seaweed and bonita flakes) (each sauce is made here and ingredients listed on the menu under the “Glossary of Sauces”) was a perfect compliment to the crisp, non-greasy fry.
I ordered the "Modern Sashimi Salad" ($15.95). Assorted sashimi (tuna and salmon this day)-(a very large amount) topped with the House dressing (soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, onion and black pepper) on top of a crisp spring mix. This was a wonderful choice. Fresh, flavorful and plenty; I will order again.
The Mister ordered the Tonkatsu Bento from the Lunch Special menu($13.95). {Lunch specials served from 11 until 4:30} Breaded pork topped with a ponzu sauce (bonito flakes, soy, seaweed and citrus juice), rice, salad and tempura. The pork was cooked about 30 seconds too long and was a bit dry but not terrible; the breading was not burned or too crisp. It was on top of some sautéed cabbage, carrot and onion which was quite flavorful. 
The lunch special came with a good quality miso. Hot tea (as I always order) was a quality green with the grass-like flavor that I like and no charge.
When I finally had another opportunity, I arrived just as the very friendly young lady was folding up the blinds on the front door. And as during the soft opening, only one party is allowed inside the shop at once. I recall seeing chicken karaage on the menu when I did my aborted visit, but that was no longer offered. There are four sandwiches on the erase board menu; chicken katsu, menchi katsu, egg salad, and fruit and cream.
Compared to the Japanese version; this was chopped too coarse, there wasn’t enough mayo. There was a bit too much black pepper and it edged on the sweeter side. Liked the visual of the quarter tamago. The bread was slightly moist, but a bit too firm and chewy for me. Like I said before, I prefer my shokupan fluffier and softer.
It was also quite dry. This did the bread no favors. There was some flavor though it was quite mild. I could have used with a bit more katsu sauce to added a nice savory-umami-sweetness to things. It’s a sad day when I think that the shredded cabbage is the best part of the sandwich.
Which was soggy and peeling off the protein. Man, this was not good eats at all. It seems that the only thing I could taste was the katsu sauce. Again it was the cabbage that was the headliner of the sandwich, bummer!
The wings actually held up better than the Karaage. Don't get me wrong, the karaage was very moist and tender, but that light, what seems to be katakuriko based batter is made for eating quickly. I think of the flavors are very nicely balanced, soy-with a touch of sweetness. I like that the karaage still has skin attached. The "whole" wings (tips and drumettes included) did well. Like I've mentioned before, I like the addition of wing tips as they add a nice cartiligous texture with the addition of the batter of course. I could make out a touch of the shichimi togarashi a lot clearer than the karaage.
It's very tender, moist, with a pleasant porkiness, the panko breading crisp and perfect. To us, the fillet is better than the loin when dining in. We usually don't order any rice or soup with this. As we want to keep on going!
I don't know who thought of this one, but to me it's a winnah! Love the creamy, rich, and mild liveriness of the Ankimo paired with the crunchy, smoky, pickled-sour daikon. And adding a bit of the shiso brought out even more complexity. As with the Wagyu Nigiri; I'll be sad when this is no longer on the specials menu.
And life is good! It seems we found a keeper for a casual date night spot.
Well, the portion size of the chicken katsu, which I've always thought was quite large is now two-thirds the size. Which is big enough for me. As on previous visits, it looked like it had been fried for too long a time based on the color, but this wasn't too bad. The breading while being hard instead of crisp, wasn't peeling off and the chicken was decently moist, though a bit on the tough side. And best of all, it had some flavor.