Japanese Restaurants – Page 60

Chopstix Too

November 14, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

About a week or so ago, I mentioned that Chopstix Too, a sort of "Casual-Fast" version of Chopstix had opened in the same strip mall as Mitsuwa Marketplace. Talk about setting yourself up for success.

So I finally walked on up to check out the menus attached by clothespins to chairs….and sheesh, talk about cheap grand opening specials! Bargain-City…..

Okay, so I’m sold, I’ve got to check this out. At this time of the morning 11am the place is empty, yet bustling. Seems like the employees are still getting used to the surroundings. The interior is pretty fast-foodish, with simple booths and tables, and a sushi bar crowning the cavernous interior.

I didn’t bother opening the menu; I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki & Tempura Combo($4.95 – Grand Opening price – $5.95 regular):

The special came with a bowl of so-so miso soup, a green salad with Asian-style dressing, rice, some chicken(dark meat) teriyaki, with a sauce that was less sweet than the usual American-style teriyaki, and3 pieces of tempura. The tempura was not bad; it was not as crunchy, nor did it have the lacquered texture of the version at Chopstix. Pretty fast-foodish, but well worth the $4.95. It’s much better than picking up a pretty much cold bento from Mitsuwa or Nijiya.

But that’s not all…..there’s a "To Go Only" menu, that has specials like Curry Bowl($3.50), Chicken Katsu Bowl($3.95). Wait a second, Chicken Katsu Bowl for under four bucks? Sheesh…Bargain City!!

So being the sucker for Chicken Katsu that I am, I ordered the Chicken Katsu Bowl($3.95).

But wait, I’m not done….because it was inexpensive, I also ordered the Fish Katsu($3.95):

It’s hard to tell which is which, huh? This was a styrofoam soup sized bowl, with a nice amount of rice on the bottom. A layer of shredded cole slaw mix(shredded cabbage), and few pieces of broccoli acted as a buffer for the fried product. Honestly, it was a bit on the greasy side, but still will fill you up. The other item that I didn’t care for were that first off, teriyaki sauce was used instead of katsu sauce, and the whole thing was slathered with spicy mayo, like what is used for those spicy rolls. As if the dish needed any more fat! Is this worth $3.95…you bet, but next time I’ll order it without any sauce(or mayo), and use some of those leftover katsu sauce packets.

I’m sure that I’ll do another post on the regular menu items in the future…sort of a Chopstix Too, part too…he-he-he, sorry couldn’t help myself.

Now comes the fun part, it was bound to happen! Cathy and I ate at Chopstix Too during the same week. So you get a "double post", a two-for-one special so to speak. Actually, I’m letting Cathy go so She won’t serve me with a food stalkers warrant from the Food Police! LOL! So without further ado, heereee’s Cathy!

mmm-yoso is NOT on vacation. Kirk isn’t even taking a break off from posting. We both went to Chopstix Too-didn’t even see each other- and have pretty much the same observation of pretty much everything on the menu…here’s the rest of it.

Hi Everyone…I just want you to know I think the Mister went to Chopstix Too *before* Kirk did (The Mister works within walking distance)…for lunch…and that evening he brought home some of those "Grand Opening Take Out Only" specials.

The crunchy roll served with salad ($4.95) (Crunchy Roll is pretty much that fake krab stuff and avocado..its larger than most rolls..wrapped in seaweed and the rice and rolled in tempura leftovers…crunchies…topped with a sort of katsu (sticky sweet) sauce and the spicy mayonnaise).

This is a meal in itself-crunchy roll is quite large. The same one Chopstix has been having on ‘special’ forever. The salad is light, crispy and topped with the "Asian salad dressing" that is standard-more or less vinegar and sweet..no garlic or ginger.

He also brought home the Spam sushi ($3.50) made with avocado and pickled radish. It was nice. He also brought home some of the generic bowls Kirk apparently got (after perhaps stalking The Mister…) One of these is the calamari katsu, which held up quite well in the traffic home. The other is the chicken katsu, which was tasty but not crispy (the calamari was on a bed of shredded cabbage to maybe keep the steam from the rice from softening the crust). {ooh, I just looked at the photos and two are the same…that’s how well I could tell the bowls apart}… and then there was the tempura bowl:

The tempura coating does not fare well inside a bowl with steam for about 15 miles in rush hour traffic. There is a shrimp, carrot, zucchini and pumpkin..the veggies and shrimp were good, still crispy, not mushy…but the coating was not as much fun as you get with fresh tempura inside the restaurant….by fun, you know, crispy, light, airy…making you think it has no calories…

So, we decided to meet up for dinner, off of the "regular" menu one day. This is probably your first view of the building, when you take the exit off of 163:

Its kitty corner from Mitsuwa, in the same parking lot, attached to the Taco Bell. Originally that half of the building was a Sarah Lee Outlet Store, where I happened to be one of the first, and a regular customer.

We seem to have sat in the exact same booth as Kirk did, with that view of one of the two flat screen TV’s in the place… The regular menu looks more like this: Its a little bit different from the regular Chopstix menu, with lots more sushi items. You may notice the "miso butter corn ramen". We asked our polite waitress what it was. She said:’its miso with butter and corn and ramen noodles’. Maybe next time.

We opted for a few "standards", to test the kitchen:

The seaweed salad, ($3.50) nice and fresh…not much different than elsewhere. The mabo ramen ($5.95) seemed to have a richer broth and was excellent. I really like fresh ramen noodles.

I opted for the Seafood Katsu ($8.25). Served with miso, salad and rice. Three shrimp, two pieces of fish and two pieces of calamari, all lightly battered. I liked all of it. The shrimp is made from shrimp paste and is larger and denser than just a single piece of shrimp would be…and there is still a tail attached…which I always eat anyhow…its fried, crispy…fiber…

The grand opening specials will probably stop at the end of November…or not I suppose. The Mister and I went to the original Chopstix and with our bill, we got a coupon for a free California roll with purchase of any meal at Chopstix Too. Its a smaller California roll (6 pieces) and the coupon was stamped with an expiration of November 30.

All in all, Chopstix Too is the same as the original Chopstix, with an added sushi bar and *much* better parking. The Grand Opening Specials make it worth the trip also. I saw quite a few people with "to go" foods just eating in the parking lot….besides all the people following me around in general….ahem!

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288 open 7 days 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Closing hours may change.

Road Trip-Yang Yang Sushi and BBQ

November 8, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is NOT on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk is not. You looked in, why not stay and read?

Hi. So, my best friend from 4th grade all through High School was attending a seminar this past Saturday, in Ontario, a less than 2 hour drive (she lives in San Jose) and so I had to take that little drive to visit for a few hours…emails and birthday and Christmas cards just can't summarize what your life has been like.

Neither of us knows the area, but I can say that the address of her hotel, being on North Vineyard, is *not* located north of the 10 freeway…and I can also say this was the least-infiltrated with Starbucks area of Southern California I have been to.

So, I saw this sign inside a Stater Bros grocery store parking lot, and we stopped.

The hours said it was open until 10 on Saturday and it wasn't even 8, but tables were empty.

There are only 8 tables inside, but it seems they do a very brisk phone in/pick up business. That is the menu overhead and here is a paper menu:

Since Yang Yang is closed on Sunday and this was late Saturday night, apparently they don't keep much of an inventory, so when we tried to order, quite a few things (mostly the raw fish) was out…still, we managed to get a few, nice and interesting quick bites.

The miso soup was nice, but unremarkable except for the thicker, fresh tasting seaweed.

I was pleasantly surprised by the appetizer of baked green mussels ($5.45).

Six mussel shells, each with 3 small mussels in the shell, covered in a spicy, creamy orange colored sauce and baked and topped with some sweet tonkatsu sauce on this pleasantly decorated plate…with cherry tomatoes, ginger, sliced oranges and limes…interesting and it tasted very nice.

I had been craving poke ever since Kirk's report on it from Hawaii (and the great deal at Safeway) and when I saw the Spicy Tuna Salad on the menu for only$6.95, I wanted to try it. This is a HUGE serving, nicely very spicy served with picked veggies on top, lots of onions, radishes, pickled ginger and, more sliced limes and oranges…pretty and filling and tasty.

Then, since the place is called Yang Yang Sushi *and* BBQ…well, I thought we should try some BBQ…seems logical, right? hmmmm…The nice waitress told us they did not have Japanese BBQ beef available, but they did have some Korean BBQ beef…bulgogi..cool. I like that..in a bowl, fine. Price was the same ($5.95). Picture showed beef and some kind of salad on top of rice…

Oh, please, click on the photo and make it larger…words cannot describe how this was served, but I will try.

It was a good sized, heavy bowl of rice, covered with a lot of *excellent* bulgogi..and then there was some shredded cabbage, radishes, limes and then on top of that, yes..that party mix stuff, pretzels, croutons, cheese crackers, pieces of shredded cereal…and miniature marshmallows… yes, THAT mix…

I dunno. It did taste good, and I admit the flavors were nice, but I guess I need to get more creative in the kitchen next time.

I know I've told you to not be afraid to try someplace new…this wasn't scary..and it was quite interesting. Good food. An adventure.

Yang Yang Sushi and BBQ 1953 East Fourth Street (at Vineyard) Ontario, CA 91764 (909)948-9838 Tues-Sat 11 a.m-10 p.m.

Episode 17.Week 3=Oishii in Santee: Japanese and Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

October 17, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in in the interim.

So, you are thinking to yourself "Did I read that title correctly?"…Japanese and Thai cuisine and Sushi Bar…in Santee…?!?

Yes, you did….and it is something you can’t miss. All three types of food are prepared here to excellent standards.

Located in a nondescript strip mall, across the street from the Albertsons in Santee, Oishii has been in its present location for about 3 years. Before that, it was a Thai Buffet and before that it was a kind of American Restaurant that sold some really good prime rib. It is small inside, with 10 seats at the sushi bar, 5 booths and 7 tables.

Editor’s Note: The owners of the Thai Buffet are still the owners and are family members/have worked at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas.

This post will be long, since the Mister and I have tried all three types of foods here. First, the Japanese menu:

The sushi lunch special ($8.50), 3 vegetable rolls, 4 tuna rolls, sunomono (cucumber salad) and albacore sashimi. The albacore was soooo tender. This is served with an excellent miso soup, filled with silken tofu cubes and seaweed.

The mixed tempura appetizer ($5.00) includes one very large shrimp. The breading is very light and delicate, not oily.

The combination lunch ($9.50), in this case beef teriyaki and spicy tuna roll. The beef is cooked medium rare and is tender and flavorful. The spicy tuna is very fresh and the spice is on the edge of being overwhelming and is highly complimentary to the tuna. This is served with soup, salad and rice. The portion size is quite large for lunch.

All of the Japanese dishes on the menu are very fresh and well prepared.

The Thai menu. Most of the people working here are Thai. When the restaurant was a Thai Buffet, I really liked the foods.

The fried soybean cake appetizer ($5.00), served with a homemade sauce that was neither too sweet nor too salty. The soy cakes were nicely crispy and not too thick, so the soy was warm throughout.

The fried calamari appetizer ($5.00). Lightly breaded squid which was very tender. The accompanying sauce is nice and spicy.

The pad see ewe with beef ($7.95)…the thick noodles were very nice textured, made with a black soy sauce and broccoli and carrots, this is a mild dish and the beef was not as tender as I would have liked. Not disappointing, but not exciting. I like the Pad Thai here better. However, the chicken Panang ($7.95) was excellent. It is made with coconut milk, red peppers, basil and green beans, the amount of heat that kicked in was wonderful. This is the way Panang should be cooked. The description on the menu, mentioning onions and mushrooms, is wrong and was not prepared that way.

I enjoy the Thai food here because they ask how spicy you would like it and almost always when I order Thai, the cook comes out from the kitchen to ask how I liked t.

Now, on to the sushi menu:

Along with the Special Rolls menu:

The sushi and nigiri served here is always fresh and wonderful. There is never a night when the sushi bar has no patrons. Even on Monday or Tuesday.

We always have edamame with sushi. ($3.50). A good sized plate.

The oyster shooter ($3.50) is made with 2 oysters, ponzu sauce and topped with masago and ginger. The lime slice in the side is a nice touch. The oysters were fresh and mildly flavored, very tender.

The albacore was so very tender and wonderfully flavored, the nigiri is not served with wasabi on it. It is not needed. Dipping the fish lightly into shoyu is enough to bring out the flavor. The rice is very well made sushi rice and worth the $4.50.

The amabei (sweet shrimp) ($6.00) were served with the fried heads (atama) at the same time and with the hamachi (yellowtail) ($5.00). Excellent, all three.

The Mister an I opted to share three rolls This is the Santee Roll ($6.50) Described as "Crispy tuna, (no rice) topped with the house sauce". The tuna is wrapped in seaweed, dipped in batter and fried, so the tuna cooks. Its different and good.

The spicy crunchy albacore roll was on sale for $5.50 the night we were there. There are usually five or six specials listed on the chalkboard. The albacore was again, fresh and tender and crunchy bits of tempura were dispersed throughout the roll, which also had cucumber inside had toasted sesame seeds on the exterior.

Finally, we had to try the most popular roll sold here, the Cindy Roll, ($12), made with tempura shrimp and asparagus, topped with tuna and the special sauce and surrounded with house and ponzu sauce. Excellent crispy, still warm shrimp and the asparagus is fresh cooked crispy with beautifully brought out flavor.

All in all, no matter which cuisine you order here at Oishii, you will leave very satisfied.

Oishii Japanese and Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar

10251 Mast Boulevard Santee 92071 (619) 596-4852

Open Monday-Sat 11:00 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sunday

Episode three-week one/Niban

October 3, 2006 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Niban-fast, inexpensive, fresh, un-fancy, second best (?)Japanese and sushi.

So I don’t know much about the Japanese language except the Numbers one, two and three: ichi, ni, san…and so I use the Google Japanese translator and ichiban means "first", niban means "second" and sanban means "third". Then again, if you merely Google "niban" well, that is a brand name of a boric acid based granular bait used for pest control…I know I have seen restaurants named Ichiban…so to name yourself Niban, well, that takes …guts… on so many levels.

So yes, of course we eat here, regularly.

Its a simple system. You walk in, pay, then sit down. (If you are doing a "to go" order, you can sit at one of the chairs lining the front window). One of the people who works there takes your receipt, asks what you would like to drink (hot tea is free) (if you have paid for soda or beer, they ask you what kind you want) and they bring it to you and soon your order arrives.

The menu is simple:

and there are daily lunch specials written on a chalk board on the wall in front of you when you walk in, and other specials written on a chalkboard to the far right of the cash register (but also displayed in a glass case to your right as you walk in the door-you can see it from the front window right underneath this GIANT menu taped to the window.) Also, there is a monthly special, printed on a colored sheet of paper taped to the front window, a glass case straight ahead when you walk in the door and on the counter when you order. For October it is katsu curry-either chicken or shrimp, with salad and beverage for $5.50..regular $6.25 without beverage.

The specials are usually 75¢ to $1 off the regular price. There is a sushi bar with 7 (seven) seats total to the right and to the back of the cash register. If you want only that, you can walk in and sit down…paying when you leave. No photo; the people eating didn’t want to be in a picture.

But I like this display of plastic sushi and mirrors in the front window anyhow….

This is what we had in the last two visits:

The calamari appetizer- 5 pieces of squid steak breaded and fried. That sauce that looks like thousand island dressing..it isn’t…it has jalapeño in it…

The chicken katsu salad (regularly $3.50, sale price $2.75). I can eat this as a meal. Lettuce, chilled rice noodle, sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers and a ginger-garlic dressing served on the side. One whole piece of katsu chicken.

We got the sushi combo one night: 6 pieces nigiri and 2 hand rolls:$10.95

The hand rolls are regularly $3.50 each and are quite large. One was with crab meat and the other spicy tuna. All the fish was very fresh, tender, sliced thick enough and served on proper rice. Nothing outstanding, nothing bad, either. Below in this photo are the gyoza, served steamed or fried. ($2.95) Five handmade, thin skinned and filled with mostly pork with good ginger flavor as well as some water chestnut crunch. Very good.

On this visit, one of the daily specials was this bento box of chicken teriyaki, fried croquette (potato cake), salad, pickled bean sprouts, cold rice noodle and rice, served with miso soup. ($5.95 regular $6.75)

The chicken was mostly dark meat, the teriyaki sauce is good, not too thick or sweet. The croquette was excellent: crispy on the outside, and good mashed potato on the inside.

The October special, katsu curry.

We tried it with shrimp-you get three. If you get the chicken, you get 2 patties.

The curry tonight was not as thick as usual, but still tasty, with a nice "bite"..beef based, Japanese flavored, some chunks of beef (we have had more beef in it previously), potatoes, carrots and, according to the Mister, an inordinate amount of onions.

There is a TV on each side of the restaurant, none on the outside patio- but Players Bar and Grill is across the sidewalk and they have 4 television sets playing outside, for the smokers.

…and..my most favorite piece of decor:

The sushi clock!

All in all, Niban is good, fast and inexpensive…and has some sort of issues going on with self esteem, near as I can tell. Someday I’ll ask why they chose this name.

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego (858) 268-0465

Lunch Mon-Sat 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Dinner Sun-Thurs 5:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri and Sat 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Restaurant Yakata Part 2

September 28, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

This past Saturday, the Missus was in the mood for some sushi and Japanese food, but I was a bit too tired to drive all the way to LA to Sushi Komasa or Sushi Gen. We also just wanted a quiet evening, so having recalled what Makoto at Restaurant Yakata said on my visit, "Saturdays nights are my slowest…" We decided to see if this was true, and drove down to National City. Well Makoto-san was correct, it was 630pm, and only two tables were taken, and the sushi bar was empty.

Being absolutely ravenous, we decided to order some food from the menu, and also a 10 piece Nigiri combination. I told Makoto, not to worry about price, just give us a variety.

The Missus started with Tempura Soba($6.50):

Soba, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, in a light broth, the Missus really enjoyed this.

I ordered the Tempura-Teriyaki Chicken Combo ($7.25). The dinner came with a bowl of miso, that was salty, but strangely very weak in miso flavor, and a green salad with a ginger-sesame dressing that was pretty good.

The Chicken Teriyaki was very uninspired, the sauce too sweet and watery.

The Tempura on the other hand was very good.

Though not very large, the shrimp had the perfect amount of crunchy batter, and the shrimp was cooked perfectly, soft and moist. The vegetables included were a broccoli floret, a thin slice of Kabocha, and a thin slice of Eggplant. The Tentsuyu(tempura dipping sauce) was fine, though I would have enjoyed some Daikon Oroshi(grated daikon) for the sauce. Still, this was a good amount of food for the price.

While we were eating the Nigiri arrived:

The Missus went straight for the Unagi, which is always the safe choice for Her and She enjoyed it. The Maguro was okay, and the Hamachi not as good as my previous visit. I thought the Sake(salmon) was quite good, as was the Saba. I had the Missus try the Mirugai(Giant Clam/Geoduck), which She really enjoyed, and the Hokkaido Hotategai(scallop) which She adored. The Tako(Octopus) was fine, as was the Ika(Squid), and Hirame.

Having figured out what She enjoyed we went for another round:

More good Mirugai, and excellent Hotategai. Makoto even remembered how I enjoyed eating my Aji. Up to this point in time, the Missus had always refused to eat Aji, associating it with the sometimes very fishy Saba. But tonight, She decided to give it a shot. As She ate the piece of Nigiri, Her eyes opened wide….."Wow, this is really good, almost milky in flavor, the texture is awesome!" I guess we’ll be fighting over the Aji from now on.

All told, our fairly hefty dinner(no alcohol) came out to about $50, without tip. By no means cheap, but quite satisfying. As we left Yakata, the restaurant was totally empty. I guess Makoto is right about Saturday nights…..

So if you want to grab some pretty good sushi on a Saturday night, and not have to deal with noise, crowds, or traffic, Restaurant Yakata might be a good choice.

Restaurant Yakata
2424 Hoover Ave
National City, CA 91950

Restaurant Yakata Part 1

September 24, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Sometimes you get lucky, I had missed my exit on the I-5, and went over to the Mile of Cars exit to turn around. I turned into a strip mall and saw Yakata. And even though I just did a U-turn in the mall, Restaurant Yakata just kind of stuck with me. The final straw was reading through Jeni’s post on Sushi Zo – Off the Beaten Path, and Yakata quickly came to mind. I did a Yahoo search on Yakata, and came up with almost nothing……perfect!

I arrived at about 530pm on a Friday evening to find Yakata totally empty, and I thought that my instincts had turned on me.

Being alone I took a seat at the sushi bar and started looking over the fish. I started cautiously, with Maguro and Hamachi, just to get my bearings and determine the quality of he fish. I had also started a conversation with the Itamae; Makoto. Please pardon the photos, the lighting in Yakata is really tricky.

The Hamachi was quite good, the Maguro decent, but on the very cold side. The rice was a perfect temperature. Things were looking up. Makoto was just the opposite of the talkative and friendly Sam at Sammy’s, being on the reserved side. But since there were no customers in the restaurant, I was given am excellent opportunity. You see, part of what can make eating sushi a great experience is getting to know the Itamae(Sushi Chef), and giving the Itamae the chance to know my eating habits. Makoto also noticed that I didn’t use any "Wasabi"(da’ fake green stuff) with my fish, opting for just the most minute touch of soy.

So having started a conversation, I asked Makoto, "what is good tonight?" And after looking at me, and asking me a few questions, he came up with this:

The Hotategai(scallop) was excellent, sweet, with a buttery-velvety texture, among the best I’ve ever had. When I mentioned this to Makoto, he told me it was Hokkaido Hotategai. The Mirugai was also good, sweet and crunchy, obviously very fresh. I bought Makoto a Sapporo to thank him for such great sushi.

A short time later, Makoto asked me if there was anything I really didn’t care for, and why. I mentioned that I’m really not fond of Saba(Mackerel), as most times it overly fishy, and can be quite funky. So a minute later, a pair of Saba Nigiri appear in front of me, Makoto placing them on my plate with a grin.

The first thought that entered my head was, "how confident…." That said, the Saba was good, very good, just the right touch of the oily fishiness, enough to make you realize that this soft piece of fish was Saba. By now we had entered into a very nice conversation. It seems that Tuesdays through Thursdays are his busiest days. During the afternoon, it’s a combination of customers from local businesses as well as Japanese customers from the area, and those returning from Mexico. During the evenings it’s His regular customers, and Japanese returning from various businesses in Mexico.

Finally, I ordered some Aji(Spanish Mackerel). When asked my preference, I requested a thin slice of lemon in place of the usual minced ginger.

This was most excellent, the lemon added a slight citrus hint to the almost milky-rich flavor of the Aji.

By now several customers had made their way through the restaurant, most sitting at tables having tempura, teriyaki, and the such. And 2 elderly Japanese customers who went for Sashimi and Gohan(rice). I started asking Makoto about other items, and came to find that to balance both having the best product available for His customers, and getting the most out of His investment, Makoto will only have many of His specialty items "in season". That means Tai(snapper) usually only the spring, Ankimo(Monkfish Liver) during the winter, Aji and Amaebi(sweet shrimp) during the summer and fall. I had also found out that Makoto hails from Tokyo, though He has been in San Diego for 16 years, the first 14 in North County, opening Yakata 2 years ago.

This nice light dinner cost me a bit under $40(including 3 large Sapporo). I left satisfied, and with the knowledge that Saturday evenings were His slowest in the back of my mind….I knew where we were going on Saturday.

Stay tuned for Part 2 later on this week.

Restaurant Yakata
2424 Hoover Ave
National City, CA 91950

Yakitori K-1

September 21, 2006 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants

*** K-1 has been replaced by Wa Dining Okan. You can find posts here and here.

I approached Yakitori K-1 with a bit of apprehension, because I really can't remember the last time I had good Yakitori. Still, seeing the sign for Yakitori K-1, every time I shopped at Nijiya finally wore me down.

We arrived at 6pm, and found the tiny, spartanly decorated shop, empty.

The menu was simple, and short, but all the usual suspects were present.

So we placed our orders…and off we went. It is normal to order several different items, and eat slowly, usually with "liquid refreshment", but Yakitori K-1 is still in the process of obtaining a liqour license. I started with one skewer of Momo (Thigh – Momoniku – $1.29), and Negima, Chicken pieces(In this case chicken breast) and Green Onions($1.79).

The Momo is a good test of the Tare(basting sauce), and cooking technique. The Missus thought the Tare was really salty, I thought it was pretty one dimensional, with shoyu overpowering everything else. The chicken pieces were fairly moist, but I'd have enjoyed my chicken a bit more caramelized. In a case like this, I'd rather just have "Shio", or salt on the chicken. The chicken breast was kind of dry, it would have been really nice if the some of the skin was left on the chicken. And just two pieces of Negi(green onions) meant that you were not going to get the flavor of the green onions in every bite, unless you did the sword swallowing thing…..

The ShisoMaki (Shiso wrapped thigh – $1.49), and 2 orders of Teba (Tebasaki – Grilled Chicken Wings – $1.99):

The Shiso Maki, was simple lightly basted thigh, though I really thought it was breast. In this case the minty-basil flavored shiso went well with the lightly basted chicken, which was very moist. It had me wishing for Momo no-Ume Shiso, where minced ume (Japanese Pickled Plum) is mixed with shoyu, mirin, and sake, and slathered onto one side of the chicken. Thinly julienned Shiso is sprinkled on the ume concoction. This is really good stuff! The Teba was by far the best item we had all night. Simply seasoned and grilled, skin crisp, with a small squeeze of lemon, these almost had the addictive "crack like" quality like really good Tebasaki.

Because I needed a bit of starch in the midst of this protein-fest, I also ordered the K-1 Stick(skewered rice balls with tare – $1.49).

These are like mini Yaki Onigiri(grilled rice balls). Excellent texture, crunchy on the exterior, moist and starchy interior. The Tare fell seriously short here as well, just a strong shoyu flavor.

The Missus ordered the Tsukune Bowl($4.99).

Tsukune refer to the Chicken Meatballs. The Missus thought they were very rubbery, and lacked flavor. In fact She traded 3 meatballs for 1 Teba. The tamago(egg), was well, tamago. The ground chicken was sauced with the tare, though here it tasted a bit sweeter. One thing for sure, there sure was enough rice.

To be perfectly fair, Yakitori K-1 was out of two of our favorites; the Sunagimo(gizzards), and Kawa (skin….mmm…skin…). So we weren't able to sample those. As we left, several customers walked in the door.

The prices at Yakitori K-1 are very reasonable, though I'd steer away from the combinations, which have mostly Momoniku and Mune(Sasami – skinless breast). I'm far from an expert on Yakitori, you may enjoy the Tare at Yakitori K-1, it's just not to our taste.

Yakitori K-1
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Crispy Tonkatsu

September 20, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Zion Market has moved and Crispy Tonkatsu is no longer

Crispy Tonkatsu(at least that's what the sign and business card says), shares the Zion Marketplace Food Court with Happy Meal.

While having lunch at Happy Meal, I noticed a group of guys having lunch from Tonkatsu, and I must say it looked pretty good. So I decided to check it out for myself. The menu at Crispy Tonkatsu is rather small, and consists mainly of…what else? Katsu, though Udon, and other items are available. There is also an interesting handwritten sign titled the "Well Being Project" describing how healthy, and fresh the food at Tonkatsu is. This really cracked me up, after all, we're talking about breaded, deep-fried, pork cutlet, right?

On this day I ordered the Chicken Katsu($6.99 – $7.99 dinner):

This rather hefty lunch came with a rather watered down miso soup. Two pieces of crispy fried mandu, which were on the skimpy side, but not bad. And a "salad", that was a basically a cole slaw "mix". The dressing was quite unusual, I'm pretty sure it was a blended asian pear, rice vinegar, and sugar, type dressing. A bit too sweet for my tastes.

In addition to the good sized bowl of rice, was a small portion of Baechu Kimchi(not very good), and some fairly good pickled radish(daikon). A single pitted, canned Lychee was provided as a dessert/palate cleanser.

The Chicken Cutlet was perfectly fried, and moist, the breading was crisp, and on the lighter side. It's just about the same as the katsu, though not quite as flavorful as the version I make at home. The Tonkatsu sauce was another story. I'd say that it was probably the worst tonkatsu sauce that I ever had(next to the lousy sweet-sour stuff at L&L), watery, really low on flavor.

Still, not bad for $6.99.

I'm afraid to say that I wasn't through. On the day I had made up my mind to check out Crispy Tonkatsu, I saw the Gentlemen on the next table sharing some really plump, good looking Gyoza. Good enough to cause me to go into a bout of Gyoza envy. I'm not a big fan of how many lower priced places make Gyoza, because it's usually the same as store bought Gyoza…remove from plastic bag, and thrown in the fryer. But these looked pretty good, so I ordered some ($2.99):

What arrived didn't look quite as plump as I had remembered seeing. I guess it could just be a case of "the Gyoza on the other table always looks better." Still these weren't bad at all, there was a mild ginger flavor in the meat filling, and the soy based dipping sauce wasn't too bad.

I don't know if I'd have these again, but they were not as bad as most.

Here's a photo of the whole thing.

The prices at Crispy Tonkatsu are very reasonable, and I believe you get your money's worth, at least for lunch, when everything is a buck cheaper than dinner. The ordering process is the same as Happy Meal's, you place your order at the counter, pay, have a seat, and your food is brought to your table.

Overall, not bad….but please, don't tell me about the health benefits of Tonkatsu….I already know them!

Crispy Tonkatsu
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA
In the Zion Marketplace Food Court

Yoshino’s

September 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I have a very special place in my heart for those Mom-and-Pop, American-Japanese restaurants, what many people I know call "Teriyaki-Tempura joints". Growing up in Hawaii, a special occasion would mean a meal of either Chinese (what I call Hawaii-style Chinese), or a trip to either Wisteria Restaurant or Suehiro Restaurant, both now sadly gone.

Yoshino’s on Washington street is one of those simple "old-school" Japanese restaurants.

I used to have quick dinners at Yoshino’s when I first did some consulting work in San Diego in the late ’90’s, and we used to eat here once in a while when we first moved to San Diego. A few years ago, the restaurant changed hands, we paid a visit, and the food didn’t seem to be the same, and we had never returned. Yoshino’s just kind of dropped off the radar so to speak. The storefront is so unassuming, that you don’t give it a second glance. I must drive past Yoshino’s at least 6 times a week, and I still paid the restaurant little or no attention.

Until recently. One of my regular inexpensive Teriyaki-Tempura-Rice Fix lunch stops; Teriyaki Cowboy had closed, and an Email from Claudine, mentioning Yoshino’s jogged my memory. And so I thought, why not?

As you can tell by the interior, this restaurant is no thrills and no frills. Sometimes the best food is found in places like these.

A daily special is offered for lunch Tuesdays thru Fridays. The price is not bad, $6.45. I’d say the best of the specials is the Sesame Chicken(Tempura-style – Wednesday lunch special):

The meal comes with a generic iceberg lettuce salad, rice, and miso soup. The miso soup is really not bad for what is usually included in these types of lunch specials, though a bit light on the miso, and salty. The chicken is satisfying, two slices of white meat chicken, coated with tempura type batter, deep fried, brushed with a mildly sweet teriyaki sauce, and finally sprinkled with sesame seeds. As someone very dear to my heart says; "hey, if it’s fried right, it’s got to be pretty good, right?"

Crunchy, salty, fried, slightly sweet……………say no more!

There are other dishes offered for lunch. Here’s the Katsu Don($6.95):

On the good side, the pork cutlet(Tonkatsu) was very moist. On the bad side, everything was too moist, the Tonkatsu and egg was over saturated with the sauce, leaving not one bit of crunchy goodness. Think of over saturated Chicken Parmigiana…why bother breading? The sauce was decent, maybe a bit on the sweet side, with not enough soy, though many people enjoy it that way. The portion size was good, with enough rice and sauce. Though it seems very easy, a good KatsuDon isn’t that easy to make. This also came with the standard miso soup.

One day, I had to try the Teriyaki Chicken(Tuesday lunch special – $6.45):

Not a good move on my part. First off the chicken wasn’t caramelized at all, and had a gummy texture, and though I enjoyed the teriyaki sauce on the sesame chicken, here it didn’t add enough flavor to the dish. In this case the sauce was really wimpy. I’ll stick with the Sesame Chicken.

Just for the heck of it, here’s the ala carte Tempura($5.95):

Didn’t care for the vegetables, zucchini and carrot???? The batter was too thick and not crunchy enough for me, but it wasn’t bad as a whole, I’ve had much worse priced much higher….

Though I still haven’t been back for Dinner, Yoshino’s provides me with a good "rice fix" for lunch, and the prices are very reasonable. Here’s something I noticed, and found interesting, all the Servers are very nice, and are also Japanese, but I have yet to see any Japanese, or anyone of Japanese ancestry in Yoshino’s(except me). But maybe they’re coming for dinner???

Some notes on Yoshino’s: There is inadequate parking for the businesses served, as with everything else in the area. Yoshino’s is closed on Mondays.

Yoshino’s
1790 W Washington St
San Diego, CA 92103

Lunch: Tues-Fri
Dinner: Tues-Sun

Thanks for the reminder Claudine!

Teriyaki Cowboy….Rides into the Sunset

August 2, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Feeling much better, I decided to drive a few blocks to pick up a bento from Teriyaki Cowboy for lunch today. Only to find the place closed, with this note posted on the door:

Bummer! TC, had been a semi-regular stop for inexpensive bentos.

This little Mom and Pop hole-in-the-wall, had a quaint, comfortable atmosphere. Though the food wasn’t great by any means, it was good to fair, and the prices right. Too bad I never got around to posting. So here’s a posthumous Teriyaki Cowboy pictorial.

I’ll miss sitting under my favorite print.

Rest in peace Cowboy, you’ll be missed.