| rev:text
| - I have been using Yelp for restaurant ideas now for several months, but have never been moved to write a review until tonight. Tonight, there was no way that I would pass up this opportunity to rave about the first true Izakaya tavern that I have found here in Las Vegas.
I have never even heard of Izakaya taverns until a good friend of ours introduced us to Musha in Torrance, CA and it's been a whirlwind love affair since then. I love the casual, Authentic Japanese atmosphere of these places. From the entire restaurant staff greeting you with a hearty "Irashaimashite!" as you walk in to the almost-guaranteed "we'll see you next time!" It's never a goodbye, as they know that you will be back..... oh yes, you WILL be back. There is just that special feeling that you get when you go to an Izakaya tavern.
And it was no different for me this time around. At first we were leery of this place, seeing as how we have never heard of it until I did a Google search for "Izakaya Vegas". But the fact that the first hit was a review on Yelp with multiple 5-star recommendations, there was no way I was going to be swayed by my belief that there is no such thing as "Genuine" in Las Vegas. Am I ever glad that we did. This place brought back such fond memories of the fun that we had with our friends at Musha. From the Buta Kakuni to the broiled beef tongue and the Garlic butter clams, this place had everything that I liked Including more reasonable pricing! Dishes ranged from $1.75 for assorted single skewered meats (Beef tongue, chicken wings, chicken balls) to around $8.95+ for the sashimi plates, with most items ranging in the $4-$5 range.
For our first visit, we tried out the:
-Shisyamo Age - which are crisp deep fried smelt(3 pieces) stuffed with roe - Boneless and absolutely delicious with either the provided salt or some asked-for ponzu.
-Beef Tataki - Tender seared beef slices dipped in Ponzu
-Yamakake - Tuna sashimi with Yam Potato and some slimy stuff that I just could not identify (I liked it, but people who judge food by texture may be turned off by it. - Not for everybody)
-Vegetable Croquettes - Mashed potatoes, veggies, wrapped in panko and fried until the outside is crisp and crunchy while the inside if hot and well.... mashed potatoe'y? kind of like a breaded and deep fried Sheperd's Pie, I suppose.
- Broiled Black Cod - The Hands-Down star of tonight's dinner. Yummy buttery black cod with a sweet tangy marinade and the skin broiled to a crisp ... absolutely delightful.
- Kushi-Tan - Broiled beef tongue on a skewer - The staple of every Izakaya tavern I've ever been to. A Squeeze of lemon and you're good to go.
- Kaku-ni - Pork Belly, simmered for hours in mirin, shoyu, sugar etc. until it's chopstick-tender and practically melts in your mouth. Can sometimes be really fatty because of the cut of the meat, but lucikly ours was fairly lean, maybe we got lucky, or maybe they select leaner cuts? Guess I'll have to order it again next time to find out! a small bowl of rice is a must.
- And the clencher - Bacon wrapped Mochi on a stick. Broiled to a crisp, yet chewy .... and bacon'y ..... and mochi'y ... it's freaking mocchi and bacon, how else would you describe it? ... you need to try this for yourself if you're adventurous enough, or just hate your heart.
Ichiza is definitely an instant favorite and a must-visit for all of my out-of-town buds.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)