| rev:text
| - Basis for my starred ratings (which skews heavily to the food or drink):
1 star: Never again.
2 stars: Poor food, poor experience, extraordinary measures in order for me to come back.
3 stars: Average, nothing really special, nothing particularly bad.
4 stars: Very good, would definitely return.
5 stars: A favorite, one of the best.
I agree, the service here can be slow. I also agree, this is not your typical izakaya joint. But you know what, some of the best izakaya in LA aren't "traditional" izakaya joints either. So that being said, there is much good food to redeem this place.
First, a note to the sushi people. This is NOT a sushi joint. If you're coming here expecting great sushi, you will be disappointed. The sushi here is average at best, and I people that come here just for that, don't know what izakaya is about.
Izakaya. Japanese gastropub. Not sushi restaurant. You order beer. You eat tapas-style. You get yaki-tori and fried food and eat with your hands. In every case, Japanese restaurant does not equal sushi joint.
As noted by many, the tonkotsu ramen here is actually pretty darn good, and I'd say one of the best in the Valley. (See my review of Tampopo in Tempe.) They don't make their noodles in-house. but they are always chewy. I have always, ALWAYS, gotten a perfect soft-boiled egg here, which is no small feat. The broth is deep, rich, and on the right side of salty (although I do suspect they use some MSG, which really isn't a huge problem. Get over the MSG thing people, very few of you actually have sensitivity to it, you need to eat huge amounts of it, and glutamates are in SO MANY FOODS naturally, says - almost every study out here.)
The yaki-tori also shines here, along with the other skewered delights. Try the chicken hearts people. And the gizzard. They are chewy and delicious. So is the beef tongue, and the ama-ebi (whole sweet shrimp). EAT THE HEAD. It is good, it won't kill you.
Also delicious are the flash fried shishito peppers and the cartilage. (Not cartridge, as it's written on the menu.) Every deep fried here is deep fried in rice flour, which makes for a ever so slightly crunchy and delicate batter. The cartilage is crunch on crunch and when you have it alongside the cabbage with sweet mayo, the salty-sweet combo makes for a satisfying snack.
And the fried chicken wings. These may be, very possibly, the best non-Buffalo wings in the Valley. They come out hot. They come out crispy. They are huge. And they are damn tasty.
So again, I implore you. Don't stick with the sushi. Treat the place like an izakaya, drink some beers, and stack the skewers.
(Honda Ya, Furaibo, you guys are still safe at 5-stars at home in LA.)
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