Sunday, August 28, 2016

Honda Ya Izakaya - Los Angeles


Honda-Ya is well-hidden, tucked into a Little Tokyo mall. It takes some work to find, buried in plain sight above several random floors of stores. Not the most memorable location, and the generic grill is as boring as the mall it came in.


The skewers are strung with quality ingredients, but they are the blandest and priciest I've ever had. The Beef Tongue is a tender, juicy favorite, but this one is just okay.



And thus, a parade of lightly-salted, slightly-tender things-served-on-sticks begins. The Chicken Hearts are up next. They may have been brushed with a bit of sauce, but it made no impression whatsoever. Even my favorite guilty-pleasure Pork Belly is blah. Shishito Peppers are a break from mediocre meat, but there's not much to say about a string of peppers.



I've never see Duck served anywhere else, and I see why. It's dry enough to be jerky and had all the flavors of what I can only describe as mystery meat. I was really looking forward to the Scallops, but even that rich strip of roe isn't saving them.



The Chicken Cartilage is the blandest cut of all, tasteless scraps of white meat clinging to crunchy rib-tips. Lamb Chops are my splurge-y treat, but they fall just as flat.



Even my favorite Chicken Skin was the worst I've had. No salt and impressively dry.


DineLA heaped high praise on Honda-Ya's offal-on-a-stick, yet nothing stuck out about any of their skewers. Two thumbs DOWN for these top-dollar doldrums.
Izakaya Honda-Ya Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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