Being adventurous isn't without consequence. Sometimes you discover the hidden gems, sometimes you see what the hype is all about, and sometimes you miss by a mile. The misses are always worth the hits, but sometimes you stick to what know because you can't stand to miss one more time.
Plus restaurant monogamy has its perks, and Izakaya Hachi is my proof. There's not a single non-delicious thing in the entire place, and they're incapable of anything less than stellar.
The beef tongue steak is possibly my favorite steak in all of South Bay. The tender cubes of bleeding Charcoal Grilled Beef Ribeye Steak can't compete but that sweet n' sour ponzu makes them close enough.
Fried foods are playing it safe, and the Deep-Fried Meat Stuffed in Shitake Mushroom is like a juicy mushroom dumpling without the wrapper.
The Creamy Crab Croquette is red-hot crab in a river of cream, but the crab kind of drowns in the cream.
The Red Crab Sunomono has the ratio right. The cold crab is infused through the vinegrated cucumber and wakame seaweed, adding the briny flavor that makes it probably best salad ever.
I hate mackeral sushi with a passion, and I'll even opt out in the case of omekase. Even if it's good, I can't stand the fishy sting. The Battera Mackerel Sushi changed my mind entirely. The slightly tinge made me tingle, but each bite was smooth, and the vinegar highlighted a full-flavored mackeral.
$110 doesn't go far in fine dining, but Izakaya Hachi's prix fixe for four is a steal. The Homemade Sesame Tofu is so simple, yet the firm, cool slices are amazing with a clean combination of sesame and dashi broth.
Fragrant chunks of spectacular tentacular Octopus and Radish Salad are far from forgettable.
The Kumamoto Oysters are west-coast briny and slide down seafoam smooth.
The Tuna and Octopus Sashimi are standard, but that doesn't make them any less savory.
Nankotsu Karaage trumps fried chicken for once. The cartilage has a small surrounding layer of savory fat, and the crunch is oh-so-satisfying.
The Chicken Meatball is a light-but-heavy stick that slugs you with a ground chicken mix.
The beef tongue steak will forever be my favorite but the Pan Fried Beef Intestine makes a good case for itself. The pan-fried chunks are chewy in the best way possible, bursting with a sizzling spicy miso.
Just when I thought that the fun was fine, the Kurobuta Shabu came out. A steaming pot with a hearty mix of all things green and mushrooms with major attitude stewing in Tonkotsu broth with impossibly thin slices of lighter-than-air Berkshire pork. Still I think the best part was finishing the broth with ramen noodles.
The single scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream with a red bean is excessive after a feast like this. Still the red bean is cool and refreshing, a sweet ending that kind of resets your too-full stomach.
I don't know why I blew so much cash elsewhere when I could have just spent it on the prix fixe. The problem is, having 3 friends is harder than it looks, and getting them to show up at the same time is like herding cats. That said, I will herd just about anything to get that prix fixe meal again.
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