It's places like this that keep me in SoCal. The cost of living is astronomical, and good food is never cheap, but there's no magic like ducking into a 9-seater bar-only mom-and-pop grill with a handwritten menu that you can barely see in a random strip mall off of PCH.
They're known for their oden, various items stewed in soup. We tried just the Chicken Ball, which is juicy and meaty, though a little too chewy to cleanly cut with chopsticks.
There's a small-plate Abalone with garlic butter, where the thin and tender strips sizzle and sing over a bed of salad greens.
The Grilled Shrimp with sea salt is simple yet out-of-the-ocean fresh.
A Cod Roe Rice Ball is hearty and dense, necessarily filling between the slow stream of courses.
The Dashi Omelet is another more substantial dish, fluffy egg-sponge soaked in sweeter soups.
A hearty Pork Bowl showcases curly strips of soy belly, with fat the drips between the underlying grains of rice.
The charm of this particular izakaya lies in its literal interpretation of "mom-and-pop". Pop makes the food and mom does everything else. They make a functional team, but they are not the ones to rely on if your dining is time-sensitive. Your food will be many things here, but it will not be fast. That said, if you're looking for a relaxing night of quiet conversation with someone you know well over sips of beer and lighter nibbles, there are many worse and few better seats in the South Bay than the nine bar stools here.
No comments:
Post a Comment