My cousin Robert came home last month from his first enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. He actually just got promoted, so I should be calling him Sgt. Robert E. Lee.
Although we don't get to do it that often anymore now that everyone is a bit busy/a bit dispersed. I lovelove.love spending time with my cousins nonetheless. It's always entertaining whenever we're together. On my mom's side of the family there are seven brothers and sisters, and out of all of them, there's seven of us cousins! (everyone came in two's except for me of course) No matter how near or far we get from each other, it's nice to know that we have each other, always. I'm so grateful to be able to have such a supportive family, I really am lucky.
With that said, we love to eat, drink, and be merry (and then some). We definitely spend more than we should on things that we don't need. We're not afraid of excess, and sometimes it can get the better of us. More often than not, we get the better end of the deal though.
Half of my cousins have been to Japan and a couple of them couldn't stop raving about the 'izakaya' there. Here are a few terms that might help you with this post:
- An izakaya (居酒屋) is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks.
- Yakitori (焼き鳥, やきとり, ヤキトリ), grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term "yakitori" can also refer to skewered food in general.
- Kushiyaki (skewer grilled), is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled. Both yakitori and kushiyaki mean the same, so the terms are used interchangeably in Japanese society.
This place in Brighton/Allston just opened up and us Lee's couldn't help but give them our monies.
After a couple of hours skating around Frog Pond, we were ready for some beer and meat on sticks.
Right when you walk in you're faced with a bar area on the left, where you can sit down and relax with a Sapporo - or 4 - before you head to the dining area.
There's a little window that you can peer into if you're sitting at the bar. It gives you a view into the kitchen where all the magic happens. ** I was being such a creeper taking these **
Unfortunately this was my least favorite part of our visit. Right when we got there, they ran out of Sapporo. HOW DO YOU RUN OUT OF THE ONLY BEER YOU HAVE ON DRAFT?? We gave them the benefit of the doubt, because they had only been open for a couple weeks at that point, but still they're located right down the street from a store that sells kegs; buy some moar. They served us some piping hot green tea, which was much appreciated though, and the staff was quite pleasant.
We ended up waiting about an hour to get seated...
My cousin and I contemplated grabbing a slice of pizza around the corner as a snack, but were showed our seats right before we threw in the towel.
And I'm so glad we didn't
"we'll have six of everything on this page" to start of course. The menu is loaded with pictures so if you don't know exactly what to expect you can see it! We ordered pretty much everything you could possibly order that came on a skewer. From fried chicken skins, to beef tongue it was all delicious. I personally am in love with mackerel, I think it's a severely underrated option when you head to a sushi place. Not to mention that when it comes to tuna, overfished isn't even the word to describe the epidemic. I try to stay away from any tuna that's not sustainably raised, plus I personally like the stronger taste that mackerel holds.
Aburi Shime Saba No Oshizushi is a must order if you enjoy mackerel y'all!
excuse my shotty iPhone pictures for this post, I'll be sure to bring a decent camera the next time I go.
Everything is made to order, but not to worry the dishes come out fast and hot.
I've never had smelt before, but it's a staple that I'll have from here on out.
These little suckers go great with sake (as they're supposed to) and the dipping sauce was a great accompaniment.
Here's a brief overview of what we ordered (that I can remember):
- Aburi Salmon No Oshizushi lightly cooked salmon and sushi rice pressed in a box
- Okonomiyaki japanese-style pancake with pork and seafood
- Beef sushi
- Sunagimo gizzard
- Momo thigh
- Torikawa chicken skin
- Butabara pork belly
- Gyutan beef tongue
- Karubi beef short rib
- Shishamo smelt
- Tsukune chicken meatballs
- Ninniku garlic
- Bonjiri chicken tail
- Bacon & Enoki bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms
- Gyukotsu Ramen ramen noodles in a beef bone broth with toppings
- Kaisen Don * assorted sashimi over a bed of sushi rice
- Green tea ice cream
- Flan
- 2 bottles of sake
- more beers than we can count
- 2 nips we "found" (in our pockets)
I can't really do a traditional review because it was my first time and they just opened so they really didn't have their bearings just yet. Only critiques would be to one, make sure you have enough alcohol, more importantly the only beer that you have on draft in stock. Try to maximize turnover, an hour wait is really way too long when there are open tables.
Other than that, I highly highly recommend you go to this place if you wanna try something new, or if you want really good yakitori. Everything on the menu was fresh, they have specials that rotate daily! And the prices are more than reasonable.