TIL ("Today I Learned"): yakitori is a Japanese word meaning "grilled" (yaki) "fowl" (tori), meaning it technically refers only to Japanese grilled / barbecued chicken skewers. But, since most yakitori joints also serve plenty of other delicious grilled barbecue meats and veggies, my whole life, I've always (mistakenly) assumed the term referred to all Japanese grilled skewers.
While I was wrong about what, exactly, technically, yakitori is, I assure you I am not wrong that it is delicious.
The meat or veggies are cut into bite-sized pieces, skewered, then roasted over a (typically) charcoal grill. There are primarily two ways yakitori is seasoned, either with salt and lemon juice or with tare sauce, which is a sweet sauce made from mirin, sake, soy sauce, and ginger. Here in the U.S., I've almost exclusively had the kind with tare sauce.
My friends and I were in Burlingame, California for a convention a few weeks back and looking for a quick bite to eat. There were a lot of very good options for Asian food in the area, according to Yelp, but we settled on Mokutanya, a Japanese spot serving ramen, yakitori, and other miscellaneous Japanese foods, like karage (Japanese fried chicken).
Mokutanya
1155 California Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 348-9388
While I was wrong about what, exactly, technically, yakitori is, I assure you I am not wrong that it is delicious.
The meat or veggies are cut into bite-sized pieces, skewered, then roasted over a (typically) charcoal grill. There are primarily two ways yakitori is seasoned, either with salt and lemon juice or with tare sauce, which is a sweet sauce made from mirin, sake, soy sauce, and ginger. Here in the U.S., I've almost exclusively had the kind with tare sauce.
My friends and I were in Burlingame, California for a convention a few weeks back and looking for a quick bite to eat. There were a lot of very good options for Asian food in the area, according to Yelp, but we settled on Mokutanya, a Japanese spot serving ramen, yakitori, and other miscellaneous Japanese foods, like karage (Japanese fried chicken).
Mokutanya
1155 California Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 348-9388
The decor of the restaurant is very adorable, almost romantic. Each of the tables is in its own glass "room" and the chairs are sunken into the floor so that, to passersby, you look like you're sitting at a traditional Japanese kotatsu-style dining table—low to the ground, on cushions rather than chairs. There's a cubby seating area outside each of the glass "rooms" for diners to leave their shoes.
Photo Credit: Thrillist
I failed to grab a good picture of my own, but here's one courtesy of Thrillist.
We opted for a few appetizers to share: seaweed salad, karage (Japanese fried chicken), and fried Japanese yam chips. We then each ordered the skewers we wanted. My go-to yakitori, by the way, are chicken thigh (もも momo), chicken skin (とりかわ torikawa), wagyu beef, cartilage (sorry, I am Taiwanese and I love the texture), and various veggies, like shishito peppers, sweet potatoes / yams, and bacon-wrapped asparagus.
For those more adventurous than I, Mokutanya has "exotic meat" night twice a week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM. According to their website, they serve such meat as peacock, iguana, venison, alligator, buffalo, wild boar, kangaroo, swan, and silkworms. Online reviews suggest they often serve additional "exotic meat." This isn't my cup of tea, personally, but just be aware that Wednesday and Thursday nights tend to be packed, so either avoid those nights if you're like me, or make a reservation in advance if you're "game."
Overall, Mokutanya's yakitori was pretty tasty and not too expensive. We didn't try the ramen, so I can't offer an opinion. If I had one complaint, it would be that the service was very slow and the food came out at a snail's pace, even though we were there around 2:00 PM and the place was far from full. I don't mind leisurely service at times, but we were pretty hungry and they actually never brought us our rice (we wound up asking them to strike the charge), which is basically sacrilege. GIVE ME THE CARBS PLEASE.
Rating: 7/10, would recommend for a leisurely date or night out with friends. Be careful of "exotic" night.
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