Izumiya – Get busy and get yaki
If you go to Nihonmachi Mall during Christmas season, visit the Kinokuniya bookstore for some soothingly aesthetic greeting cards and folding snow globes, then walk around the bench and feed your gaze on the delicious window display of Sophie’s Crepes. Then glance to your right, oh… what is this? Winter Toy Land? No, it’s this teeny beehive resto called Izumiya with their frontal lit up like a runway for Santa’s helicopter, reminding me of Prep and Landing.
Intrigued, we snugged in. Believe me, even if the weather outside were in the negatives, it couldn’t get any warmer in this packed place. The waitresses skillfully whizzed back and forth and sidestepped through single-person-wide aisles, heat radiated from the grill, the platters and the chatters, faces glowed under the reddish hue of dim light. Paper signs on the sliding door said “Karaoke 9 pm – 2 am”. How would they arrange enough room? Where did they hide the screen? I couldn’t imagine a larger crowd within those walls. Ever since college days I usually feel a bit tighten up if I have to practice my munching three feet away from some strangers, but what the heck, if it’s busy it must be good, the flies wouldn’t call people here otherwise (*).
There were the bentos and the sushis like usual, but the house focus was strings and strands. Yakisoba (fried noodle – $8.50) with squid, beef, shrimp, egg, and a pinch of ruby pickled radish (that I’ve had at Anzu but have no idea what it’s called or what it is. Help, anyone?). There was hardly any remnant of oil. Tonkatsu sauce lent the bundle a sour and salty whiff, which subtly forced you to take one small twirl at a time to fully savor its hidden strength.
Yaki ($8.25), short for okonomiyaki, or “cooked [pancake] with anything you want”. It’s been a while and I can’t remember what I wanted then, but that scrumptious mixture of buttery batter, crunchy crust and cabbage, soft sweet potato, and lush squirts of mayonnaise is unforgettable.
The pancake looked small, I wanted two, but a second one would doom me unfit to sidestep through the body-wide aisle. At the end we left the table with content, a fairly healthy lunch, and twenty dollars fewer in our wallet.
I know I’m such a turtle for delaying this post nearly three months after chowing, but the food is seasonless, and does seasonal look matter after all? Surely Izumiya has long taken down their Christmas decor, but the attraction doesn’t come from flashing light bulbs and puffy toys. Now the name sign stands out, and the colorful plastic yet realistic plates behind the window look more splendid than ever.
Address: Izumiya (inside Nihonmachi Mall, Japan Town)
1581 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 441-6867
* Vietnamese people would jokingly say someone is “called by the flies” if they somehow show up just in time for food without planning ahead. It’s not a demeaning, belittling, or any kind of negative remark.
There are some attention-grabbing closing dates on this article but I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There’s some validity but I will take maintain opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we would like more! Added to FeedBurner as properly
1Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.
2주소콘에서 필요한 웹사이트 주소를 쉽고 빠르게 찾아보세요. 분야별 주소모음과 링크모음, 주소찾기 방법부터 변경된 주소 확인, 안전한 링크 확인 방법까지 한눈에 살펴볼 수 있습니다.
3Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
4주소콘에서 필요한 웹사이트 주소를 쉽고 빠르게 찾아보세요. 분야별 주소모음과 링크모음, 주소찾기 방법부터 변경된 주소 확인, 안전한 링크 확인 방법까지 한눈에 살펴볼 수 있습니다.
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