Now, when it comes to Japanese, I’ve had my share of sushi, teriyaki, katsu and izakaya, but yakitori was new to me. So basically, it’s a charcoal-grilled shish kabob, and they grill ‘em all at Kintori Yakitori, this funky little joint on top of a ramen restaurant in Little Korea.
Now, this place has just about every kind of meat you can imagine—pork belly, duck breast, beef tongue and whole squid, just to name a few. But whether it’s belly, cheek or chicken, they serve ‘em up the same way—no marinade, no seasoning, just straight to the grill, bro! The skewers cost a couple bucks a pop, and I could probably eat 23 of these…but I didn’t, cuz that would cost a pretty penny. But not everything at Kintori comes on a stick, though:
Now, what’s better than a deep-fried chicken wing? A deep-fried chicken wing stuffed with a dim sum dumpling, son! This dish was super-crispy, chicken was tender, and then you get hit with pork dumpling smack dab in the middle! I dunno how they do it, but I could easily eat seven of these and still have room for dessert!
They call this yaki onigiri, which is not as sweet as it sounds. They take a ball of rice, put some teriyaki plum stuff on the inside, and grill it until the bottom is burned. I guess it’s an acquired taste. Hey man, I’ll try anything once—as long as it’s not vegan—but gimme a nice, crispy, deep-fried Mars bar any day!
Burgers, Bacon & Beer 