I was excited to see if Mr. H would like sushi, or understand the concept of small plate dining. He is a meat and potatoes guy. But away we went. Obento Ya was very busy, and we were seated at the bar area (which is just fine - it is a small place and I was happy to see it busy) and we ordered the following things:
Appetizer: Octopus Pancake Ball (Takoyaki)
Sushi/Rolls: Unagi Nigiri, The Ebiten Big Ten (tempura shrimp, yama-gobo, cucumber, lettuce, & eel sauce)
Small plates:
Bacon Asparagus Roll
Octopus Robata (grilled)
Scallop Katsu
Sake flight for $10 (I don't remember what they were and I couldn't find an online listing, unfortunately.)
The sushi items came out first:
We were so hungry we ate the Unagi and almost forgot to take a pic. The unagi as usual is gorgeous. Velvety, lush, sweet and savory. The Big Ten roll was very good - the comforting taste of the tempura came through nicely, and there's good yama gobo crunch. Mr. H surprised me by really liking both types immediately. For some, even myself, sushi can be an acquired taste. Now I have a sushi eating partner! Which is awesome, because eating sushi with someone always adds to the experience - which is ultimately the main pleasure of eating sushi and Japanese foods, in my opinion.Next, several of the other plates came out:
Takoyaki:
These were CRAZY. I have no idea how this is made, and cannot find a recipe online to indicate ingredients. This is hands down the most complex thing I've ever eaten - even Mr. H said that immediately upon eating one. Imagine a sort of bread-ey meatball, but the inside is mooshy, and there are chunks of octopus throughout. These were very savory and a little sweet. I don't know what the sauces on top are. Very texturally complex, with the more firm outside, the soft inside adn the firm octopus. They weren't bad at all, not fishy tasting or too rubbery. I would recommend this to any adventerous eater looking to have their mind blown a little.Octopus Robata
I have never had octopus before, but know it can be rubbery. This did not seem rubbery, but octopus is quite firm and toothsome. To me, the flavor and texture on this resembled mushrooms, which I do not care for. Mr. H said it tasted like sea to him, but maybe our ideas of what sea tastes like is different. I didn't care for this, but it was a great experience to try it.Bacon wrapped Asparagus Roll:
I can't say this isn't Japanese, because as far as I know they could eat it every day over there. However, bacon is very American to me, and this was awesome and tastes exactly how you would think. Nice fatty, salty bacon and firm asparagus inside. Yum!Scallop Katsu:
On my previous trip, I had the Scallop Tempura. I think I prefer that to katsu, because there is something so comforting about tempura that I love. Katsu is good too, but it doesn't add anythign to the scallop inside. The katsu sauce reminds me of a Japanese BBQ sauce, and I really like it.Sake flight:
This was more generous than I thought, and the sake's increased from a light sake, to a sweet sake that even had a hint of a "licorice" type flavor. Very nice compliments to our food!After this feast, we were full, but Mr. H pointed out that he had not eaten anything raw, and was disappointed by this. So, we order the yellowtail nigiri sushi, which I've never had before. I didn't take a picture, but it's a white fish and it was awesome. I've only ever had the unagi nigiri before, and this was very differnt. Eel has a definite flavor to it, and this was just light, lush and delectable. Mr H and I both loved it.
For dessert, we had to order the chocolate banana crepe, which I had last time and loved. This time was no different - and Mr. H and I devoured it quickly.
Greats:
-Yellowtail nigiri
-Big Ten Roll
-Sake flight
-Obento-Ya is consistent, and the servers are always really cool and helpful
Not so greats:
-Octopus is weird
-I ate so much that I got really really full.
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