Yakitoriya

Last night Cherry introduced me to a yakitori restaurant on Sawtelle called Yakioriya. We decided to be adventurous and order things we'd never tried before. The minimum requirement was 5 skewers each, so it was really more a matter of deciding which four we weren't going to order. We couldn't resist asking about the special on the wall listed as "soft bone." We were no better off after the waitress explained the dish to us, but in our adventurous state, we decided to try it anyway. After we ate it, we still didn't know what it was. Chicken, definitely, but which part(s)? Anyway, the meat around the "soft bone" was delicious. The "soft bone" not quite soft enough for our western palates.

Cherry did a little internet research and sent me this quote from a New York yakitoriya:

"Try as we might, we never got to sample “soft knee bone” (only two per chicken, after all) or the enigmatic “soft bone,” which, the waitress explained, requires three chickens per serving. Where was this bone? The waitress turned and pointed at her bottom. "

Our other adventurous skewers were liver (I prefer it blended into paté, but it was tasty with the really really spicy mustard they served on the side) and gizzards (good flavor, crunchy texture...like cartilage. Wouldn't try it twice).

We also had a side of skin served on green onions shredded super fine and soaked in ponzu sauce. My favorite dish was a side of rice which I've forgotten the name of. It was served with pickled ginger and seaweed and was so cute with a little quail egg cracked over the top.

We did not feel adventurous enough to try the "premature egg," nor did we ask about the "toriwasa" which Cherry just informed me is raw chicken.

To finish off we had their homemade ice cream: black sesame and blood orange. Delicious.