Teriyaki Favorites

Credit: Kevin P. Casey

Yesterday, our art director went to Okinawa Teriyaki, the teriyaki shop around the corner from the Weekly offices that we've been going to obsessively while I was writing this week's teriyaki story. Okinawa is the source of most of the photos that we used to illustrate the story (we paid for all the food Kevin shot), and so Chris asked them what they thought of the article.

"You took all those pictures and then we weren't in the article," the owner complained. 

So, yeah, an apology to Okinawa for not crediting them in the photos. In the piece I mentioned that the point of teriyakis wasn't to hit any culinary high points but to be fast, fresh, and convenient, but I do have a few favorites that I want to give a shout out to:

Okinawa Teriyaki, 1022 Alaskan Way, Seattle: I know it's completely convenient, but I think Okinawa's pork katsu rocks, and I also get their tofu teppanyaki and their udon soup a lot. Ten steps above the norm.

Teriyaki Madness, 127 15th Ave. E.: I talked to the Ahns, who owned the 15th Ave. Teriyaki Madness, partially because I'm a fan of their food, which is good renditions of teriyaki basics. Recommended: the short ribs and the cucumber salad.

University Teriyaki, 4108 University Way NE: Though it was so far from the Japanese original as to be a completely different dish, University Teriyaki had some of the best chicken teriyaki I've tasted—the sauce is more overtly Korean than anyone else's (I'd swear there's a little bean paste in with the soy, garlic, chiles, and sugar). Plus they recently added a menu of Korean dishes that looks promising.

Toshi's Teriyaki Redmond: The teriyaki at this Toshi's, which has been owned by a South African Indian couple for almost two decades, is fine, but their spicy grilled chicken, which is rubbed with a delicious mix of Indian herbs and spices, is better (eat it with the chili paste, not the teriyaki sauce they serve with it). They now sell South African meat pies, too.

You have any other favorites?