Sometimes your in the mood for a nice heavy meal, and sometimes, you'd rather spend the calories on beer. But why must you sacrifice flavor and quality (you can only beer batter SO many things) when you want to have a mostly liquid meal? Well, you don't.
The
izakaya, or Japanese "snack bars," revolution has swept over Los Angeles like it's famous brothers before: cupcakes, frozen yogurt, "
shmancy" pizza.
Izakaya has spread all over the city from east to west, and is even featured in January's
Los Angeles magazine. So with a desire to stay with the times coupled with my equal desire to drown my day with sake and cold beer, I headed to West Hollywood's
Kiichi with one of my best dining partners, Sam (wait - didn't I call him a drunk the last time I blogged about our food adventure? I'll try to be kinder).
I'm always a little weary when I'm one of 5 people in a restaurant, which was the case with
Kiichi on a Saturday night. However, I was there so I was going to give it my all - and I'm glad I did. Luckily we made it right before last call on Happy Hour, which opened the door to $2.50 beers and $3 bottles of Sake. They also were happy to have us order more than one drink to take advantage of the happy hour prices, but were kind enough to keep the beers chilled until we required a refill. I guess that's one of the benefits of a slow night at
Kiichi.
One of the other benefits was fantastic service. Not only did Sam and I enjoy a 3 hour dinner/drinking fest (heavy on the latter), but everything we ordered was recommended by the staff (I left it up to the experts), and everything was fantastic. So, let's get down to it:
We started with
Yellowtail &
Jalapeno Sashimi ($8.50) which was on the special menu. If you like a little spice in your life, you will love this dish. The
yellowtail is so fresh, it basically falls apart in your mouth. This was my favorite part of the whole meal.
Next we moved on to the
Sashimi Tortilla ($6) also on the specials menu. Anytime I can combine my two loves: Mexican and Japanese, I'm one happy
chica. Here, tortilla chips are topped with tuna
sashimi, fresh cilantro, avocado and chili sauce.
Taka me to the border!
Next,
Raymond's favorite dish: Everybody Loves Spicy Tuna Roll ($7.50). A crispy rice cake is topped with spicy tuna and jalapenos in a bite sized treat (actually, it's two bites - these honkers are huge). There's really yummy and creamy, spicy and crispy. I'm starting to sound like a Taco Bell commercial but you get the deal.
I swear this next roll was created by a mom trying to get her husband to eat vegetables -
Teriyaki Beef Roll ($7.50). Crispy grilled
asparagus is tenderly wrapped in thin slices of beef and drizzled with
teriyaki sauce. Oh man, this dish was rich and
delish. I should note that their portions are huge for tapas style food, and by this time Sam and I were stuffed. I should ALSO note that somewhere in between these dishes and our second bottle of sake, I also had the Scallop
Ceviche ($5) which jumped into my mouth faster than I could take a photo. Another refreshing fish dish that I couldn't get enough of.
So there you have it. Sam and I left
Kiichi full of good food and good drinks and ready to take on the night. If you're in the mood for light fare, and great service, than hit up this West Hollywood spot for a meal you won't forget.
Kiichi8351 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, 90069
(323) 654-4404$-$
A few people have asked me for Valentines Day recommendations, so below are some of my favorite romantic restaurants in Los Angeles:
