Izakaya Masa - A Quiet Place for Lunch

Izakaya Masa is a little Mom and Pop Izakaya, located in little strip mall(with even less parking) on Fort Stockton Drive in Mission Hills. It used to be Teriyaki Cowboy, a nice teriyaki and bento shop, that was always pretty empty. Like a Phoenix rising out of the ashes. Teriyaki Cowboy has reinvented itself, and is now Izakaya Masa.

I visited Izakaya Masa when it first reopened, and well, though the menu had been expanded, and there was more sushi to be had, I really was not too impressed. I also didn't bring my camera along....and than came Naomi Wise's review for the Reader. Being not too fond of crowds I decided to let Izakaya Masa "rest" for a while, before finally settling in for a few lunches over the last couple of months. The little restaurant is reasonably close to work, and I enjoy the lunch time vibe, very relaxed, and quiet.....though the selection of Sake, Shochu, and Chu-hi is quite impressive and tempting.

Maybe you need a closer look:

An nice variety of Sake's on the list including Kubota Manju ($19/glass, $130/bottle), and Kubota Hekijyu ($12/glass, $80/bottle).

But since I'm here for lunch..........

My favorite lunch dish at Izakaya Masa is the Katsu Don(In this case chicken - $7):

I enjoy the sauce for the Katsudon, it is neither too sweet, nor too salty/fishy. The chicken is usually moist, and the Katsu is not over saturated and mushy. The one problem is with the breading technique as the panko will tend to peel off the chicken, which if the Missus was here, would be a no-no. Still flavor-wise I enjoy the Katsudon at Izakaya Masa. Of course the flavor that Beni shoga(sliced pickled ginger), and the green onions add cannot be denied.

A few weeks later I had the pleasure of grabbing a bite with JosephE, very active Chowhounder, and FOY (friend of yoso). Since he had not tried Izakaya Masa, we decided on grabbing a meal there.

Since Joseph had not tried Ankimo(monkfish liver), I decided to start with that.

This version was a bit on the hard side, in fact it had a bit of "squeak"(think almost cheese curds) to it. I'd have preferred the Ankimo to be a bit more creamy and rich. The flavor was very faint, though not too bad.

Joseph ordered the Tempura Bento Box ($8):

It looked like a nice variety of tempura, along with miso soup, green salad, and rice. I'll let Joseph take it from here: "I remember being pleased by the crispness of the coating and the delicate cream color, which suggested fresh, hot oil and good timing. There was no greasiness or coating of oil to mar the finish. I liked the variety of vegetables and thought the shrimp was still tender. I remember being particularly fascinated by the shiso leaf tempura, which was crisp as if it had been frozen in a dusting of snow." There you have it!

I ordered a dish that was from the old Teriyaki Cowboy menu, Masa's Fried Chicken ($7):

This is basically a spicy Chicken Karaage, I had wondered what changes, if any had been made since I last ate this dish. After a bite of the chunks of deep fried dark meat chicken, I could detect no difference. The batter had a mild spiciness(almost like something made with Kimchi base), and was not too salty. I also quickly found out that the batter was not crunchy, and the chicken was inexplicably tough and dry......

Portion-wise, throwing in the standard miso soup, gohan(rice), and green salad with a tangy ginger based dressing, and this was a pretty large lunch.

A few weeks later, I dropped by, in need of a fried-food fix, and ordered the Kushi-age Lunch($8):

Kushiage are basically skewered(Kushi), fried(Age) items. This is one of the more interesting lunch items on the menu at Izakaya Masa. For lunch, a variety of 4 panko breaded items are served. On this day, it was Renkon(Lotus Root), Shiitake Mushroom, Pork, and Dark Meat Chicken, all served with a bowl of Katsu-sauce.

The Renkon had no woodsy-earthy flavor to be found and was hard. To me was just a vehicle for the sauce.

The Shiitake Mushroom...tasted well, like Shiitake Mushroom, and was a bit on the tough side. I had expected a contrasting texture between the breading and the mushroom.

The chicken was moist and tender, if a bit mild in flavor.

The best item was the Buta(pork) Kushiage:

I expected tough and fatty, but got moist and soft, with just a touch of fat for flavor. Combined with the slightly tangy-savory flavor provided by the Katsu sauce, this was an excellent combination of flavor and texture.

Finally, recently I tried the Tonkatsu Curry-Rice($7). After ordering, I could hear the pork cutlet being pounded and tenderized, the sound of egg being beaten for my cutlet, by the time I heard the sizzle as the cutlet hit the oil I could have tried out for the part of one of Pavlov's Dogs . Here's what arrived at the table.

Nice tender pork cutlet, though again the breading would peel off the meat. I didn't care for the curry, it was too thin and runny, and though it had a bit of spiciness, the curry flavor in itself was very mild. The sauteed veggies dumped onto the cutlet didn't really impress me much either. I think I'll stick with the Katsudon.

And to answer your question before it's asked, no Izakaya Masa in not in the same league as Izakaya Sakura. That said, Izakaya Masa is more inexpensive. Overall Izakaya Masa is a nice little neighborhood "chochin" (red lantern) Izakaya. If I lived in the neighborhood, I'd probably be a regular like Gil and Krista. For now I'll settle for a nice quiet place for a reasonably priced lunch.

Some notes on Izakaya Masa: There are only 8 or so parking stalls in the strip mall, so parking is at a premium. The street parking (metered during the day) may be your best bet. If you want to sit at the "sake counter" you should make reservations.

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103
619-542-1354

Tues-Fri 1130pm - 230pm
  5pm - 10pm
Sat  5pm - 10pm
Sun      1130pm - 230pm
  5pm - 10pm

Comments

[Carol]

Hey Kirk! I think I'll stick with Sakura since it's closer to me and Izakaya Masa doesn't seem as good. I love a good katsu curry over rice and the one here just doesn't look all that appetizing. Don't care for runny curry. I need to try Sakura's--I noticed the guy at the table next to ours eating curry over rice and it was thick with lots of "things" in it. Thanks for the review!

[Kathy]

Hey Kirk!
The monkfish liver looks really interesting, esp the two toned color! I don't think I've seen it on any menu here in Hawaii, maybe I'll just have to look more carefully next time :)

[elmomonster]

You had me at the deep fried sticks of food. I'm salivating, seriously!

[Michael]

Hi Kirk,
You must have a tape worm brother. I could never keep up with your voracious appetite. Looks great, Especially the Monk fish liver. One of my fav fishes.

[jeff c]

AAAAyahhh, you've done it now Kirk, you've set the Katsu don monster free again. My wife will rue the day that I discovered your blog.

[Chubbypanda]

Nooo! Peeling panko is a sin against fried foods.

They should have named it "Cowboy Izakaya".

[toisan]

I've yet to try the place, and I drive by it at least twice a day (to and from work). I think I'll finally give it a try. The curry is tempting me.

[RONW]

nice pics, Kirk. Thumbs down on the "runny curry."

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - You know....I've never had the Curry at Sakura, it seems that I'm always distracted by other things.

Hi Kathy - You've never had Ankimo? Check it out...I think you'll love it. Get it from a good sushi bar, though......

Hi Elmo - Oh-oh, you'll need to put out the "caution, drooling monster" sign now!

Hi Michael - You'll love this....when I first read your comment, I thought you said, my Brother was a tape worm....had to read it again! LOL!

Hi Jeff - Yours is not the only monster set loose. Guess what the Missus had me make for dinner? Yep, Katsudon......

Hi CP - I love it, Cowboy Izakaya...."Oh give me a home, where the Maguro roam....."

Hi Toisan - The menu is nice and varied, it's pretty good. I didn't care much for the curry though.

Hi RONW - he-he-he, make that a double thumbs down!