Just a couple of recent revisits.
Katsu Café:
Wanting to stay close to the office, but needing to get "out", I decided on revisiting Katsu Café. The last time I was here was right after the change over from Teri Café. In all honesty, the place looks exactly the same. It's also really popular.......it was filled when I left. Funny thing, there's still nothing called "katsu" on the menu. The tonkatsu and chicken katsu are still called "cutlet" on the menu. Go figure.Technically, they are serving "katsuretsu"....but still.
Not feeling very creative I ordered the Chicken Katsu Cutlet.
While still not the huge protein-fest I had on my previous visit; the portion size was still more than adequate. No changes in my opinion of the green salad and mac salad.....though does anyone find that a bit redundant?
The chicken was fried well, the panko crust golden brown and crisp. The chicken was on the dry side. My one pet peeve when I have katsu is when the breading crumbles off. Some separation is ok, but as a whole the breading needs to stay on the protein. As I grabbed a bite of my chicken the breading just fell off.
The end slices were fine, but not anything in between. This usually means something had gone awry with either the temp of the chicken during the breading process or perhaps the temp of the oil was off, or???
In the end, my opinion of the place stays the same.....if you like quantity more than quality, Katsu Café will fill the bill.
Katsu Cafe
7305B Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hinotez:
There were a couple of pretty hot days right when we got back from our trip. I needed a break and wanted someplace fairly quiet for lunch, so I decided to drop by Hinotez.
The place was empty during lunch and doesn't that person in that vintage beer poster in the tatami room look familiar....like infamously familiar?
I went with the Tempura Zaru Soba. My expectation weren't very high, but this was not bad. At first glance, I thought the noodles weren't drained well, but they were, and also quite al dente and chewy, the way I prefer my soba. Everything else was pretty much by the book and nothing special, but not terrible either. The shrimp had a decent flavor, but the batter could have been more crisp, the tsuyu was totally very, how should I say it......"base-like" in flavor.
Still, it didn't offend, and was perfectly fine for this day. I still need to drop by to see if they're still making Japanese Breakfast.
Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
I know I don't like mushy soba, glad this was al dente.
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 12:54 AM
I hate mushy soba too Kat! I was actually surprised it was done perfectly.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 06:40 AM
I can't tell from the Katsu Cafe pics - but do they use white or dark meat for the chicken cutlet? It's been awhile since I've been back here.
Posted by: Faye | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 08:54 AM
Hi Faye - It's white meat.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 09:22 AM
In the "infamously familiar" picture are you referring to Emperor Hirohito?
Posted by: matt | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 03:48 PM
Hi Matt - I believe it's the person next to Hirohito who looks well, familiar from certain angles to me.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 09 July 2015 at 04:24 PM
I've never been to Hinotez for lunch. Surprised it's that empty. It gets pretty packed for dinner and late night.
Katsu with breading falling off is no bueno.
Posted by: Junichi | Friday, 10 July 2015 at 11:45 AM
Hey Junichi - The folks I know that go to Hinotez view it as a late night kind of place; so maybe that's the norm? The breading peeling off the katsu is a real pet peeve of mine. Glad to know I'm not the only one.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 10 July 2015 at 03:15 PM