Covid-19 Takeout - EE Nami

Back in the beginning of April, I noticed that Ramen Yamachan (which was around for just a blink of the eye after replacing Ramen Yamadaya) was gone and replaced with something called "EE Nami", I was just driving past, so really couldn't make much else out and didn't even think the place had opened yet. In the comments of my Easter post; FOY Jason mentioned if I had tried the new Izakaya on Clairemont Mesa.....which was EE Nami. I waited for a couple of weeks before checking out their website and calling tp pick up lunch on my way home during the weekend.

The young lady on the phone was very pleasant and told me they were serving an abbreviated take-out menu. I placed my order and headed over.

So, looking at the sign....."Tonkatsu Izakaya"....nice, it's been a while since I've had decent Tonkatsu in San Diego. It's definitely a niche to fill in my opinion.

I was in and out in a matter of minutes as my food was ready when I arrived.

I ordered the Loin Katsu, which looked very good when I opened it upon arriving home.

A couple of things I noticed as I went and tasted everything. The katsu sauce here is a bit more on the sweeter side; not cloying or anything, just a bit different from the typical Japanese Tonkatsu sauce, though definitely not a ketchupy as the katsu sauce in Hawaii. It was nice and thick and quite good. The miso soup is nothing to write home about and I really didn't expect much anyway.

But of course you wanna know about the tonkatsu, right? I really enjoyed how this was breaded; the panko wasn't coming off the meat a sign of good temperature (both in prep and cooking), it was super crisp even after the 15-20 minute drive home. The pork loin had a very pleasant texture.....a slight toothsomeness and was pork was decently moist. This was the best I've had in a while.

The following weekend I ordered the Menchi Katsu, basically breaded and fried meatball.....man, when was the last time I had this?

I didn't find this to be quite as good as the tonkatsu. While again nicely breaded, I thought the ground pork was rather bland and while moist, it was a bit too mushy in texture for me. I prefer my menchi katsu to have some heft and meatiness to it. The cheese would have been a good textural contrast if the meat wasn't so mushy.

I had planned on doing another visit, but for some reason things kinda fell by the wayside. Until "Elle" asked me about EE Nami in the comments of my latest post on R&B....it was a great reminder. So between meetings I called and placed an order. The guy who answered the phone was really friendly and told me they were out of Pork Filet and the Sandos (sandwiches). I had been wanting to try the karaage before finally doing my post, so that's what I went with.

I'm thinking that word is getting out on EE Nami as there were two customers waiting outside and two inside when I arrived.

There were take-out packages lining the counter and the young man running the front was really hustling.

While doing a great job of disinfecting the counters, anywhere customers touched, and especially the handles on the doors. And he was super efficient as well. Kudos to him.

I did have short wait for my order; as the folks who were there before got their orders; two phone orders and two walk in orders were placed.

I picked up the Loin Tonkatsu for one of my coworkers (which he loved) and got my Chicken Karaage.

This style of karaage were chicken thighs (as it should be), basically half thighs, instead of cut into smaller pieces. It wasn't heavily battered and not particularly crisp....I prefer my karaage to have some crunch to them (with more potato starch and baking soda, as in what I make at home - though I have about a dozen different recipes). The chicken was very moist, but I think it was marinated too long and was on the salty side.

I definitely think the tonkatsu here is a keeper and I'll definitely return for more....maybe this week even! I got to peek at the entire menu, which looked promising and can't wait until we're past our current state of things to try some what I saw.

Really liked the folks working here as well. It seems like they're doing fairly well, I'm hoping for the best.

Current, Covid-19 Takeout Hours are Tuesday - Sunday, 11am - 2pm and 5pm - 8pm.

EE Nami
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
858-246-6903

Comments

[Jason]

Looks really promising, when things open back up it'll be nice to see what they can really do with their full menu. Impressive that their tonkatsu withstood the drive home, take out is probably the least forgiving to fried foods.

[Kirk]

Hi Jason - Yes, I was quite impressed with the tonkatsu - it held really well. I'll probably order from them again...maybe this week.

[Sandy]

I'm also impressed that the tonkatsu held up for takeout. I look forward to trying the tonkatsu. I've never had menchi katsu, so I'd like to try it. BTW, I used your tips on brining the chicken katsu, and it turned out well. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, so I think I'll tackle karaage next.

[Junichi]

The owners parents run a tonkatsu joint in Japan. Glad the katsu delivered.

[Kirk]

It was quite good Sandy. Glad brining the chicken worked out for you.

Good to know Junichi! I did enjoy the Tonkatsu.

[RedDevil]

Looks good! Hopefully someday you will find karaage in SD that you like 😂, but I’m not holding my breath.

[Elle]

Great write-up!! Impressive you got to visit a few times lol. I ordered the sandwich over the weekend and the pork tasted great. I think the sauce is also a bit too sweet for me, so if I were order the sandwich again maybe I'll ask to have it on just one side. Loin katsu would have been my other choice, so I'm glad you got that :)

My friend's curry tasted good, but I am not much of a judge on curry haha. I was surprised they included some veggies like eggplant and broccoli. I gotta go back and try more!

[Kirk]

I thought Yakyudori made decent karaage RD.....and Sakura used to be pretty good as well; though it's been a while. Hope all is well. Take care!

Hi Elle - That "sando" must be popular since they were out of it on my last visit. Loved how the crunchiness of the tonkatsu held up. I'll probably go back this week to get my fix too!

[kat]

hope you’ll be able to try more items!

[Kirk]

I hope so too Kat! Take care!

[Denver]

Oooo very nice. On my list. I do miss Yamadaya. I didn’t like Yamachan.

[Soo]

Bummer the garage wasn't that good. I don't like my food really salty.

[Kirk]

Was not a big fan of Yamachan DEnver and I thought that Yamadaya started out strong but really went downhill after a while. Definitely check out the Tonkatsu here.

Hi Soo - I think your text autocorrect has taken over! Lol!