Sushi Yorimichi

Sushi Yorimichi replaced Thai Papaya back in June. While I was still working from home a couple of days a week, until the Delta variant got out of control, I managed to make a couple visits between the middle of June until the middle of July.

I visited right as the place opened on all four visits and was the only customer in the place.

The interior has changed slightly from the days of Thai Papaya' the tables a bit more spread out (perhaps for more Covid "distancing"), there're seats in front of the counter.

Like "FOY" SomTommy described to me in an email, having visited soon after they opened, "there's everything on the menu from sushi to ramen to yakitori". And Junichi mentioned that the yakitori is done over on a gas grill, so I wasn't going to be ordering that for sure.

And yes indeed, the menu has everything from karaage to katsu don, to a "loco moco", sushi rolls (of course), yakitori, yakisoba, ramen (both tonkotsu and birria),  poke....... The prices though, except for one exception seem to be quite reasonable.

On my first visit, I decided to try out the Katsudon (I chose Tonkatsu - $9). The portion size was quite generous......especially in terms of rice. A good lesson as I'd order just "half rice" the next time.

   This was not bad, the egg nicely doused and tender, a bit on the salty side, but that's something to be expected. The tonkatsu was decently breaded, but over-fried and the panko really dark and starting to peel off of the slightly dry pork cutlet.

The rice was decently done, no complaints there. I've had worse....

Junichi had mentioned enjoying the Dashimaki Tamago  ($7), so I decided to get that and some other appetizers to spare me all the rice on my next visit. This version had mozzarella cheese and mentaiko (cod roe).

I did enjoy the mentaiko in this version of the Japanese Rolled omelet, it added a much needed savoriness to the tender egg, which I thought was on the bland side. I really didn't enjoy the milkiness of the cheese in this either.

I also ordered the Agedashi Tofu ($5).

 I really didn't enjoy this very much. The tentsuyu really tasted like mentsuyu.....the really salty bottled soup base. The tofu wasn't evenly fried; half of it brown, the other half pale white which fell right off the tofu. The texture of the tofu was quite "wet-mushy"....I don't think it was drained properly before making this.

The Chicken Karaage ($5), looked pretty good and it was indeed decently crunchy.

 I thought the cutting of the chicken was interesting....some small cubes, some slices where I could tell the cook was checking to see if the chicken was done. The color was dark and rich looking, but this was pretty bland. 

My favorite item of the day was the Kawa-su ($5).

While the chicken skin was on the thick side and some bites were overly chewy; the sauce was quite good; balanced soy, sweetness, and sour/acidity. There was a mild spiciness to this as well.

A few days later I decided to return and actually try some of the fish; I went and ordered the Chirashi ($22), easy on the rice.

  This was a mixed bag; not the best quality fish, the cutting was a bit on the "thicker" side, and definitely not even in the same league as even Chef Jun, not to mention other places. The rice was terrible, hard and dry, the sushi meshi very mild...perhaps as to not offend? That albacore was dry and cut much too thick, the maguro had a metallic finish, the scallops somewhat fishy. The uni was decent and the salmon standard issue.

I left somewhat disappointed. I guess this place is really just for rolls......

I really wanted to find something that I'd really enjoy here; so I went with one last try......I was somewhat fascinated with the Yorimichi Style Loco Moco ($9)....and you know me and Loco Mocos. I guess Justin Young is right, "You can take the boy from the island, but not the island from the boy". I'd had my eye on that from the first time I opened the menu, so I finally went ahead and ordered it.

   This was an interesting dish. The rice, while still a bit on the dry side, was better in texture than what I'd had previously. The egg was decently cooked, still somewhat runny, with no off flavors. The burger had less filler than I expected, but was moist, tender, and mildly beefy. The menu claimed that the burger was topped with Hayashi Sauce, which makes me expect sort of a demi-glace beefiness, along with earthy mushroom-onion flavors, with perhaps a tangy tomato-ness. This was like across between Hayashi style sauce and Japanese Hamburg style sauce, both are similar in many ways. I believe I detected a hint of Worcestershire in this. This wasn't too bad and wasn't overly sweet. Totally Yoshoku.

In the end, I think of Yorimichi to be kind of a "diner" of sorts. There's still ramen/curry/teriyaki/etc on the menu. The prices are quite reasonable, the service efficient. I tend toward the "specialists" when it comes to Japanese cuisine, with a few exceptions. I'm not quite ready to make that exception for Yorimichi yet......

Sushi Yorimichi
2405 Ulric St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 11am - 830pm

Comments

[kat]

hope they can get better

[Kirk]

I hope so too Kat!

[Soo]

That's too bad they didn't season the kaarage better.

[SomTommy]

Diner is a good way to put it. Thanks for the shout out.

[Kirk]

I know, I wish it were better Soo!

Thanks for the email ST!

[Junichi]

Last time I tried their curry. It was passable (definitely better than CoCo!). You can't beat their prices tho. $10 w/ your choice of katsu.

[Kirk]

I'm afraid being better than CI is setting quite a low bar right now Junichi! Though I might give it a try, because like you said, the prices are so reasonable....especially in these times.

[Lynnea Fleming]

Wow! I haven't seen prices that low in ten years! ^o^ they're practically giving it away, too bad it wasn't quite up to par...still might give it a go just because it's so reasonable...

[Kirk]

The prices are worth giving the place a try Lynnea!