Teriyaki

Teriyaki restaurants are the Seattle equivalent of fried chicken shacks in the South. They are ubiquitous in the region. The original Japanese method of teriyaki is to marinate meat in a sweet soy-based sauce, then grill or broil it. Hereabouts, the predominant method is to grill the marinated meat and pour more sauce over the top.

Most teriyaki restaurants are holes-in-the-wall in strip shopping centers. Don’t expect much in the way of atmosphere. You want ambiance, go to Canlis. The menus are limited in scope. You get beef, pork, or chicken teriyaki with one or two scoops of rice and lettuce with a mayonnaise-based dressing. Some restaurants go upscale and offer salmon teriyaki. You may also find a combo platter on the menu that includes gyoza (dumplings) or tempura. A few teriyaki restaurants may also offer sushi. I’m rather picky about where I eat raw fish, so I stick to fully-cooked items at these joints.

The ground zero of teriyaki in Seattle is University Way (aka The Ave), adjacent to the University of Washington. For a while it looked as if Thai noodle shops and pho restaurants were going to overrun the Ave, but teriyaki restaurants are holding their own. This should be no surprise: Teriyaki is cheap, fast, filling chow for starving students.