 |
 |
Gazen, a closer look
Aloha!
Scroll to bottom to check out a Second Look at Gazen on 3/24/09.
5/17/08 - Wifey and I got to hang with a couple of good friends, the Goochie and Big Al. All real names, by the way. Nicknames, that is. Big Al is actually one of those guys I look up to as far as anything food goes, especially in the area of Japanese foods. I'm actually trying to tap him to be a contributing editor, so we'll see if I can twist his arm and get him to do a few entries in the near future. Someone who eats out just about every night (no kidding!), and we're not talking Burger King or Taco Bell, definitely has a serious passion, and that passion deserves an outlet for creative expression somewhere.
We all haven't been to Izakaya Gazen for a good while now and decided to pay it another visit. Unanimously, we all gave it lukewarm reviews the first time around, but I heard it renovated the menu and got better. Would it be, though?...
The restaurant occupies the same self-standing building as the former plate lunch house, Bea's Drive-inn. Sometimes the lot in front is valet-only, and other times like tonight, not.
The dining area is quite roomy, with rows of regular tables around the perimeter and high-backed booths down the center. I love the privacy that these booths offer, as it always seems to make me less self-conscious when neighbors are not able to notice every word you are saying. It also causes the individual groups sitting inside to be a lot louder, which is actually kinda fun, seeing that this is a drink-friendly izakaya house and all.
 |
High-backed booths offer lots of privacy. |
And what's a drink-friendly house without edamamame? Gazen doesn't dissapoint here, with plump, crisp beans that were not overcooked like in many places, and came tossed in a slightly spicy miso dressing that ranks right up there with the garlic-tossed or poke-sauce-tossed bowls elsewhere.
Healthy bites.
Gazen has always been known for making their own tofu fresh daily, and the results are nothing like the boring blocks you find off the supermarket shelves. There are many different tofu dishes here, and we went with two of 'em right off the bat - first, the simple, very classic form presented in a bamboo basket along with some tea-leaf powder and natural salt to sprinkle. Second, the sukui tofu, which is is mixed in a rich soymilk broth, and kinda takes on the flavor of a mellow cream cheese or ricotta. I probably wouldn't have ordered this myself, but actually loved the creamy texture and sharp, slightly-sweet tang of the soymilk, not to mention the healthy benefits.
Next up was the very safe and deep-fried choices of chicken karaage and some "Japanese" french fries. The karaage was one of the better representations in town, presented well on fluffy, large leaves of butter lettuce and topped with thinly-cut daikon slivers. It always works when it comes out fresh from the fryer, the oil is hot enough, and they don't overcook it, all of which are evidenced by the light, crispy skin and tender, juicy insides.
Same goes for the fries, too, which I'm guessing were "Japanese" because of the sprinkled nori flakes and the dip, which tasted like a base-mixture of mayo and mustard, along with tiny chunks of some kind of veggie, probably daikon or onion, for added texture and complexity.
Both are great representations from the fried-foods category. Oh, and that yellowish dish next to the fries is a simple scrambled egg, which was airy-light, rolled, and delicately flavored with dashi. It was actually a great dish, but probably not one that should be eaten alongside the bold flavors of french fries or karaage! And sorry some of these pic's are so blown out! I totally underestimated the strength of lighting there.
Gazen's version of fried rice was also well-received by our curious contingent that night. It was actually made from brown rice, the healthier, un-milled variety that I eat almost every day in my workplace cafeteria. Big Al chopped up the egg and tossed the whole grains in the soft yellow yolk, reminiscent of a sunny-side up oozing all over your white rice and Portuguese sausage in the morning. With shoyu and black pepper, of course!
 |
Soft egg oozing over firm, healthy, brown rice - brilliant! |
Indicative of the flashy presentations at Gazen, the croquettes (or ko-ro-keh, as mom taught me to pronounce it) came on a pretty palette of brown and white sauces that most resembled tonkatsu and tartar sauces. Croquettes are a popular dish in Japan and is usually made by forming an elliptical of semi-mashed potato and hamburger, covering it with a crust of panko flakes, and deep-frying to a crisp. Gazen's version, though, is actually made from tofu. Though pretty, it was actually one of my least favorite dishes that evening, taste-wise.
A fancier version of a popular comfort-type food in Japan.
The last two dishes were a couple of heavy-hitters - salmon and steak. The salmon was actually a bit over-cooked, but still tasted great, with its original marinade of garlic, miso, and butter. The steak, on the other hand, was truly excellent! It came with a side of pasta tossed in what tasted like a zesty ponzu vinaigrette and some raw spinach leaves, and was dressed with daikon oroshi and bathed in a ponzu-like au-jous that brought the steak to a whole 'nother level. It was just one of those things that hit you upside the head! The steak itself was a perfectly-cooked ribeye, with its reddish-pink center and tender, juicy flavors to prove it.
Boy, our evening sure turned out to be a pleasant surprise from our first adventures here. The menu was similar, but definitely re-vamped. The daring dishes had always walked themselves right out to the edge, but they just seemed to work better this time around, as if the same person or personality was still there, but had become honed, seasoned, and matured as compared to its youthful beginnings. I guess with experience comes wisdom if you are open to change and don't think you know everything all the time. Easy, grass-hoppah.
Gazen is not one of your traditional izakaya's. If you want a more traditional taste, try Imanas-tei, Izakaya Nonbei, or some of the others in this section . But for those looking for something a little different in a drink-friendly atmosphere, this is a great place to try. As with other places that dare to "take a chance" by getting creative and original with their dishes, there is always a greater chance for hits as well as a greater chance for misses.
Gazen seems to have done a great job tying up all the loose ends and dealing with any misses it may have had since it opened, and is definitely deserving of a look-see. The mix of a comfortable atmosphere and fun dishes make it a compelling stop for me, that's for sure.
Aloha 'till next time....
Gazen, a second Look
3/24/09 - Having been to Gazen several times, both before and after the above experience, I can honestly tell you that I've grown to love this casual hang-out. There's always plenty of parking, lots of table space, roomy booths with high-back's for privacy, and the vibe and feel of this place is just so comfortable; so easy for throwing down a few Kirin Draft's or trying different varieties of sake. Their location is also super-convenient, being located just off the H-1 on-ramps, whether headed East or West.
Though the dishes are definitely Japanese, these guys lean more towards modern Japanese, which basically means anything goes! There are still plenty of traditional offerings, though, and no matter how far-out they go, every dish still carries with it that often-subtle but always clean, well-presented, well-orchestrated style of better Japanese restaurants. They've also added all kinds of sushi, a full range of sashimi choices, and pretty much anything you can find at sushi/izakaya houses anywhere, and then some.
One dish I've only recently discovered is the fried shrimp rolls. Having ignored it for quite a while for the reason that it looked so, I dunno, ordinary from the menu, these lumpia-wrapped, deep-fried pieces are simple, clean, and somehow - delicious! Both times I've had it they were super-fresh from the fryer, with a super-crispy outer shell and honest-to-goodness taste of shrimp, and not much else besides that, other than the wrapper. Sometimes perfection is just not messing with a product too much!
One of the things Gazen is famous for is their house-made tofu, done in several different ways. May not look the greatest, but their tofu in soy milk is pretty darn cool, coming with a large scoop of tofu and a rich, yet smooth, dashi-flavored soy milk with green onion, katsuo-boshi, and who knows whatever else. All I know is that it's healthy, creative, fun, and oishi-so!
In fact, this dish was only part of a trio of tofu presentations in one order, a show-stopper and must-try when visiting Gazen. Besides the soy-milk version, there was their bread-and-butter, standard zaru tofu, which came plain and natural in a bamboo basket and flavored simply with a self-applied pinch of salt and tea salt, as well as a darker, black sesame-infused kurogama tofu, with its nutty, earthy taste and dip of wasabi/shoyu. How beautiful and fun is this?
After 10pm, as it was on this particularly fine evening, there are half-price Kirin pitchers and select choices of under-$5 items, such as this small dish of bamboo shoots and, doggone it, I can't remember if this was horenso spinach or choi sum! Can't really tell from the horrible pic, either!
One of wifey's exotic favorites, except maybe not so exotic if you happen to be from Japan, is beef tongue. With a taste somewhere between meat and fat (though leaning towards meat), and an ever-so-slight, subtle hint of gaminess that's so pleasing when not raunchy-strong enough to spoil the dish, as in a good lamb, these tender treats were grilled in a shoyu-based glaze and familiar and mild enough for even the most risk-averse diners to enjoy. It came with a ponzu dipping sauce and was the perfect pupu item, although I'm sure it'd be spectacular over a bowl of hot rice, just as well!
And to top it all off, what's better than a top-shelf pour of sake? Rice wine with just a touch of sweetness, and smooth as it gets, can be better than dessert, at times. Especially when that pour happens to be from a bottle of Kubota Manju, offered in many fine Japanese restaurants but seldom ordered, as a small pour like the one below will set you back about $30! Though some like it sweet and others dry, and some like it fruity and others earthy, if there's one sake that's almost gaurantee'd to satisfy everyone on the table, I'd put my money on this-here bottle, for sure. Super-smooth as to almost be mistaken as tasteless, tune in closer, and you'll notice a clarity so refined, and a subtle, sophisticated finish that will leave you in awe! Not something we do often, but when you're out with Big Al, it's nothing but the finest!
See y'all soon enough, maybe even for a third look!
Aku
Post a Comment or just say hello! Don't worry about leaving REAL names if you don't want to! Changing to Code names are fine, but just stay consistent with your code names, allright? No e-mails will be posted without consent, either way! Hope to hear from you all!
