Sumika

Potato chicken salad with toasted bread

A unique take on chicken salad.  Curry powder adds a different taste and texture to a common dish.

Tontoro ( pork cheek)

Juicy, fatty, tender -perfect.

Teba - grilled chicken wings

Karaage

Fried without being oily.  The perfect balance of chicken and batter.  The chicken is moist and tender.

Oyako don

Its rare for me to order oyako don since I consider it a filler food, because of the amount of rice, but I ordered because everything was a win so far.  This dish was another winner.  Best oyako don ever.  Tender, juicy chicken with light fluffy rice.

Hatsu (chicken heart)

Lightly grilled chicken heart.  Moist with a slight chewiness.  Again - perfectly cooked.

Tsukune ( chicken meatball with shiso flavoring)

Grilled rice ball (yaki onigiri)

THE most perfect yaki onigiri I have ever had in the States.  The outside is lightly salty from thin coat of soy sauce with the perfect crispy outside and the steamy soft rice inside.  A must last dish order when you are done eating all your yakitori.

Verdict:             This place is probably some of the best yakitori I've ever had in the States.  All the ingredients are fresh and everything is made with care and precision.  Every bite is the perfect amount of seasoning without overshadowing the quality of the meat.  This place has never disappointed me.  The portions are small as with all izakayas so order a lot if you come hungry.

Address:          Sumika

                         236 Central Pl

                         Los Altos, CA 94022

Type:               Japanese, Izakaya
                          casual

Chomp worthy:  Eat everything!

Pass:               see above

Random facts:

• yakitori actually means grilled chicken (yaki = grilled; tori = chicken); kushiyaki refers to grilled items
• Sumika's Chef Maruyama is a dj
• Sumika imports a special charcoal called Binchoutan from Japan for their grill