Not just a menu item, but a way of lunch
August 25, 2016 3:32 PM   Subscribe

The Slow & Sad Death of Seattle's Iconic Teriyaki Scene (Thrillist) But new Seattle -- with the locals priced out of the area, those that remain forgetting teriyaki exists, and newcomers ignoring it -- risks losing those real shops for good. Teriyaki could be heading the direction of deep-dish… just ask a Chicagoan about it and they’ll say, “Oh, that’s for tourists.” Teriyaki is from a different era, and it’s fading as fast as traffic-free days on I-5. Since teriyaki came to town, Seattle’s waved goodbye to the Kingdome, Kurt Cobain, and the Sonics. A signature stadium, a signature musician, a signature team -- and now, perhaps, a signature dish.

The Origins of Seattle Teriyaki (2007)

The point isn't that teriyaki shops are fantastic or awful—it's that they're cheap, fresh, and convenient, which is what Toshi Kasahara always intended. "I wanted to make a dish that was very affordable, so that it might be cheaper for people to come eat at my restaurant instead of making their own meal."
posted by CrystalDave (79 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
I always loved that about this area. Any freeway exit will have the standard fast food chains, and usually a teriyaki strip mall place. Such a nice easy alternative.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:39 PM on August 25, 2016


It's true, there may be fewer than a dozen places to get teriyaki within walking distance of my office and only one within two blocks of my house.
posted by Artw at 3:45 PM on August 25, 2016 [18 favorites]


Benihana's Teriyaki Sauce:

1 C Japanese soy sauce
1 C chicken stock
2/3 C granulated sugar
garlic
fresh ginger
1 T corn starch
1/3 C cool water

Combine in sauce pan. Boil for one hour. Strain, combine cornstarch and water separately mix well and add to sauce, boil for one more minute.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2016 [12 favorites]


I had literally no idea that teriyaki wasn't omnipresent across America until I moved away from Seattle.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2016 [15 favorites]


I've only ever had teriyaki in Canada and Hawaii. I guess we have teriyaki in Japan in the winter when we grill yellowtail (also known as kingfish) steaks.

I suppose chicken skewers (yakitori) and squid-on-a-stick is technically teriyaki...
posted by My Dad at 3:47 PM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


For a while I thought it was a Portland bylaw that no business could be in business longer than year without a teriyaki offering. (There was an ice cream shop on 39th and Holgate that had teriyaki as well)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:48 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


Yoshi's had a half chicken on a shovel-full of rice for something like $3.50. That was good poor-person food.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 3:49 PM on August 25, 2016 [8 favorites]


hopefully there will always be Pho
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:51 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


yakitori (and more generally, kushiyaki) >> teriyaki fite me.
posted by juv3nal at 3:52 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I like the glowing descriptions of time-lost South Lake Union, swept away by the Amazon hordes, like it wasn't basically a bunch of single story light industrial units and very little of interest.
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on August 25, 2016 [16 favorites]


Kushi-katsu remain superior to kushi-yaki though

ソースは二度つけ禁止
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:55 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I call bullshit. I'm in the process of moving within the Seattle area, and walkability (or no-car / low-car life) is a big deal to me. I use Walk Score to determine whether apartment complexes will be a good "fit" for me or not. There's, like, not one place in the whole metro area with at least a tiny bit of walkability that isn't within walking distance of a teriyaki restaurant. It became a running joke between my husband and me with this move.

Him: This complex looks good.

Me: Is there a grocery store nearby?

Him: No, but there's teriyaki.

I should add they all seemed dirt cheap, too. For better or worse.
posted by iamfantastikate at 3:57 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


huh, teriyaki bowl joints are pretty ubiquitous in northern CA. I had no idea this was a Seattle thing.
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:58 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


I would like to know where that "one third gone" number comes from. It seems pretty unlikely TBH.
posted by Artw at 3:59 PM on August 25, 2016


Teriyaki Madness II

This place taught me that restaurants have sequels...
posted by The Power Nap at 4:04 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


My favorite teriyaki restaurant burned down last year. :(

I've been disappointed by the fact that at least in Pierce County, it seems like you can't get steamed veg as a side with an order of teriyaki any more. Now it's iceberg lettuce salad with sesame dressing everywhere you go. I'd rather eat the styrofoam container the meal is packaged in.
posted by trunk muffins at 4:04 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


Kushi-katsu remain superior to kushi-yaki though

aw hell naw. the breading gets in the way of flavour development from browning the meat.
posted by juv3nal at 4:08 PM on August 25, 2016


Chicken karaage, guys.
posted by Artw at 4:10 PM on August 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


You wouldn't have liked the Dog House either.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 4:24 PM on August 25, 2016 [7 favorites]


This is making me really want spicy tofu from my favorite teriyaki place*. Sigh.

*easily the best teriyaki in town. don't even think of questioning this.
posted by joan_holloway at 4:24 PM on August 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


Ooh. Haven't been there for ages, I'll have to hike over there for lunch tomorrow.
posted by Artw at 4:26 PM on August 25, 2016


+1 for Okinawa Teriyaki. I was just there today for lunch, actually, even though it's normally too far for work-lunch since the office moved. (Okinawa Special, thy tasty contents are mine oncemore)
posted by CrystalDave at 4:29 PM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


Oh, and always get the stir-fry veggies instead of the salad. I know the salad is the standard but the veggies are SO good.
posted by joan_holloway at 4:31 PM on August 25, 2016


I'm a sucker for any place that lets you get gyoza on the side.
posted by Artw at 4:34 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


From the article: In 2010, John T. Edge wrote an ode to Seattle teriyaki for the New York Times. He quotes Knute Berger, elder statesman of Seattle media, as saying the shops are “so ubiquitous as to have become invisible.” And once invisible, they actually disappear...

The idea that ubiquity = invisibility really resonates with me. I don't think it would ever have occurred to me to name teriyaki as the quintessential Seattle dish, and yet, as soon as I read the quote above, I realized that teriyaki was absolutely THE food that dominated my formative years (middle/high school/college) in Seattle. The same was true for most of my friend group. Nothing else even came close.
posted by duffell at 4:42 PM on August 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


And a +1 for Benton World on Lenora, attached to the the Darth Vader building. Everything's lovely, but the tempura udon is really something special.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 4:45 PM on August 25, 2016


Best thing about the teriyaki joints, IMHO, is the Chicken Katsu. I love a good Chicken Katsu.

Still miss Scaryyaki that was on 2nd and Pike. They closed down because trafficking in stolen goods isn't that swell for business.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:45 PM on August 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


Had wondered what happened there.
posted by Artw at 4:47 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


This guy must not be from Chicago. Because, what the hell is he talking about? Everyone in Chicago likes Chicago style pizza. At least most everyone I know.
posted by MrBobaFett at 4:48 PM on August 25, 2016 [11 favorites]


oooh, I'm super close to the Toshi's in Mill Creek now. Maybe I'll pick up dinner there this weekend, since I don't go into the office much anymore which means I don't end up eating the spicy chicken teriyaki/gyoza combo from Midori Teriyaki across the street twice a week.
posted by palomar at 5:00 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


For a while I thought it was a Portland bylaw that no business could be in business longer than year without a teriyaki offering. (There was an ice cream shop on 39th and Holgate that had teriyaki as well)

Oh man, the Kupie Cone!
posted by compartment at 5:05 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


This guy must not be from Chicago. Because, what the hell is he talking about? Everyone in Chicago likes Chicago style pizza. At least most everyone I know.

Yeah, I was gonna say. Growing up around Chicago with family in the city...well, deep dish was a treat because it wasn't too good for you, but it wasn't particularly a tourist thing. I could eat some deep dish right now. Except I'm in Minnesota, of course.
posted by Frowner at 5:13 PM on August 25, 2016 [8 favorites]


I'll take today's fantastic array of Izakayas on the west side, and vast array of regionally authentic Chinese restaurants on the east side over the gigantic pile of generic teriyaki and americanized Chinese food from Old Seattle.

My guess is that, if teriyaki is disappearing, it's because of this. White middle class people have much more complicated palates now than they did ~30 years ago, and folks tend to want to believe the Asian food they're eating is "authentic". As people discover that Teriyaki isn't as "authentic" as they thought, they branch out to ramen or yakitori or Japanese-style curry or whatever the new trend is.

(Authentic in quotes because my guess is that what is replacing teriyaki isn't really any more authentic, if such a thing can even be determined. Just inauthentic in its own slightly different way.)
posted by Sara C. at 5:17 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


trunk muffins, give the Little Tokyo next to Famous Dave's a try.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 5:21 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


When I lived in Seattle in the late 90s I remember eating at Osaka Grill downtown (on Pike? Pine?). Don't know if it's still there but it was fast and dirt cheap.
posted by zardoz at 5:22 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


See above re: Scary Teriyaki.
posted by Artw at 5:28 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yasuko's in interbay off Dravus...I lived on that 3 days a week in 1990-93. 1/2 chicken and rice for under 4 bucks. easy to get 2 meals out of a single order.
posted by prodigalsun at 5:31 PM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I've lived in Seattle 14 years. I'm no native, but I've seen some things come and go. With the advent of Amazon, Seattle's tendency to moan about change has really broken new ground. That's kind of deserved; there's a lot of stuff going on now.

But this Teriyaki thing feels like inventing something to feel retroactively nostalgic about. Remember when Seattle used to have a totally amazing Cornish pasty scene? There were, like, ten Cornish pasty places in every neighborhood, and each of them was like eating ambrosia baked by an angel, but priced for the working folk, who can't afford to even look in the windows of the artisanal ramen boutiques that have replaced them all. Thanks, Ob-amazon!
posted by gurple at 5:36 PM on August 25, 2016 [8 favorites]


I am at Rainier Teriyaki right now, and that means I'm a happy human.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:53 PM on August 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


But are you drinking a Rainier? Have pride in your local shitty beer!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:03 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


BTW, not picking on Seattle, most places have a local shitty beer. And I try to always have at least one when in town.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2016


Shitty local beers wiped out by expensive Amazon style-IPAs!
posted by Artw at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I like that the article has Microsoft joining in the town ruining fun as well. Presumably they come over on the shuttle to not eat Teriyaki and then laugh all the way back to Redmond and Bellevue.
posted by Artw at 6:06 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


Sorry, "get an Uber", for maximum eeevils.
posted by Artw at 6:09 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Lived here for 20+ years, not a teriyaki fan, so never noticed them much, or had any idea that these were a Seattle thing, and hadn't just been not noticing them my entire life...
posted by Windopaene at 6:19 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


This'll be like when someone says "plate of shrimp" and next thing you know your're seeing places you can get teriyaki shrimp everywhere.
posted by Artw at 6:26 PM on August 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


Lived near Seattle for 21 years of my 31, and been away for about, and it took me a little while to notice Teriyaki wasn't a thing other places, and I'm starting to really miss good teriyaki. There'd better darn well be some left when I get back!
posted by Zalzidrax at 6:26 PM on August 25, 2016


So I know nothing about Seattle style teriyaki, except that a friend who moved here to Chicago from Seattle was super excited to find a Seattle-style teriyaki place here called Glaze Teriyaki. So I tried it, and it's now a big favorite for me. I heartily recommend it to anyone in the Lakeview area. And they deliver! (although the gyoza are even better if you go in person. crispier.)
posted by dnash at 6:47 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


So teriyaki the PNW version of breakfast tacos?
posted by Beholder at 7:08 PM on August 25, 2016


This article is kind of silly for three reasons:

1. Teriyaki in Seattle is still very much alive.
2. It's weird to juxtapose talk of completely different things like teriyaki and Ethan Stowell restaurants, judging all restaurants alike by the same metric of "will this be the new tech yuppie trend?"
3. Article makes no mention of my favorite place 😛 (if you're curious, Kiku in the U District, which is now sadly no more).
posted by splitpeasoup at 7:24 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Does anyone have a favorite teriyaki joint to recommend in South Seattle or the CD? I had a bad teriyaki experience when I first moved here in 2009, and have stayed away since, but this thread is making me reconsider.

The author of this piece was on KUOW today and was really interesting. She reminisced about how she and her friends used to go to one of the teriyaki joints near their high school because the food was basically the same price as the school cafeteria.
posted by lunasol at 7:30 PM on August 25, 2016


Teriyaki Plus in Kirkland FTW. The memory of ginger chicken makes me weep with nostalgia after moving to the food wasteland that is San Diego, except for Lucha Libre and the Kebab Shop and I heard fish tacos but everyone sells them and most of them suck.

Oh yes, I know, Mexican, come on down and get some sleeve tats - I guess that's not that much of a change if you're coming from Capitol Hill - drink an astoundingly bitter IPA and have a burrito with french fries on it because you're like all eclectic and junk. Sigh.
posted by lon_star at 8:11 PM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I find it kinda astounding that teriyaki is seen as a Seattle thing. I grew up in nowhere middle America and teriyaki was the standard "Asian but not weird" option as long as I've been alive. Maybe places dedicated solely to teriyaki is a Seattle thing? But teriyaki has been on every American Japanese restaurant menu I've ever seen. I associate it with "Spaghetti and Meatballs" being Italian food. The basic American interpretation of a non-US food.
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:13 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


There is still teriyaki. Here and there.

I also regret not liberating the Kupie Cone. In another life.
posted by beefetish at 8:35 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm sad that Cyber Dogs closed. Can we talk about Cyber Dogs? Seattle of 2016 is most definitely not the Seattle of 2010.
posted by oceanjesse at 9:10 PM on August 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


Does anyone have a favorite teriyaki joint to recommend in South Seattle or the CD?

Rainier Teriyaki, Toshio's, and Othello Teriyaki are all solid. Of the three, I like Rainier the best, though I think it's about $1.50/order more expensive than the other two.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 9:11 PM on August 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


It is not that teriyaki as a dish itself is a Seattle thing, but rather the teriyaki restaurant is. And it's a very specific setup where they serve various kinds of teriyaki, always with a huge mound of white rice and a salad with questionable creamy dressing (or, as I strongly recommend above, stir fried veggies) for a very cheap price. Usually served in a to-go container no matter what, ordered at a counter, and with a certain no frills aesthetic.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:01 PM on August 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


My usual hang is Othello Teriyaki. I'm not totally committed to it,but it's a place that seems quite consistent in its positive results.
posted by wotsac at 10:12 PM on August 25, 2016


But this Teriyaki thing feels like inventing something to feel retroactively nostalgic about. Remember when Seattle used to have a totally amazing Cornish pasty scene?

I remember when Seattle's $5 cupcake scene took off, and then cupcakes ended up in Brooklyn/NYC a few years later. Probably not Amazon's fault, but that was definitely a surprise.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 11:00 PM on August 25, 2016


I like Toshio's a lot but we rarely go despite it being two blocks away because we try not to eat a lot of meat and my partner doesn't really like teriyaki anyway. :(

Also I too miss Cyberdogs. So many fond memories of it.
posted by R343L at 11:26 PM on August 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


Wait, this is a thing? I'm sold, where should I go in Belltown?
posted by Xany at 11:37 PM on August 25, 2016


cyberdogs was fine but I miss po dog
posted by palomar at 11:46 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Cyberdogs isn't around anymore?

What a bummer.
posted by saul wright at 1:27 AM on August 26, 2016


In Belltown, you must go to Bento World at 306 Lenora. It's right by the Darth Vader Building at 4th and Blanchard.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:52 AM on August 26, 2016


Another recommendation for Toshio's on Rainier. Yum.
posted by litlnemo at 2:40 AM on August 26, 2016


Does anyone have a favorite teriyaki joint to recommend in South Seattle or the CD?

Rainier Teriyaki, Toshio's, and Othello Teriyaki are all solid. Of the three, I like Rainier the best, though I think it's about $1.50/order more expensive than the other two.


When I first moved to Seattle, I was a regular at Toshio's. The owners were super nice, remembered that I had a dog after seeing her once. I followed them when they moved up the road a bit while they rebuilt their building. I should make the trip back.
posted by heathkit at 2:53 AM on August 26, 2016


Oh god you guys, we moved to Atlanta 11 years ago and I miss chicken katsu so bad.
posted by Fleebnork at 3:58 AM on August 26, 2016 [2 favorites]


Some other solid background reading for those unfamiliar with the Seattle Teriyaki scene: How Teriyaki Became Seattle's Own Fast-Food Phenomenon (Seattle Weekly)
posted by R a c h e l at 5:25 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Slap a Teriyaki joint in the middle of SLU and I swear to god there will be lines out the door. There are for the only (greasy bain marie) Americanized Chinese food joint.
posted by Joe Chip at 6:59 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


hopefully there will always be Pho

There will be pho-flavored potato chips within five years, mark my word.
I have no idea how it could even be captured in artificial esters, but 'tis the way of all flavors
posted by bendybendy at 7:53 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is BS. Teriyaki is alive and well in and all around the Seattle metro area. This author basically sounds like they've lived in SLU forever and is complaining about the changing of the neighborhood to more a business sector. The author probably only has to walk 5 blocks before they run into a teriyaki joint. While they aren't on every corner any longer saying it's dying is ridiculous.
posted by KingBoogly at 9:53 AM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Long gone Okinawa Teriyaki down by the ferry terminal was my JAM as a kid. Plenty of OG shit over here in Kitsap County, and basically all over the place. But yes, parts of downtown and SLU are completely unrecognizable and it doesn't surprise me that the teriyaki joints have hauled off.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:50 AM on August 26, 2016




I had no idea, either, that the teriyaki joint was a Seattle thing. I live somewhat south, but Hana II at the Winco plaza in Federal Way is close by, and therefore my goto "don't wanna cook, what shall we have tonight?" place. Plus, two meals serves four adults, and no one comes away hungry.
posted by lhauser at 12:43 PM on August 26, 2016


Slap a Teriyaki joint in the middle of SLU and I swear to god there will be lines out the door. There are for the only (greasy bain marie) Americanized Chinese food joint.

No kidding. The little teriyaki joint near my office is never not slammed between 12 and 1:30 -- sometimes the line is out the door, but thank god they have online ordering. (There are Facebook offices in the other part of my office complex, and multiple Amazon offices nearby as well -- the teriyaki place and the pho place around the corner are constantly busy during lunch, plus a pizza place just opened up in that block as well. Is Denny Triangle about to start blowing up? Will I have to work from home forever so that I don't have to deal with it?)
posted by palomar at 12:46 PM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Nobody misses the Kingdome. I once stood at home plate at the Kingdome and hit golf balls at the Yankees taking infield practice (this is real) and I don't miss the Kingdome.
posted by skyscraper at 11:39 PM on August 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


i miss the kingdome...
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:43 PM on August 27, 2016


I *hella* miss the kingdome. It was just so... gross. Perfect for my 8-year-old self.

I used to go up to the nosebleeds after I got bored (usually around the 3rd inning or so), back when the Mariners sucked and hadn't EVER gotten good and the 3rd level of the stadium was almost always practically deserted. I went treasure-hunting. One time I found 5 bucks. Another time I found brass knuckles. I also found a used condom, but thankfully my streetwise friend told me what it was before I poked at it.

I miss that disgusting playground for bored children, damn it.
posted by duffell at 6:18 PM on August 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


(Pabst closed the Rainier brewery in '99, and the Tumwater operation closed in '03, so it's far too late to mourn authentic Rainier Beer.)
posted by yarntheory at 6:56 PM on August 28, 2016


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