This is Why I Avoid Japanese Food in the US… (Review: Daikaya)

22 April 2019

I have been asked by my readers where I actually live. And when I tell them, they’re surprised how few reviews I post from this area. And a good reason can be seen in this review. I’m sorry, but as much as people are hyping the Washington DC area for food, this is one of the worst areas in the entire United States.

Washington DC is horrible mesh of über-hyped trendy NYC knock-offs to PR-driven messes with diners who think kobe beef is marketed by the ex-basketball player, a total lack of creativity and poor, dumbed-down pseudo-ethnic trendy places that displaces the real good ethnic restaurants that are disappearing by the dozen. All perfect for the Amazon 2.0 crowd I reckon. And this evening’s quick drop-in into Daikaya is a perfect example.

It’s also a perfect example of WHY I don’t eat Japanese food outside of Japan, except for rare occasions. 99% of the time they disappoint, and Daikaya is another disappointment. I arrived there after meeting with some friends, but I was hungry and looking for a few drinks. So I headed to Daikaya’s upstairs — the izakaya portion of the 2-part restaurant. The downstairs is the ramen shop, and my readers know I would rather eat a month-old tub of dry KFC mashed potatoes than to eat ramen, so naturally I headed to the drinking den.

It was extremely empty, it being just after Easter — and the doomed Capitals were on the road in Raleigh, so there was no huge crowd in the area aside from the usual circus that is Gallery Place. Not too inspired, I ordered a cocktail and a trio of items. The drink was good, but my heart sank a bit when my food arrived…

This tako wasabi was so watery it’s sad. The wasabi was very weak, this being one of the weakest versions of this dish I’ve ever had. Was not condusive to drinking, which defeats the purpose of this item.

This hotaru-ika dish is a total disaster. Supposed to be fermented, but it just tastes funky — like it wasn’t fresh when it started the process. I’ve had proper fermented firefly squid before, and this ain’t it. And they were soaking in a sauce meaning to remove the flavour of the fermentation, so what is the point? Sigh…

Finally, the grilled tongue. This wasn’t bad, the best item of the set by light years. Sigh…

At this point I was still a little hungry and I had ordered some sake, so I decided to give the kitchen a second chance by ordering another trio. I enjoyed the sake for a bit when the second set of dishes came out, and my heart sank further than before…

The “Rocky Balboa” was a fun and interesting item, a combination of various eggs raw (see, Rocky Balboa?) — from salmon roe to quail egg. I wish there was a little more of it, could have been nicer. But probably the only item outside of the tongue that was good.

And the fish? This came…this wannabe filet-o-fish. I did not know this was what I was ordering, as the menu gave no indication this was a sandwich, burger, or anything dodgy that made me want to run to McDonalds across the street. Frankly, it didn’t improve on the Golden Arches…

I had one more order of the tongue, and this set was nowhere as good as the first. I don’t like this sauce, it’s unnecessary if you got good tongue. So you’re either dumbing it down or you admit you don’t have good quality meat. Sigh.

Well, I was done. The sake was so-so but I was done. The service had crumbled too as they started to cut most of the staff on a very quiet night. So I called it and settled up and headed out, shaking my heading as I headed down the stairs. Why would people think this holds up as an authentic Japanese izakaya is beyond me. It’s prolly cuz they never ever visited one.

Daikaya
705 6th Street, NW
Washington, DC

Review: Emmer & Rye

5 April 2019

I was pretty full after that excellent BBQ at Kerlin BBQ, but I still had one dinner left for this trip. It’s been quite poor so far dining-wise on this trip, from Florida to Michigan to here in Texas, but let’s see if this can break the duck. I’ve never had good luck in Austin, remembering that awful acid bath at Barley Swine during my last visit…

Tonight’s destination is another similarly-hot restaurant called Emmer & Rye. I got worried when I saw chef’s pedigree that included acid-driven Copenhagen, but let’s see what happens. I took a Lyft in, after returning my car and not wanting to drive on a Friday night anyway. It was loud and everything that middle-aged Mel doesn’t like in a restaurant, as I chose a corner bar space. Mistake…

I was offered a table but offered it back to not take up a valuable 2-top on a busy Friday night. The bar was rammed and there was only 2 bartenders (read: servers) who were constantly busy. Thus service was barely present all night… And too many drinkers were hanging around, which was understandable but I dislike when I am in to dine…

I eventually got a bartender’s attention and ordered a nice cocktail. Then some food. Then I just chilled out with the nice eggy cocktail before my first item arrived — mushrooms.

Pretty good stuff, featuring some lion’s mane mushrooms. Delicious, I don’t get them often so really enjoy them when I get the chance. Good salad overall too, so a good start. A touch of acid, but it works here. Acid is good when it works, but when a kitchen uses acid for acid sake, that’s when it goes poorly.

Oh, sorry about the poor quality photos. It was dark, and once again my phone chose not to focus right in the low light…

Good start food-wise, but I couldn’t get the bartenders’ attention as I had nothing to drink. I finally got one’s attention and by then I was so annoyed I ordered 2 glasses of wine — one for my upcoming pasta and one for the main afterwards. I think they got the hint.

The pasta then came out, a nice cacio e pepe with a touch of Swiss Chällerhocker cheese. The durum pasta was cooked very well and this was a rare situation where a cacio e pepe type of pasta dish in the US actually came out delicious. I’m pleasantly surprised so far with the food, though too bad the ridiculously loud music and slow bar service is making a dent into my enjoyment.

My main then arrived, the wagyu flank. I knew this was not Japanese (thank goodness) but it was also not cooked that well. Very fibrous, and they didn’t provide a steak knife even when I asked for it. They also didn’t bring out the pre-ordered wine for awhile. Not a good steak at all… I barely finished it, coming close to choking twice. That’s when I knew my patience was completely gone… And it was barely seasoned too. Sigh… The kitchen got overwhelmed.

At this point I didn’t want to wait much longer, so skipped dessert. Had liquid desserts, though ironically things seem to have calmed down at the bar so the drinks went much faster. 2 doubles and a single later of various brown liquors I was happily done. The bartenders did well, they were just horribly overwhelmed by understaffing. This is irresponsible by the managers, to have only 2 bartenders on a packed Friday night.

I thanked them and headed out as my Lyft had just arrived. Easily the best night of dining I had out on this entire trip of fails — which is an indictment of the poor experiences I’ve had on this trip. I just don’t have good luck with Austin…

But still, a relatively good night, despite the service chaos and the disastrous wagyu, but it also shows how little patience I have these days for things that I wouldn’t tolerate at my own place years ago. I’m just tired to the modern dining-out scene I think.

Oh well, time to head home tomorrow so I can cook for myself again…

Emmer & Rye
51 Rainey Street, Suite 110
Austin, Texas

* BTW United Airlines proved itself to be the shittiest one on the block. For all the crap they pulled recently, they are getting worse. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Spirit was actually BETTER than United. Just avoid this flying dumpster-fire…

BBQ Adventures in Austin Part 2: Kerlin BBQ

5 April 2019

I left San Antonio disappointed after that very poor night at Cured. I think my days of dining out are ending. It’s not worth this aggravation anymore, throwing good money away at poor experiences all over the country… There is a major problem in our industry; it’s not just chefs complaining about lack of competent cooks, but the whole industry is in a funk frankly…

I looped around the Hill Country, making a few stops — including to quickly pay my respects to President Lynden B Johnson again. I’m glad this time I didn’t see people try to trespass at his family’s cemetery… I eventually made my way back to Austin and for a late lunch I stopped at Kerlin BBQ — where I wanted to go the other day. They close at 4pm every day, so didn’t manage last time.

Thank goodness I arrived after the lunch rush, though driving by La Barbecue I still saw a long line. I got to Kerlin and there was only a short line, thank goodness. Kerlin doesn’t get the love from the BBQ crowd as much as the others, like Franklin (which didn’t work for me). But I got there, ordered, and got some of the last items they had for the day. Good timing!

I headed out and got to my hotel (once again glad for no drama on Cesar Chavez) and opened up my bounty. This was meant for lunch and possible snack later, as well as breakfast before I fly home tomorrow, so please no comments on the volume!

First was the beef rib. These are always good, and they did it well — albeit the crust was a bit salty. But excellent meat and flavour for sure.

Next up was the brisket, and this is exactly how good brisket could be. It was even better than the first La Barbeque visit. You can tell they use a different acid to keep it moist, and this was near brisket perfection. Winner!

And finally, some hot links that are quite good. These proved to be an excellent breakfast the next morning!

Well, as I mentioned I finally have a winner in my BBQ search. Kerlin wins in Austin, and beats anything from Jacksonville a few days back too.

Highly recommended! And no stupidly long lines!

Kerlin BBQ
1700 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, Texas

Fail by a Previous Favourite, Part 3: Cured (in San Antonio)

4 April 2019

I had a long day looping through central Texas, luckily fuelled on by the BBQ last night from La Barbecue. I went to pay my respects to President George HW Bush at College Station, and then drove on south. Made a few stops, grabbed lunch at my all-time guilty pleasure Jack In the Box (which I miss dearly living in the east coast), and eventually made my way to San Antonio.

After cursing for the final hour of driving at all the very shitty drivers in that part of Texas, a state already maligned by shitty drivers, I reach my motel. Looks scary, but was the most comfortable night of this entire stay. I chilled out for a bit before I headed to dinner at my favourite place in San Antonio, Cured.

Located at the Pearl entertainment district, parking was a mess this Thursday evening. I eventually found a place a bit away, and walked in. They put me at a table instead of the bar, as it wasn’t as busy as it looked; most people were still outside as it was warm but not humid — a respite before the very long hot and humit Texas summer.

My server was friendly but seems a bit lost. I ordered and she kept asking the same questions, and I reckon that confusion may have led to how this evening turned messy…

I relaxed over a cocktail when my starter came, a selection of Pearl’s famous charcuterie.

Well, definitely not as good as before. The local chevre was pretty good, but the aged belly was nowhere as good as last time. The pork rillette was also not as good as last time, and this time the promised jalapeño was sorely lacking. Oh well, but it was still good overall.

But what annoyed me was that a minute into my charcuterie they brought out my starter…and I said no, I specifically told my server to do these as courses, so they took it back. And of course, it took ages for me to get someone’s attention for a glass of wine, a fine Texas rosé (yes, it’s good!), but another long wait for the previously-prematurely-served starter…

Well, this was a fusion dish to say the least… The sugarcane-skewered lamb was done in a Middle Eastern style, almost like a köfte, while the sauce was a bourboned Vietnamese nước chấm… Well, the whole fusion was pretty boring to be honest. Not bad, but not great, considering how much they were upselling the dish on the menu and from the server…

After it took some effort to get another glass of wine, my main course arrived, the rabbit roulade…

Huh? Cold? Perhaps they had made this earlier and left it because the server didn’t tell them about serving them as courses? The roulade, which was pretty good, was cold. I asked my server if it was supposed to be a cold dish and she said no. Then I noticed it wasn’t just not warm, but cool to cold. I touched the other elements and some felt like they came straight out of the fridge.

Did the kitchen play a hissy fit because of the earlier confusion? If so, this is utterly juvenile and unprofessional. If not, this is just a massive kitchen fail. Either way, this soured me very badly on this place. The FoH director came out to apologise and offered to take it off, but by then I had consumed the dish. I SO HATE when they do this, when they offer to take it off the menu after you finish eating it. If you want to do something, comp something else like a glass of wine. And of course they did no such thing…

I just wanted to get out of there. Got my bill and left. Once again another of the places I had so loved during a previous visit has fallen down on its face, and this time it’s all self-inflicted. Poor FoH led to poor BoH decisions and the whole thing showed something between unprofessionalism to pettiness.

Once again, I must withdraw my earlier glowing recommendation for yet another place…sigh…

Cured
306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 101
San Antonio, Texas

BBQ Adventures in Austin Part 1: A Return to La Barbecue

3 April 2019

I had a long morning in Detroit before I headed to the airport, and surprisingly Spirit got me to Austin smoothly. It’s sad when a operated-as-normal flight experience becomes a total surprise… I had a bit to do in Austin before I went to grab some dinner. It was almost 4pm, and that means my original BBQ target was closing up, so I headed back to La Barbecue.

I visited La Barbecue at their previous location a few blocks away 3 years ago. That was a miserable long wait, but the barbeque was excellent. I arrived at their new location inside a convenience store setting, odd… Though there were only a few people in the queue, it was still miserably slow… And with the lateness of the hour on this Wednesday, many things had run out already.

I nervously got up to the counter to ask what they still had, and ordered basically what they had left! I headed out and drove out to my hotel…at least this time there wasn’t a crazy aggressive driver that came out to bang on my windshield like last time! Another so-so, poorly-constructed hotel, but I was tired and hungry so I opened my bounty…

The jalapeño sausages were excellent, the spiciness true and wonderful with the good meat. But what I was really looking forward to was the brisket…

Well, it was not the best. It was dried out. But it was their last piece it seemed, and it was very late in the day, so it’s been there for awhile. It’s never great to get BBQ late in the afternoon, and I paid for it. Good flavour but the meat was not the best — nowhere as good as last time.

Sigh…well, let’s see what another BBQ place will do for me, as I have one more opportunity to grab some Austin ‘cue on the way back…

La Barbecue
2027 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, Texas

Review: Phoenicia

2 April 2019

I somehow managed to get to Michigan from Jacksonville no thanks to the blundering airline called Spirit. Do avoid them if you can, it’s one of the worst out there. Not Allegiant bad, but bad enough for me to never use them again after this trip. I had to rush due to getting in 2 hours late, and had a busy afternoon rushing to northern Indiana. A quick overnight literally on the Indiana-Michigan border (my hotel’s driveway crossed state lines), I headed north back to Michigan.

Stopped at Grand Rapids, where I’ve not been for a few years. I wanted to visit President Ford’s grave again, as last time I came it was the day of that crazy derecho and it was a complete mess visiting. Then I headed back east towards Detroit as there were a few other places I needed to stop at before getting to my hotel in Troy, just north of Detroit.

I didn’t fancy going into town to eat as I was tired, so I found a place nearby that had been on my radar before, Phoenicia. It’s one of the top Lebanese places in the area, and this area is of course good for Lebanese-Levant cuisine. I got there and immediately was greeted by one of the most glum, disengaged servers I have ever seen at a restaurant…not a good start.

I eventually ordered when I got his attention again and tried to relax with some good Lebanese wine. Then my starter arrived…

Hmmm…these morels were okay, nothing special, a bit mushy and overcooked, lacking in that morel goodness. The sauce was a bit too sour to be honest too, so didn’t even use the bread to soak it up. Then the second starter, halloumi.

Ugh…someone left these to grill a bit too long. Even more burnt on the bottom, it was sloppy. Not that great in quality too. Sigh… Then it took ages to get my server’s attention for more wine. It just gets better on this trip doesn’t it? Sigh…

My main, the mixed grill, arrives. The kafta (köfte) was quite nice, the minced lamb done very well. Unfortunately the tawook (chicken) was far less good, and the kabob was pretty poor. I should have just ordered the kafta like I generally do. Oh well…

I could not get my server’s attention yet again. Now he’s so distracted at the front station that a poor lady walking on crutches got NO help in opening the front door from him nor the hostess. This is piss poor FoH attitude, whether it was sheer rudeness or inept distraction, either way it’s awful. I was done, and once I settled up I headed out.

These poor nights are coming in droves, and I really am at a point where I really do not want to eat out anymore, even on these less-in-coming short US trips… Another disappointing night.

Phoenicia
588 South Old Woodward Avenue
Birmingham, Michigan

* At least the next morning I managed to spend some of it in Downtown Detroit before I headed out of town on this very short stop. That city has really transformed itself…

BBQ Adventures in JAX Part 2: Bearded Pig BBQ

31 March 2019

The next day I had another long day, but the poor evening at Vito’s Chop House in Orlando still bothered me. My treks today took me through north-central florida through Ocala and Gainesville, before jutting up to southern Georgia for a short stop. Then I headed back to Jacksonville, tired and hungry as I skipped lunch.

I was tired, so I decided to just do BBQ again, to continue this quest to see if there’s anything better than Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q from my visit a few years earlier (no review there, sadly). My stop this time is The Bearded Pig BBQ, and I relaxed with a beer as I waited for my order. A rather nice looking bartender was distracting me from my beer…

Anyway, the food was ready, I thanked her and headed on out and back to the same hotel as 2 days ago. I asked for a room on the top floor as I had a “stomper” above me last time. These poorly-constructed hotels all over the country is beyond annoying, and I didn’t want another shitty sleep like 2 days ago after that poor Matthew’s night.

I got upstairs and opened up my ‘cue…

First of all the smoked wings were done really well, nice smokey flavour that went deep enough to make a real difference.

Next up, some ribs. The ribs at Jenkins the other day was actually better ribs-wise (except that horrible sauce). Not bad, but not that great.

The mac-and-cheese was actually one of the poorer ones I’ve had at a BBQ place in awhile. Sigh. But it was definitely filling to cover for missing lunch and this running into dinner. But frankly I’m glad I’m done with Florida. I don’t see a reason I ever have to visit again, so at least it ended in an okay way.

But for my Jacksonville BBQ quest, it has not replaced Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q as the best in the JAX area. My money is still on them, though since I’ve not been there for a few years who knows…it seems like that’s a Florida trend…

Bearded Pig BBQ
1224 Kings Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida

Fail by a Previous Favourite, Part 2: Vito’s Chop House (in Orlando)

30 March 2019

A long and frustrating afternoon of being stuck in traffic doing a loop towards the south-west, I headed back to Orlando and headed to my hotel room — a comped room thanks to a Hilton mishap a few months ago in Miami after that last South America trip.

I relaxed and then eventually strolled a block to Vito’s Chop House. I’ve been to this old-school steakhouse many times over the years, though I’ve never reviewed it since I’ve not been back for many years; I think my first visit was at least 15 years ago. I’ve always had good steak and wine here, and I’m hoping for a good one — so I can forget about that fail last night at previously-good Matthew’s in Jacksonville.

From the onset the service was shaky. My server was friendly but it seems she had tables across the sprawling restaurant and the whole FoH scheme seems utterly confused. I ordered a bottle of wine just to not deal with this mess. I also ordered a rather large meal for myself, as this may be the last time I visit a proper steakhouse in a long, long time…

After a little, I noticed the service was becoming nonexistent, but I’m glad they left the wine on the table so I could pour it myself. Then my “starter” arrived…and it’s bigger than my main I think.

It’s a gigantic Caribbean rock lobster tail. Unfortunately it’s a bit over-broiled, so too much of it burned. It’s never as tasty as cold-weather lobster, but not bad. A shame about the poor cooking tho, rather unlike what I’ve experienced here before…

Then for some reason it took over 40 minutes for my main to come out, and that worried me, since when does a steak take that long to cook? I asked about it and then it appeared…

Sigh, it was definitely nowhere as good as it has been in the past, this rib-eye was ridiculously fibrous and cooked very unevenly. Parts were proper medium-rare, but others were closer to medium-well. And the broccoli side I got was nearly raw. That I told them to take away, and they miraculously brought another one that was fine in 60 seconds. It seems it’s so chaotic they are confusing cooking times for everything.

Very disappointing for a previously always reliable place, and by now my server has totally disappeared. I was out of wine and water. I asked another roving server about it and he didn’t even acknowledge it except for a stink-eye. My server finally returned so I could settle up. I’m not gonna bother with dessert or anything here. Then that earlier roving server came by with a sarcastic, “did your server come by?” This is just piss poor attitude. The FoH director came out to apologise about a few things, but the night is lost.

Aside from having to listen to a few annoying MAGA-type guys on an adjacent table, mocking the hispanic runners, trying not to chuck my wine bottle at them, this was a poor food and service night overall. What again was a safe, reliable place, this time from multiple excellent earlier visits, this was even more disappointing than last night. What is going on with all these reliable places going so far downhill?

Another disappointing night. Maybe it is time to stop eating out…

Vito’s Chop House
8633 International Drive
Orlando, Florida

Review: Hawkers

30 March 2019

I woke up before dawn, still shaking my head from that disastrous A5 Wagyu at Matthew’s last night. I had a long morning, snaking down from the north-east of Florida into its swampy heart. A few stops later, I arrived in Orlando just in time for an early lunch.

I stopped at Hawkers, the flagship location of the small regional chain that has popularised Singaporean-style hawker cuisine — albeit in a American chain restaurant fashion. I sat at the bar and ordered a few items that looked good. Not truly Singaporean, but a bit pan-Asian, so it’s all over the place.

I reckon my many Singaporean readers will chuckle at this entire lunch… With a beer in hand, the items started to show up one by one…

The first was the dimsum crunchy balls. Once you get around all the annoying fried spring roll skin crap you get to the core, which wasn’t bad, an amalgamation of meats.

Next up was a disappointing dish of crispy tofu bites. Cooked well (properly dried) but the seasoning is too lame. They tried too hard to make this traditional dish more hip for local crowds, but lost its essence. Five spice does not replace the proper pepper, especially when it’s barely salted.

Next up was the grilled beef bulgogi skewer as we take a detour to Korea. This was quite delicious, though the sauce is somewhere in a mixed pan-Asian fashion that tasted more Filipino BBQ than Korean. But delicious, best part of this lunch.

And finally their version of the Singaporean chilli crab, done with a soft-shell. Well, they tried, it’s not bad, the sauce was pretty good but too mild — again probably dumbed down for the local audience. You really needed the bite here…oh well, though it worked well as a sauce for the really bland fried tofu…

I finished my beer and settled up and headed out. Service was shaky despite it being empty at an early hour, as most of the staff were chatting away and ignoring me. Oh well…

Not bad, they tried… Good for groups I guess that don’t really care about authenticity. A good, watered-down version of hawker fare I guess, which is probably a winner marketing-wise for Florida. I had a long afternoon coming up, so glad to have fuelled up here.

Hawkers
1103 North Mills Avenue
Orlando, Florida

Fail by a Previous Favourite, Part 1: Matthew’s (in Jacksonville)

29 March 2019

After that lacklustre lunch from Jenkins Quality Barbecue (ugh, that sauce…), I was hoping for better in the evening. After running a few errands, I headed to dinner. I was hoping for a good night at Matthew’s, where I had a surprisingly excellent dinner 4 years ago when I was last in Jacksonville.

I went by Lyft, it being a Friday night and me wanted to have a few drinks. I got to the busy restaurant but was placed at the kitchen counter, which was perfect. I relaxed and ordered a cocktail. I looked over the menu and was surprised to see an A5 beef from Japan being offered. So I challenged them on the details, just to prevent a mis-sell like what Le Bernardin and other places have done, and they brought out the certificate. It’s a proper one from Kagoshima, so I was impressed.

But it also worried me whether people in Jacksonville will get this beef, since it sounds like the staff are pushing it. So I went with it, ordered a bottle of red, and did that as a starter. I relaxed and they then poured my wine. The set arrived and I became immediately worried…

The stone is a really poor way to cook this, especially such a small one. Seems more a gimmick. The sauces are all a mess…where’s the salt? You think having it as a decor under the stone works when we really want good salt for the beef?? And really, the wasabi looks sad; the pickles look even sadder. And my heart completely sunk when I saw the meat…

The marbling is beautiful, but THIS LOOKS HACKED! The pieces were cut absolutely awfully, completely uneven — which does NOT lend well to this method of cooking. Look at the end piece on the right, it looks absolutely ridiculous. And the problem when it’s TOO THIN at points is that you CANNOT cook it with this method, as it gets stuck and burnt on the stone within a millisecond.

Sheer idiocy, literally! This was absolutely disappointing and again confirms my belief good Japanese beef should NEVER be exported in this volume because it’s being RUINED everywhere. The beef quality was good, and I ate most of it pretty much raw because the stone was utterly useless, and the wasabi was piss poor.

This is a dish served by people who have no bloody idea of how these items are supposed to be served, and they RUINED it.

My night was pretty much ruined already. The wine was keeping me going somewhat. My second starter then arrived, scallops.

Surprisingly it was pretty good, the best hot dish of the night by far. Had more wine and then my main course arrived.

The duck was also way upsold on its sourcing by the service staff, but once again we have poor cooking. Absolutely uneven cooking, parts are way overdone and mushy and livery, which is WHAT NOT to do to a well-sourced duck. The skin, by this stage, was soggy and rubbery… This kitchen seems to be collapsing everywhere from the busy Friday night.

Ironically this beets side was probably the best thing I had all night, as the line cook in front of me did a wonderful job, and I thanked him for it. I called out the failings of the other dishes to the servers, who didn’t seem to be all that concerned with my concerns. Sigh…

I was done. Friendly service but they didn’t seem to think my concerns were important. And it collapsed in the end as they were more interested in socialising than to get me an after-dinner drink.

But eventually I think they figured that out and comped the rye, but by then this restaurant has turned from being surprisingly good to unexpectedly awful. That Kagoshima beef is just an atrocity that should not be continued, and I really wish I can yell at the greedy Japanese beef exporters for this ridiculous move to cash in on the craze and UTTERLY DESTROY their reputation.

Oh, did I mention I overheard one person in the dining room say he would not eat the A5 beef because it’s not American? Yeah, and this is a target market for these unscrupulous beef producers in Japan? Sigh…

What a damn disappointment. I completely and utterly retract my earlier recommendation.

Matthew’s
2107 Hendricks Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida