It happened to the humble burger joint when the Starlite Diner began slinging grease a couple of years back. It happened to the humble chip shop when Paul McBride's began dishing out deep-fried Britannica at its slick, nautical-motif establishment earlier this year.
Moscow entrepreneurs have a way of turning the Everyman food joint into an exotic dining experience for the financial elite.
The new Japanese place on Belorussky Square is the Moscow version of the yakitoriya, which in Tokyo consists of a hole in the wall equipped with a metal box grill around which folks gather to snack and drink beer or sake after work.
Our local Yakitoria is a bright, stylish little grill serving cheap sushi and all manner of tasty finger food a couple of steps from the metro. The place has apparently caught the attention of the city's Japanese suit population, which crowds around the 15 or so tables to consume mounds of yakitori and sushi.
The house dish is yakitori, a 15-centimeter kebab of chicken chunks basted in a sugar and soy barbecue sauce and cooked over a special charcoal that burns hotter than the usual stuff in order to sear the outside of the meat but keep the inside tender.
The yakitori is sold by the skewer, beginning with basic chicken for 30 rubles ($1.20) and moving on to chicken wings and chicken breast. Classic variations on Yakitoria's menu include kebabs of chicken skin, stomach, liver, and heart. Instead, try the chicken with plum sauce or mushrooms, or branch out into fish, 80 rubles per skewer. Shrimp, tuna, and scallop compared well with the chicken.
One potential caveat: In the interests of getting all the little pieces to the table at once, sometimes the chef leaves them on the grill too long and dries out the meat. Keep an eye on your order as it is cooked in the open kitchen and pass on any concerns to the English-speaking wait staff.
It might be best not to watch, though, as the Japanese chefs prepare the sushi. However quick and skillful the preparation and presentation, the fish is not fresh, and the chefs have no scruples about removing the raw materials from their hermetically sealed cellophane packages before the very eyes of their clients.
That said, there were some nice surprises on our plates, to wit, the shrimp and a sweet silver slip of mackerel on a nigiri roll. The biggest disappointment of the evening was the tuna nigiri, followed closely by the salmon, which were both pretty to look at but practically flavorless.
Despite some shortfalls, the sushi got an overall thumbs up, taking into account value and stylish presentation. The menu includes about 10 types each of sashimi (150 rubles apiece), nigiri (35 rubles), and maki (60-100 rubles). The plum and cherry assortments (380 and 250 rubles respectively) include about a dozen pieces and are a good deal, especially if you prefer not to order by the piece.
Yakitoria has a small selection of soups (miso was good at 60 rubles), salads, and main dishes, such as grilled salmon in mandarin sauce and chicken sauteed with seaweed (averaging about 150 rubles). The drinks of choice are sake (100 rubles), Japanese beer (110 rubles), or Baltika (40 rubles for a half liter).
The management is already boasting a regular clientele, and the place can be pretty packed midweek. If there are only two of you, make nice with the guy in the samurai suit at the door. He won't hold your hand, but he might try to find you a couple of spots at the counter that runs around the perimeter of the kitchen area. If you are going with a crowd, be sure to reserve a table.
Yakitoria, 29 1st Tverskaya-Yamskay Ul., Bldg.1. Tel. 250-53-85. Metro: Belorusskaya. Open 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Rubles only.
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