Teriyaki Chicken
Name: Gourmet Teriyaki
Location: Mercer Island, WA (Seattle)
Meal: Teriyaki Chicken, White Rice, and a Salad
Type: Teriyaki Shop
Teriyaki is the silent champion of Seattle. Philadelphia is aggressive about cheesesteaks, Chicago the hot dogs, and New York never stops talking about their pizza (rightfully so). When you bring up teriyaki to a transplanted Seattle native you seem to be reminding them how prominent the food is and which store is their favorite. In the Seattle area there are hundreds of tiny mom and pop stores that sell just about only teriyaki; you’ll be lucky to find a dozen items on the menu.
*Note: The rice came with the smiley face on it because Seattle is awesome.
Taste is reason number one to love teriyaki but if you needed more there is price. Cheap. Teriyaki is dirt cheap yet completely filling. For typically $5-$8 you get over a pound of cooked to order meat, a mound or two of rice, and a side salad. The sauce is how individual restaurants stand out from the competition; each one a little different from the other. Sweet, spicy, hints of ginger and salty soy all mix together with the tender grilled chicken. Teriyaki chicken, as seen here, is as Japanese as fortune cookies are Chinese. It is a completely American invention; a fusion of immigrant flavors and technique with American taste buds in mind. It helps that the city-wide taste buds of Seattle are probably some of the most sophisticated taste buds in the country.
When you’re in Seattle and it comes to teriyaki there are few things to keep in mind. For one, you can’t go wrong; they’re all delicious, cheap, and filling. Two, you can’t miss them. So keep any eye out and plan a lunch at a teriyaki store. You will be quite happy, and full.
Teriyaki Chicken
It has to be said that Seattle has Donuts and Coffee, which could be just as high as Teriyaki