Food journalism often offers a window into a class of dining in which I rarely participate. Sure, I've tried Tom Douglas and the occasional news-worthy restaurant. But for the most part, no one's writing headlines about my supper.Until today! Behold, a NY Times feature on Seattle's silent teriyaki obsession. Yes, a food so familiar I've never really thought about it (though I have eaten plenty) made news for its sheer omnipresence in the city.
I was surprised to discover that while teriyaki exists elsewhere, other cities do not offer spicy chicken and gyoza from two shops on every block. The author gave a mention to my U District favorite, Nasai, and our new neighbor, 5 Season's Grill. (See the top right and lower left of the above photo.)
Teriyaki strikes me as Seattle's standard street food, except that our weather prohibits standing outside to eat most of the year. It was one of the few fast foods we ate when I was a kid. When I got tired of spicy chicken around the age of 13, teriyaki-shop yakisoba was my first experience with tofu -- as an eater, it was potentially life-changing (tofu-consumption was not common in south Everett in the 90s, but I loved it from the start).
Beyond the revelation that we're the richest city in the US, teriyaki-wise, the article doesn't give any great insight. There's no charming historical reason for the food in Seattle, just a large population of willing cooks over the last 60 years. There's not much variety, either -- sticky rice, saucy strips of chicken, and a salad of iceberg lettuce with sugary dressing. My teriyaki quality scale runs from Mediocre to Excellent-For-Cheapo-Food. I've never found either an inedible or mind-blowing teriyaki. But I do find it everywhere, and there's really no substitute.
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