Dishin’: Oystas in a Non-R Month

Aware of an old adage that says you should avoid oysters in a month that contains the letter “R,” we did a little research and discovered it would be perfectly okay to indulge our desire. Okay, maybe they’re not as good in the summer, as these bivalves are busy having sex and therefore not as plump and meaty as they might be at other times of the year, but we didn’t care. After all, we weren’t looking for naked oysters to slurp straight off the shell. Instead, we had a craving for kaki fry—a preparation popular in Japan.

Togetsu was our target. We hadn’t heard anything about this restaurant, but sitting at the corner of Yesler and Jefferson for over 30 years, it seemed worth a try. The place was pleasant enough inside, but we wondered why we were about the only customers on a Saturday night.

In traditional fashion, the meal included miso soup, ohitashi (boiled spinach with dashi), sunomono (a vinegared dish, in this case cucumber) and rice. The portions were small, and we knew we’d need to be ordering more rice. Next came a small plate of teriyaki chicken. Ma-ma, as they say in Japanese, meaning so-so. And finally, the kaki fry, which are oysters dipped in flour, eggs and Panko, and then deep-fried.

These were done right: crispy on the outside, and juicy, melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. Topped with sauce (not sure what kind, as our Japanese friends always say “sauce is sauce”), they satisfied our craving.

But not sure this justifies a return visit to Togetsu. We also ordered a sashimi platter and were disappointed with both the quantity and quality of the fish. Pushing $20 per dinner, we’ll explore other options for our next kaki fry, and likely return to Takohachi for our favorite home-style, hole-in-the-wall Japanese cooking at half the price.