Skewered at Kushibar

Kushi are Japanese skewers, bamboo or metal. Threaded with a sardine, a prawn, peppers, pork belly or chicken hearts, they're grilled over makeshift charcoal braziers and served up to passersby in Tokyo. In Belltown, you get to sit. In fact, you'll be served on the new open-air deck along Second, a 40-seat expanse at sidewalk level, while executive chef Billy Beach grills your mushrooms or gizzards (over imported coals) inside.

This is Kushibar, from the folks who brought you Umi Sake House. It opened to the public last night with an ambitious menu of more than 80 items on skewers costing $2 to $5 apiece, with happy hour combo platters available. Ten-buck minimum.

Some 20 or so soups and noodles bowls as well: stir-fried yaki udom "street style" as well as the usual soupy suspects (chicken broth with pork, corn, egg, scallions), all in the $8 to $15 price range. House ramen, $11, in a bowl big enough to bathe a puppy, lacked punch; not a drop of soy or hot sauce to be seen. House beers on tap include Sapporo and Oly (now part of Pabst, alas).

Typical opening night madhouse, with kitchen staff overwhelmed by blizzard of orders. Will no doubt improve, but several parties gave up and left in despair, kushi-less.

Kushibar, 2319 Second Avenue, 206-448-2488

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By Ronald in Food on September 5, 2008 12:30 PM

Comments [rss]

ronaldholden

Yes! They do have chicken-skin skewers. Also chicken hearts.

re comment from Bilco (5): link not wasted if Kushibar site gets updated and this post gets read sometime in the future. Besides, electrons are cheap.

BigGreenFrank

Do they have Chicken Skin skewers?

bilco

Hey, MvB, we agree!

If the link actually pointed to something - besides a site that says the hours of op, phone number and address (all of which are in the article), I'd be with you ronaldhold.

As is, just a waste of a link. If it gives the reader an indication of what to expect, I'd be looking for a place with butcher paper on the windows, and a sign that said 'Opening someday'.

MvB

Oops. I went to the Umi Sake House, bilco. I stand corrected. Also, Flash sites are the spawn of the devil.

ronaldholden

Yes, why the link. Well, it's customary to include a link to the person or business mentioned in the post. Gives the reader some indication of what to expect, no?

MvB

@bilco: maybe they've updated it the last few minutes, but I'm seeing a fully functional site, with side nav for menus, gift certificates, etc.

bilco

What exactly is the purpose of the link to the 'web site' of this place?

It's just a splash page that lists the address, hours of operation and phone number, all of which you list in your post.

Why the link? WTL?