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......

Grundlepuck, a regular contributor to our Flickr pool, shared this photo of Seattle Ramen. According to the label, it's produced by Pal-Do World, a Korean grocery in Lynnwood. We're curious about the ingredients. What does it take to turn ordinary ramen into Seattle Ramen? Geoduck? Dick's Deluxe? Pike Place Roast? If you've tried it, let us know if it captures the flavor of the city.......

We’ve been slurping down news of all the new Japanese noodle shops in Seattle. Samurai Noodle’s pretty good; people like it enough that they’ve got a second location. The noodles themselves are better at Kaname, but the broth is lacking. And we’ve heard some good things about Boom Noodle, though our Japanese friends tell us the ramen is disappointing. As we hear more and more about great noodles in New York, LA, and Vancouver,......