Mitsuba Delicatessen

I've been having quite a number of okazu-style lunches recently.  The first was from Mitsu-Ken a couple of weeks back, then it was Gulick just a couple of days ago.  Well, I was still craving for okazu food today when I decided that I would try my luck at Mitsuba.

Mitsuba Delicatessen is actually located right across the street from Mitsu-Ken.  It's advantage is not the food, but the parking.  Unfortunately for me, there was no parking in the lot when I arrived.  As I waited for a stall, I was hoping that I would be able to get some of my favorites here today.

By the time I finally parked my car and made it inside, there were two people being attended to.  That gave me a chance to look at what little was left for me to choose from.  I was seriously hoping for some of the sweet potato crumbles or maki sushi, but I knew that I was had arrived much too late. 

Since I wasn't really hungry, and because there was none of the maki sushi, I settled for one inari sushi (US$.95) and one piece of the garlic chicken (US$.75).

When I placed my order, the woman taking my order seemed quite surprised.  "Just one piece garlic chicken?", she said.  Yes, I nodded.  When it was time to eat, I opened my container to find two pieces.  I guess she felt that I needed to eat more. 

The rice in the HUGE inari sushi was seasoned perfectly, with just the right balance of vinegar-y sweetness.  Mixed with the rice, which was stuffed into a "cone" made of aburage (deep fried tofu), was some chopped carrots and chopped string beans.  The garlic chicken was deep fried then coated in a sauce which was slightly sweet and just a touch garlic-y.  Crisp and crunchy, this was delicious.  It was not the same as the garlic chicken at either Sugoi or at Mitsu-Ken, but it was good nonetheless.

This was probably the least expensive lunch that I have eaten in a long time coming in at only US$1.70!  Although it was a small lunch, it was quite enjoyable.  Mitsuba has some of the biggest and tastiest inari sushi in town.  Next time, though, I think I'll arrive at the crack of dawn so that I can have some of the maki sushi and the sweet potato crumbles.

Mitsuba Delicatessen
1218 North School Street
Telephone:  (808)841-3864

Comments

[stacey]

so many okazu yas! the inari looks pretty good... nice and vinegary. mmm, i'm coming back in 2 weeks!!! i can't wait to get some good mochiko or garlic chicken...

[Julia]

Hi Reid,

The chopped carrots and string beans are a nice touch to the inari sushi. Btw, it was really nice of the deli assistant to give you an extra piece of the garlic chicken.

[MrsT]

Very nice.. of the lady to give you an extra piece of chicken.. :) it would only be a snack for me.. if i were to eat this small amt of food.. ;) but they do look delicious though.. although the chicken look a wee bit dry..??

[Suebob]

What are sweet potato crumbles? They sound great!

[jupiter]

Yummy! That's a very delicious looking lunch and it was cheap to boot. It was very nice that they gave you an extra piece of chicken. I have to go again soon...

[lance]

Reid,

About a block ewa on the same side (mauka) of North King Steet is Yuki's Delicatessen. I'm curious what you'd think of the food there, as I really like that place. Talk about a "hole-in-the-wall" place. There's a small rusty sign in front with only about 4 parking spaces right up against the front door and window of the small very old building. I think they're open till 2:30 or 3:00pm, since Farrington and Damien School kids go there after school. There's a variety of food, like stuffed shrimp, stuffed mahi, pork chops, kinpira gobo, okinawan potato stuffed pastry, long rice, and on and on.....

[MBS]

STOP! I'm getting hungry and I'm stranded in Los Angeles! Lol.

On the other hand, it's really nice to know that okazuyas are still around, since we always hear about the one's that close. How is the okazuya scene nowdays? Still strong?

Btw, have you ever been to Caryn's Okazuya?

[AugustusGloop]

That chicken sounds sensational. Fried garlicky and sweet? Yum!

Hey, maybe the deli assistant will slip you her phone number next time too =P

[fish fish]

How big is the inari sushi? Can't really figure the size out from the picture. :P In Japan, usually for 2 regular inari, you can get with US$1 in normal market.

[Tea]

Mmm...my mouth is watering just looking at that inari sushi. I haven't had it in sooo long and that one looks delish! ^-^ It was nice of that lady to give you an extra piece of chicken too. =)

[Reid]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

You're right. There are so many okazuyas around. The inari sushi here is the one of the best that I've had. Hope you enjoy your trip home.

Hi Julia,

It was nice of her, wasn't it? The pieces of chicken were not too small (maybe a third of a small thigh), but I didn't really want to eat much anyway. The inari sushi was good.

Hi MrsT,

It was very nice of her to do that. This was actually enough for a small snack, but then that's all I really needed. I normally eat lunch at 1:00 pm so I wasn't really hungry. The chicken actually wasn't dry at all. It was deep fried, well drained and coated with some sauce. Looks can be a bit deceiving.

Hi Suebob,

Thank you for visiting. The sweet potato crumbles are actually a bit of a misnomer. They are actually more like sweet potato turnovers. Normally, if you don't get there by 9:00 am, you won't get any. Maybe I can get some next time. If I do, I'll update this post.

Hi jupiter,

It was a nice snack. I had more to eat at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Do you go to Mistuba often? If you go there and find cookies on the counter, buy them. They are the best.

Hi Lance,

Nice to hear from you! =)

I haven't been to Yuki's before so I thank you for the recommendation. It might be a while before I get to go there, but I'll try.

Hi MBS,

Well, you know, you could always come home more often. =)

Okazuyas are here to stay...at least if I can help it. There was one on King Street that closed down last year, was it called Ethyl's (Ethel's)?

I haven't been to Caryn's before. Where exactly is it?

Hi AG,

I don't think I'll get a phone number -- she was old enough to be my grandmother. LOL! The chicken is good, if you like it a bit on the sweet side, like I do.

Hi fish fish,

The inari sushi is huge. It's twice as big as the one's you'll normally find in a sushi shop. It was about the size of my fist.

Hi Tea,

Thank you for leaving me a comment.

The inari sushi here is so delicious. Their maki sushi is tasty as well. If you have a chance to try this, you should.

[MBS]

Hey Reid:

Caryn's Okazuya--270 Young Street

[MBS]

Oops...1270 Young St. Sorry

[Reid]

Hi MBS,

Thanks for the info. I'll try to check out Caryn's soon. I remember now. That place that closed down was Ethel's. It was right near Boulangerie.

[Rico]

Today a co-worker, Les, brought in several boxes of 'sweet potato crumbles'(or maki sushi) and talk about ono grinds!! these little things were OH! So ono!!;-)

I never saw purple colored sweet potato before ... I guess dis da okazuya kine! There wasn't a mention of how good these are in the above posting so here is my vote ... go get'um ...
Happy New Year 2008!!