Giving Thanks to Izakaya Bincho

[SauceSupreme]

To help a buddy erase the taste of a mediocre Thanksgiving off his palate, I dragged him to Izakaya Bincho for a very chill evening with a lot of great food. It was close to empty, as one would expect on the day after the biggest eating holiday. But fans of Japanese pubs will be pleased to know that great food doesn't take a vacation.

Izakaya Bincho can be a little hard to find, but worth the trip. Tucked into the side of the Redondo Beach pier, what was once a masterful yakitori-ya has (by fire code) been transformed into a very able izakaya. In addition to the old standbys, Izakaya Bincho also now features a seasonal menu that rotates monthly. And it's easy to see where touches of Tomo-san's prowess in grilling chicken shine through in dishes like his yu-rinchi (fried chicken topped with green onions) as well as the agedashi tsukune (ground chicken in broth).

The yu-rinchi was an excellent "sauced-up" variant of ubiquitous fried chicken, offering a great combination of crunchy texture, buoyed by the brightness of the onion and the subtle sweetness of the sauce. The broth for the agedashi tsukune had just the right level of soy and ginger to brighten up the dish, and played well with the intense meatiness of the ground chicken and the bitterness of the radish.

The broth also came into play in another classic izakaya dish, agedashidofu. Here, the grilled exterior of the tofu belied the lava-like molten interior, melting into the broth and sometimes even melting the roof of my mouth. As with the tsukune, the daikon and broth intermingled beautifully.

No trip to an izakaya would be complete without some pork belly, and with that in mind, we placed an order for the buta no kakuni. At this point, it should be noted that dozens of tourists have all strolled by, their heads turning to see what's going on in this little corner of the world. Little did they know that we were tearing into a hunk of skin, fat, meat, fat and meat again.

Tomo-san also executes simple dishes with equal aplomb. The roasted gingko nuts could go down as one of my favorite bar snacks of the year, and it was particularly interesting to continue noshing on them as their texture and flavor changed as they cooled. My highlight of the evening was the zosui (rice porridge), whose broth is made to order (and thus arrived last) is the very essence of comfort on a breezy night on the water.

One of the pleasant surprises of the evening came when Tomo-san previewed for us a dish that will be arriving on the December seasonal menu. Probably best described as a lotus root and chicken slider, a small patty of the ground chicken were pressed between two pieces of lotus root, pan-fried, then served with a sesame glaze.

The pork belly was probably the weakest dish of the evening, not due to any shortcoming, but to the overall strength of the other dishes. My favorite was the zosui, but my buddy preferred the lotus root sandwich. Regardless, I think it's safe to say that overcooked turkey and Costco pies were no longer on his mind.

Blog post, plus pics:
http://www.saucesupreme.com/giving-th...

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Izakaya Bincho
112 N International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

[exilekiss]

Hi SauceSupreme,

Very nice review! :) I'm glad you enjoyed the great cooking of Tomo-san.

[SauceSupreme]

I can't say enough nice things about Tomo-san (and Megumi-san). Ever the most gracious of hosts; I can't wait until the yakitoriya re-opens.

[a213b]

I'm one of the few (the only?) on this board who wasn't blown away by my visit to Izakaya Bincho.

I went with some friends one night a week ago, and while some of the dishes were solid-to-good, nothing really "wow"ed any of us.

I will throw out the caveat that none of us are super well-versed on the varieties of Japanese cuisine (especially when compared with many on this board), so perhaps it was a matter of not being able to appreciate the authenticity of the cuisine as a perfect representation or embodiment of exactly what a quintessential Izakaya would serve in Japan. I don't know ...

Let me say that it certainly wasn't tasteless or un-chow worthy, but I wouldn't make the drive again from the Valley down to Redondo specifically for this. That being said, I am willing to try it again the next time I am in the area (which admittedly is very infrequent).

I do, however, TOTALLY agree that Tomo-san and Megumi-san are super gracious hosts. Megumi-san even caught up with me as we were walking down the boardwalk to correct some directions she had helped me with when she realized she had pointed me in the wrong direction. For that alone I would encourage others to visit.

[exilekiss]

Hi a213b,

Thanks for the report back. Yah, the type of Izakaya food that's served by Tomo-san is very down-to-earth, rustic, "like mom used to make it"-type Japanese food.

It's definitely not Haute Cuisine... just clean, simple flavors that sadly most Izakayas I've been to locally can't do right.

[a213b]

Thanks exile, that's what I thought. And like I said, it was good, just not blow-me-away good ... although from your posts and those of others I'd guess that were I more of an Izakaya aficionado, I would be able to better appreciate it.

I am very much looking forward to the day when Tomo -san is able to return to his Yakitori ways ... I am ALL over grilled and skewered meats!

[bulavinaka]

Hey SS, nice review, and nicer to see you're back in LA - for good? I think that zosui was a perfect partner for a cold night in LA - or is there such a thing? :) I'm sure it would go over like gangbusters in the Northwest. Still SINCing, or have you finally settled down? :)

[SauceSupreme]

Technically these days I'm more of a NINK. And unfortunately I'm only in town for a week, but still planning on hitting up a few more places before the end of this trip.

We might one more stop this evening, but I'm saving that for another post. :D

[bulavinaka]

Sorry to hear about the NI, but you're worth your weight in gold on this board... Will be looking forward to your future post... :)

That lotus root slider would be worth our next trip alone. In general, I've never tasted tastier chicken dishes than what IB has to offer. This place is shear magic...