Okinamiyaki in DC?

[bboyneko]

Hi all,

I know there are many sushi and hibachi restauraunts in the area, but I have a hard time finding any online menus. Does anyone know of a restauraunt where I can order Okinamiyaki? I love the dish but have yet to encounter it in the area.

Thanks in advance.

[mrsammich]

Ok, this isn't in the DC area. In fact, it's on the other side of an ocean, but not the Pacific. Last trip to Europe we started in Amsterdam, went to Florence and Rapallo, and had a one night layover in Amsterdam before returning to DC.

Despite our unwritten rule forbidding multiple trips to one place within a single trip, we had such a fantastic experience at Japanese Pancake World when we were in AMS the first part of the trip, we went back for our last dinner in AMS.

http://www.japanesepancakeworld.com/

And:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvAsbZ...

It's 2 Dutch guys who are huge fans of the dish, and they've created a lovely, tiny restaurant in which they lavish their hospitality, culinary expertise, and passion for okinamiyaki on all who enter. If you find yourself in AMS, by all means go, and I recommend you go upstairs and sit at one of the handful of stools at the counter in front of the grill.

[mordacity]

...what's okinamiyaki?

[Lori D]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki

It's misspelled in the header, so googling it doesn't provide very good results.

[ec8r]

Don't know if you are willing to drive out of DC but Ara Fusion Restaurant/Bar/Karaoke in Annandale on Little River Turnpike has it. I've had it there twice and while I haven't had it anywhere else to compare, it was very good there.

[joan324]

I second ec8r. The first and only time I've ever had okonomiyaki is at Ara. I have no frame of reference to tell you whether it is good or authentic.

I will warn you that Ara is MOSTLY Bar/Karaoke and little Restaurant. Not to say they don't serve decent food, but most of the time (esp. if you go happy-hour or later) you'll find a mostly young Korean clientele slogging pitchers of beer and soju.

[little audrey]

Go to a Korean restaurant and look for hae mool pa jeon or similar (seafood pancake). That is probably about the closest you can get without making it yourself.

[pineapple sage]

Snap-the bubble tea and crepe place in Georgetown used to have them but I don't know if they do anymore.

[Lori D]

It appears to be off their menu.

Perhaps that's for the best. When I discussed this place with a Japanese friend of mine (who is from Osaka, where this is a specialty), she said that the temperature to cook crepes and okonomiyaki was not the same. Since Snap used the same grill for both, it's not a good sign.

Discussing my experience with okonomiyaki there would not be fair to Snap, as I tried it before the staff were trained to cook it.

[makisushi]

I have been to a dozen Japanese Restaurants in this area, and have never seen it on the menu. I will be watching this thread in anticipation...
I like the Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki best.

[mcattrone]

Famous Yakitori One in Baltimore supposedly has delicious Okonomiyaki. I just heard of the restaurant today but will hopefully try it this weekend.

[bboyneko]

Thanks so much everyone for the replies! It seems Hibachi and sushi places are very popular but its hard to find this delicious dish. Thanks especially for pointing me to this Baltimore area place...I live in Laurel in between the two cities so Baltimore is fine by me.

[Lori D]

They will have it at the Sakura Matsuri next weekend.

Otherwise, it's difficult, if not impossible, to find in this area.

[discojing]

yeah, I waited for 30+ minutes in line for takoyaki and okonomiyaki and I saw them POURING THEM out of frozen bags. they went through a weird process to get rehydrated.

i took a few bites of each and then threw them out. you know they had to be bad if i waited for over 30 min and still threw them out.

I *did* see Maneki Neko there with yaki stuff, but wasn't waiting again in line. They have a restaurant though and imagine they sell it there. The place is real authentic, I've been there. IN FACT, their site (mneko.com) lists okonomiyaki as one of their specialties!
Case Closed~!

-----
Manekineko Japanese Restaurant
238 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046

[cfoodie]

I have to agree. I had high hopes in getting some half way decent food in the Cherry Blossom Festival. All I saw was reheated microwavable food in packages, and really bad food, after standing in line for 30 minutes. Probably the most authentic food was the Kirin beer. I was so very disappointed and will not ever try to get food at the cherry blossom festival. It reminds me of how good of Japanese food we normally enjoy, and how badly it's mis-represented in the festival in the name of quick profit. Not very Japanese in my opinion.

[Lori D]

That's really a shame to hear.

I didn't attend the festival this year. It looks as if I didn't miss much in terms of food.

I did check Maneki Neko's Web site. I wonder why they don't have okonomiyaki on their menu if it is a specialty?