What to eat at Domo?

[monopod]

This is kind of last-minute, but my wife and I are headed to Domo this evening for our anniversary dinner. Looking at the menus, I'm a little lost on what to order - I'm very familiar with typical sushi menus, but obviously this isn't one of those. Regular dinner menu, noodle dinner menu, wanko sushi menu... too many choices to try everything in one meal, and it's pretty unlikely we'll be back for a while (since it's taken us 10 years to get there this time...).

Does anyone have an approach they'd recommend? I really like strong flavors - I've been to Amu in Boulder and was a bit disappointed that a lot of the dishes were very subtle in flavor, almost to the point of blandness. What does Domo do better than anyone that's unique and full of flavor?

Thanks!

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Domo
1365 Osage St, Denver, CO 80204

[monopod]

I guess my post was too late, so we were forced to navigate the menu on our own. What an interesting place! The decor is amazing - you feel like you're in a courtyard in the Japanese countryside (complete with an aikido dojo in full swing on one side), despite actually being in an industrial outskirt of Denver. The food was enjoyable, but to be perfectly honest we were a little underwhelmed. Most everything was good and tasty, but I feel like we've had better versions of everything we tried elsewhere. The spicy miso ramen was good, but the broth doesn't compare to Bones' lobster ramen or Happy's Hot n' Happy soup - it certainly wasn't spicy, and the miso was a little gritty and one-dimensional. The wanko sushi was a neat idea, but in the end most of the preparations overwhelmed the fish and I found myself wishing it was just sashimi (for instance, the "avocado-style unagi" had a thick mixture of avocado and mayonnaise on the unagi). The best thing I had was the saba (mackerel) wanko sushi, and that was because it was just a gorgeous piece of mackerel. The famous side-dishes were hit or miss; the spicy chicken was fresh-tasting and zesty, while the "beef stew" was overcooked and tough and several of the vegetarian dishes were very bland and hard to tell apart.

Overall, I'm glad we went and it was a fun experience - the decor is worth the trip by itself - but I'm not going to be rushing back. I think I'd rather hit Itzakaya Den next time I'm up for a different (non-sushi, non-tempura) take on Japanese.

[blythe]

It was fantastic when it first opened (maybe 20 years ago). They have really Americanized the menu and added sushi since everyone expected that. (I used to order the seaweed meal). I agree with you - I'd stick to Izakaya Den.

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Izakaya Den
1518 South Pearl Street, Denver, CO 80210

[keninboulder]

Domo is/was the only Japanese Country Inn in the United States. Going to it expecting what you will find at any "typical" Japanese restaurant or sushi place is a serious mistake. Navigating the menu can be quite hard, especially if you're looking for familiar-sounding dishes - their best food isn't available anywhere else so I doubt you've encountered those dishes for which they have earned their reputation. As recently as May several national food magazines rated them the "5th best Japanese restaurant in America."

Having said that, it is unfortunate that beginning several years ago they began to try to grow the business by putting more items on the menu typical of "main-stream" Japanese restaurants, diluting their narrow but excellent niche in the market. I go there maybe once a year because they are so unique, and continue to have excellent meals. If you go again, try putting yourself at the hands of the chef and consider him as you would a sommelier, let the chef arrange your meal - and btw at the best sushi/sashimi houses the guest NEVER selects what he or she eats, they give that responsibility to the chef, who should ask of you only one question: "Is there anything that you will not or cannot eat?" Domo is still quite good, just not as alien as it was when it first opened. . . and that's too bad.

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Domo
1365 Osage St, Denver, CO 80204

Country Inn
1415 8th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631

[monopod]

Thanks, Keninboulder. Couple of thoughts:

- We tried to do an omikase and put ourselves in the chef's hands. Unfortunately, our server had no idea what we were talking about. When we asked if the chef could select our meal, his response was "umm.. the ramen's really good?" If that's how they want you to do it, they need to train their staff to understand that.

- I wasn't looking for anything I'd find at a "typical" Japanese place - that's my point, we wanted to try new stuff and asked our waiter what we should try. He recommended the ramen and the wanko sushi, which we both found OK but not spectacular. The ramen came with a maguro donburi bowl as well, which had a nice piece of maguro but was basically just a piece of fish on rice - again, tasty but not something I couldn't get many other places.

Can you elaborate when you say you "doubt we encountered those dishes for which they have earned their reputation"? What ARE those dishes? I'd assume the side-dishes - which they claim are "famous" - are part of it, and as I said above, they were really uneven; a couple were tasty, but others were either poorly cooked or lacked flavor.

So help me out - what do you order there that really showcases what they can do? I'm game for a return trip if we just missed the boat on ordering; as I said, the location itself is worth the visit.

Thanks!

[keninboulder]

I'm sorry that your visit to Domo wasn't what you had hoped. I like their Nabemono dishes and usually have the Kaizoku Nabe with sakekasu miso broth. Alternatively, I've enjoyed the Tojimono made with unagi (a favorite of mine, I'm not that big a fan of salmon which is what most people seem to order!), again with the miso broth; the soy is good but a little too salty for my taste. Others in my family like the Donburi Bowls, using Vintoro (tuna) and/or unagi also.

If you like things a little spicy, we like the Kara Miso (chili and Japanese bean paste), you will probably need to request this as it isn't on all of their menus.

For noodles we like the Udon served with Sansai, Nanban, or Ebi Ten served with the mini spicy Maguro Donburi and we stay away from the Ramen noodle offerings - they really are common, and way too salty for my taste!

For a beverage, the Sapporo Kirin beer is excellent; my personal taste runs to cold sake (only Americans drink sake hot, the Japanese think we're barbarians too unsophisticated to enjoy sake cold! In Japan it is never even offered hot except at American-frequented hotels or restaurants. . .), and usually is served in wooden "bowls" (they are square). The practice of heating sake came about to cover up the distasteful elements in cheaper sake, heating it masked some of the raw and occasionally tremendously woody taste and smell. If it's good quality sake, it should be served slightly chilled. We will usually order the premier imported sakes, and will often by a bottle for the table - or more as necessary!

A couple of other thoughts: I leave tea choices to you, I love tea but at Domo I want something a little stronger. Also, for many years there has been a fad about the benefit of brown rice; while it's true that brown rice has slightly more fiber than white, the brown covering actually prevents absorption of several of the key nutritional elements contained in rice, and significantly alters the taste and texture (naturally). From a purely nutritional basis, white rice is better for you and is a better accompaniment to the food at Domo - Japanese do not eat brown rice, I suggest you don't either. If you want fiber, look for it elsewhere, there is not enough in a single serving of brown rice to make any difference when all is said and done.

These are just a few thoughts. I hope you will adventure back to Domo and sincerely hope that your next experience will be a better one!

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Domo
1365 Osage St, Denver, CO 80204