Sat at the bar for a solo dinner at Rintaro.
I had:
Kanpachi No Sashimi ($18)
“Baja yellowtail amberjack sashimi with Half Moon Bay wasabi.” Very good sashimi. Served slightly cooler than room temperature, good texture, well cut, and fresh tasting.
Yosedofu ($10)
“House-made silken tofu with meiji soy milk, scallion, ginger, katsuobushi and shoyu.” I had an excellent house-made tofu from Raku in Las Vegas a few days prior and this leapt out at me from the menu. Not quite the same dish - Rintaro’s is silken while Raku’s is somewhat firm. That being said Rintaro’s tofu was good but not quite at the level of Raku’s. Nice soybean flavor though. Maybe I just prefer a more solid tofu.
Liver + Garlic Yakitori ($8)
Rintaro’s yakitori come 2 to a skewer, and the chicken is from Riverdog Farm. This was ok, but was a little overdone and a touch on the dry side. I should have read my notes above from the last visit before ordering. Served lightly sauced with some shichimi on the side and a puree of sweet roasted garlic.
Chicken Oyster Yakitori ($11)
Ordered this again, and it was good. Moist pieces of chicken oyster (the two oyster shaped muscles near the thighs on the bottom of the chicken). They came with some skin still attached, which had crisped up a little from the grill.
Millefeuille Miso Katsu ($16)
“Ten layer Becker Lane pork katsu with black hatcho miso sauce, fresh acme panko, snowy cabbage and hot mustard.” The “millefeuille” in this dish I believe refers to the pork, which is sliced into thin slices before being breaded and fried. Quite good. Pork was juicy and tender, and the tenderness and juiciness were enhanced by the slicing. Cabbage on the side was fine, shredded thinly and lightly dressed with a mayo based dressing.
Food Menu
My server wisely advised against ordering a finishing dish (typically in an izakaya you finish the meal with a rice or noodle based dish). I was stuffed.
