Terried Sake House
Friday, May 20, 2005 11:19
After a review of a visit to Nanbankan went up at The Delicious Life, a reader sent me an email telling me that though Nanbankan is good, there is a place that he prefers, slightly west on the same stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard. He only goes to Nanbankan if this other place is closed. Well, that got certainly got me intrigued and I put Terried Sake House on my list.
The menu has a little bit of everything. There’s sushi and sashimi, traditional teriyaki entrees, different kinds of yakitori, soups and noodles, and other small plates, both hot and cold. It’s all printed on half sheets of paper, the long way. To make them more permanent, the sheets have been scotch-taped to cut-outs of cardboard from sake boxes. Very creative, and Terried Sake House gets extra points for being budget- and environment-conscious.
We tried the tofu steak no. 2 with miso sauce that was absolutely delicious, a few chicken skewers that were good, whole broiled smelt that scared me but was also good, cold fish that was also good, and the baby squid steak, which stole the show.
I can’t really compare Nanbankan with Terried Sake House. The food is similar, but the vibes are very different. Nanbankan is a restaurant. It’s dark and mellow inside, and slightly more refined. Terried Sake House is more of a joint. It’s brighter, more casual, and the food is a lot cheaper. When it’s a lovely weekend dinner with family, I’ll go to Nanbankan. When it’s weeknight Asahi and wings with friends, I’ll go to Terried Sake House (and a plus that it’s open just past midnight!)
Terried Sake House
11617 Santa Monica Blvd. (bewteen Barry and Federal)
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.477.9423
By sarah (see more of her posts). You can find more of sarah's writing at her own website The Delicious Life
Jonah says:
May 20th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
Good description of Terried House, it’s hard to describe. I was explaining to someone about the menus and how there are basically different menus for the different styles of cooking. We had some tempura there that was pretty good. I really liked the yakitori chicken wings cooked on the little fire next to the stove.
The place does seem to get pretty packed on the weekends, I haven’t been in a while but I remember we had to wait a bit. I suggest sitting at the bar so that you can see the different dishes being prepared and served to get some idea of what to order.
SoCalorie says:
May 20th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
sarah, you win ‘photo of the day’ post for making okra look good!
BestofLA says:
July 23rd, 2005 at 8:18 pm
Went to Terried Sake for the first time this past week with my partner in crime and his friends. They reserved their usual table for our group of eight. We ordered lots of Sapporo and warm sake along with our chicken yakitoris (breasts, hearts, gizzards oh my!), Japanese squid, spinach with sesame dressing (gomae), cold noodles (somen and soba), tempura, and more. Everything was delicious, and I absolutely loved the casual atmosphere and mixed crowd. Would suggest calling ahead to reserve a space. Type of place where you can eat, drink, and be merry all night long. ;)
Here’s my take on it along with some pictures: http://bestofla.blogspot.com/2005/07/terried-sake-in-west-la.html