From vegan sushi to hand rolls, modest supermarket sushi to high-end omakase — the greater-than-ever scene in L.A. has what you’re looking for.He attributes yakitori’s lack of brand awareness partially to a dwindling number of yakitori masters, especially in the U.S.; there are few specialists, and many are older — and not social media savvy.
The biggest change, he notes, has been the recognition: People sometimes approach him both abroad and locally in Japanese grocery stores and when he’s dining in a yakitoriya or izakaya in Japan. That fame has also brought behind-the-scenes access to restaurants. Yakitoriguy began with an electric yakitori grill, then dove into the world and intricacies of charcoal grilling. Kishu binchotan is his favorite coal for grilling.
The tare is crucial to yakitori, at once a glaze and a seasoning, never gloopy or heavy. It is often a blend of soy sauce, sugar and sake or mirin, with the sugar adding sweetness and caramelization on the grill. It differs from teriyaki sauce as it’s not simply a glaze but what Yakitoriguy calls a vessel: In Japan, skewers already mostly grilled are dipped into large clay jugs of the tare sitting next to the grill.
Once, when he was moving apartments, he spilled a fourth of his tare — which is why he always keeps a backup in his fridge. In late July he flew his tare to Seattle for a pop-up, storing it in two screw-top water bottles and hoping for the best. Yakitoriguy breaks down a chicken at his pop-up at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in May.
“I like asking him a lot about grills because I’m not really into yakitori as much, but I love it,” Ono says. The knowledge exchange works both ways: While Ono asks for advice on grilling and skewers — especially for the launch of his own kushiyaki pop-up hosted at Virgil Village wine bar Melody — every so often the yakitori specialist will pick Ono’s brain for tips on working with fish.