Sometimes I think back to when there were no Thai restaurants in Providence. IKEA serves frankfurters and Swedish meatballs, but you'd hardly drive there just to dine. I tend to be skeptical of retail/restaurant combinations. Japanese restaurants can be too predictable. I know, I know, it’s sad - no pad Thai, no pik pow sauce, such deprivation, such shamed downward glances in the streets. You might find it difficult to believe, but at one time there were no Thai restaurants in Providence. I want to tell you about Ama's, but it's a tiny place with very few seats, and I really don't want to see a line outside the next time I show up. The phrase “fusion cuisine” inspires dread in me - I’ve been served too many misconceived culinary mash-ups over the years, usually European sauces awkwardly force-fit onto Asian foundations, or vice-versa. If you’re one of those Americans who are curious about Korean cuisine, but find it a little daunting, grill-table BBQ at Yasu will provide a delicious, gently sloping on-ramp.įor a place that is largely about performative hibachi dining and Asian kitsch, Kon is very into the Buddha. The staff is friendly and hustling, but its command of English is mixed, so menu-pointing to underscore your order is a good idea.
#Yasu brookline plus
If you prefer yours rarer, commandeer the tongs to remove it from your infrared grill sooner, as Yasu’s servers will leave it to a dry medium-well.ĭrinks include an assortment of Korean and Japanese beers, like the lighter-than-lite Hite ($4.95) and tall cans of bone-dry Sapporo ($8.95), plus a few plonky wines by the glass ($5.95). Diamond galbi (short rib, $20.95) and bulgoki (thin-sliced rib eye, $19.95) are standouts, finely balancing beef and marinade flavors.
At $17.95 to $38.95 per plate with a minimum of two orders per table, it includes good rice and a 10-strong assortment of banchan, so it’s a better deal than it sounds. In this sushi-rich neighborhood, it’s hard to get excited about.įortunately, the Korean BBQ is rather better. Sushi and sashimi are prosaic at best, typified by a maki combo ($14.95) of 18 perfunctory rolls: California (imitation-crab and avocado), unagi (broiled eel), and tekka of bland tuna. Dumpling soup ($4.50) is a fine rendition of mandu guk: two big minced-beef turnovers in a broth loaded with scrambled egg, sliced duk (gnocchi-like rice cake), scallions, and choy.
Tempura vegetables ($13.95), long strips of zucchini and sweet potato, are beautifully deep-fried, so their crunchy batter puffs up into a furry-looking coating. Fried shumai ($5.95) have the crispness of tater tots and a tasty payload of minced shrimp and pork. A terrific scallion pancake ($9.95) is floppier and less greasy than its Cantonese counterpart: dinner-plate size, eggy and crêpe-like, loaded with scallions.
Yasu | 1366 Beacon Street, Brookline | Monday–Thursday, 5–10:30 pm Friday and Saturday, 5–11 pm and Sunday, noon–10 pm | 617.738.2244Įdamame ($4.95) are well-salted steamed soybeans, the Korean version of beer nuts. Yasu is a big, comfortable Korean/Japanese place in Coolidge Corner that not only offers Korean BBQ, but a range of mostly well-executed Korean and Japanese appetizers, entrées, and sushi. It combines a lot of fresh East Asian flavors into a single sitting. You dab a piece of cooked meat with some soybean paste, maybe garnish it with a bit of kimchee or one of several other banchan (savory little side dishes), wrap it in curly lettuce leaf, and eat. I adore Korean “BBQ”: marinated slices of raw meats that you cook on a little grill inset directly into your tabletop.
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