JJ Ichiban - totally worth it
valgrl and I went to JJ Ichiban tonight, one of the numerous Japanese restaurants that have opened up in the Copperfield area in the past 6-8 months. They've had a write-up in the Houston Press, that made it sound pretty good.
It was great. Sadly, we were there from 5pm to 7pm, and there were never more than 5-6 customers, including us. This place needs more business, folks.
We started with edamame and shrimp tempura, and it was all very good, and not that expensive. Then we ordered warm sake, and a glass of plum wine. It turned out that we got there at the end of "Happy Hour," and they gave us the Happy Hour prices on drinks and appetizers (the drinks lasted the entire meal, so it was a really great deal).
For dinner, Valgrl got a spicy salmon roll, and a Philadelphia roll (salmon, avocado & cream cheese). I ordered tonkatsu, a breaded/fried pork cutlet (big!), with katsu sauce (like a soy sauce-based BBQ sauce or ketchup). It was pretty good, but there's a lot of other choices on the menu that I'll be trying, the next time we go.
Also, when you order $10 or more of food, you get the salad bar for free. If you're looking for 50 vegetables, you're out of luck. They had Romaine and Iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The rest of the bar had prepared salads (they had some great pickled carrots), 9 dressings, croutons, and those awesome crispy-fried noodles that you put in soup. But it was nice to have some fresh vegetables, along with the other food.
The menu is nice, a lot of great seafood and sushi options, and Japanese food. BUT, if you aren't into that, you can get chicken fingers, steak and mashed potatoes. That's pretty nice, when you can get Japanese food, but there are options for your friends/family that aren't into it. (pyro_rebel and nicofiend , I'm talking to you!)
Service was outstanding; of course, it helped that our waitress only had 1 table to take care of. We loved the warm sake, so she brought out a bottle (even encouraged us to take a picture of it - Sho Chiku Bai, if you're interested). Then she just started talking to us about Christmas, and the economy, and all of the Japanese restaurants opening up near FM 529 and Highway 6 (seriously, it's ridiculous). She was very nice. And we got our food out WICKED fast; we just started tucking into our appetizers when the mains came out.
The location is hampered by being right behind a bodega gas station, and being in a mostly-empty strip mall. But seriously, seek this place out. The food is great, the prices are good (better, if you get there for Happy Hour, 11-5), and the facility and service are exemplary. Totally worth the money. Spec Fic group, we need to eat here! ;-)
It was great. Sadly, we were there from 5pm to 7pm, and there were never more than 5-6 customers, including us. This place needs more business, folks.
We started with edamame and shrimp tempura, and it was all very good, and not that expensive. Then we ordered warm sake, and a glass of plum wine. It turned out that we got there at the end of "Happy Hour," and they gave us the Happy Hour prices on drinks and appetizers (the drinks lasted the entire meal, so it was a really great deal).
For dinner, Valgrl got a spicy salmon roll, and a Philadelphia roll (salmon, avocado & cream cheese). I ordered tonkatsu, a breaded/fried pork cutlet (big!), with katsu sauce (like a soy sauce-based BBQ sauce or ketchup). It was pretty good, but there's a lot of other choices on the menu that I'll be trying, the next time we go.
Also, when you order $10 or more of food, you get the salad bar for free. If you're looking for 50 vegetables, you're out of luck. They had Romaine and Iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The rest of the bar had prepared salads (they had some great pickled carrots), 9 dressings, croutons, and those awesome crispy-fried noodles that you put in soup. But it was nice to have some fresh vegetables, along with the other food.
The menu is nice, a lot of great seafood and sushi options, and Japanese food. BUT, if you aren't into that, you can get chicken fingers, steak and mashed potatoes. That's pretty nice, when you can get Japanese food, but there are options for your friends/family that aren't into it. (pyro_rebel and nicofiend , I'm talking to you!)
Service was outstanding; of course, it helped that our waitress only had 1 table to take care of. We loved the warm sake, so she brought out a bottle (even encouraged us to take a picture of it - Sho Chiku Bai, if you're interested). Then she just started talking to us about Christmas, and the economy, and all of the Japanese restaurants opening up near FM 529 and Highway 6 (seriously, it's ridiculous). She was very nice. And we got our food out WICKED fast; we just started tucking into our appetizers when the mains came out.
The location is hampered by being right behind a bodega gas station, and being in a mostly-empty strip mall. But seriously, seek this place out. The food is great, the prices are good (better, if you get there for Happy Hour, 11-5), and the facility and service are exemplary. Totally worth the money. Spec Fic group, we need to eat here! ;-)