Guu
Having heard so much about the new Guu SakaBar, a Japanese tapas restaurant that reclaimed the old Burger King corner lot in the Annex this past spring, it was overdue for a visit. Upon arrival, you’re immediately submersed with attention, the ambient chatter halts for a moment in a synchronous burst of hellos from both employees and patrons. We ask to be seated in the shoeless sitting room where dining occurs at ground-level. They provide you with slippers in case you need to go take a washroom break creating a very homey atmosphere as you parade around wearing the house slippers, ubiquitously found in Asian households. Although Japanese cuisine is commonly synonymous with sushi, Guu offers everything but the usual California roll our North American palettes are so accustomed to. Wandering off into the unknown, we ordered an array of small savoury items, from tantalizingly mouth-watering calamari with wasabi mayo (so good we ordered two), succulent miso short ribs, a surprisingly delicious udon carbonara, baked hokkaido scallops in butter and garlic, and finally, after stuffing ourselves, the Okonomiyaki – a deep fried pancake with squid and tonkatsu sauce (the famous brown sauce you find on chicken katsu). The dinner was absolutely scrumptious and I think I’ve depleted my adjective bank of words to describe food. Here are the results:
(more…)
17th parallel 