After a nice break for a few weeks, it was time to get back into some restaurants and place my feet under a few tables. Coming off of my “time off,” I opened my email to discover countless solicitations for posting some person’s — or entity’s — press release and photos for events, locations, and functions that have absolutely nothing to do with cultural dining. And the invitations for attending some “out of my pocket” function for one or more guest celebrity chefs were a close count behind the “promote our brand” spam. Being a career food blogger would kill my passion and my appetite.

Miso Soup

Scallops

Tuna Poke

But I’m not a career food blogger and my passion for food was ramped up. Not wanting to go any distance more than two miles away from home, I recalled a Japanese restaurant near an Italian restaurant I had gone to several weeks ago. In a small stretch of quaint restaurants is Hachi’s Kitchen at 2521 N. California Avenue. A rather spacious and comfy restaurant inside, outdoor seating is also an option during warmer weather. I opted to indulge an omakase. And because omakases at the restaurant are prepared for parties of two or more, the chef’s willingness to prepare one for singular me was a winner.

King Crab

Uni Shooter

Whitefish & Bayberry

The most pedestrian course was the complimentary cup of miso soup. The remaining nine landings comprised two and a half hours of culinary bliss. Landings two through eight were small plates: seared scallops, tuna poke (which has become gold on menus at Asian restaurants as of late), king crab atop miniature cucumber salad, grilled whitefish with red bayberry, uni shooter, salmon, and a trio of nigiri. And I had a bottle of warm sake for sipping while enjoying each course. The ninth landing consisted of two maki rolls, one with tempura asparagus topped with salmon, the other with tuna and avocado. The finale was a green tea crème brûlée with green tea. There wasn’t any course that lacked  in enticing the palate.

Salmon

Maki Rolls

Dessert

Hachi’s Kitchen is the third Japanese restaurant I’ve gone to where I’ve chosen to have an omakase rather than order from the menu. All three restaurants had outstanding chefs and food happiness consultants (servers at the top of their game) that made my dining experiences absolutely winning. With this third time indeed being a charm, the trend moving forward for me with Japanese dining will be omakases or kaisekis. Arigatou gozaimasu, Hachi’s Kitchen.

Cup of Sake