sumimasen!

on saturday, after i got home from unique LA, e11even and the mooner came over so we could go out to dinner together. e11even brought our christmas gifts. yep, it's been that long since we last saw them. yikes.

what e11even gave me.
plus 2 delicious looking bottles of wine
that i'm tempted to open now. mid-weekday.
oh, the every burgers are the best, by the way.

the bear was in mammoth, so it was just the three of us. we headed out to musha, an izakaya in torrance. e11even's fobulous and fluent in japanese, despite having been born here, and the mooner learned most of his japanese while spending hours and hours at a time in izakayas in japan. all of a sudden, it comes naturally to him when in that environment. you definitely don't need to go with people who speak japanese, but it did make ordering faster and service great.

honestly, i sat back and let them two order, so i don't know exact specifics or the proper name of everything we ordered. we also just ordered maybe two to three dishes at a time, which with all the beer and sake we drank, was a good pace for the three of us. excuse the blurriness, as e11even was DD so the mooner and i could be drinking buddies for the night.

we got there when they opened
as it gets crowded quickly.
we ordered both things on this board.

yellowtail sashimi.
fresh, straightforward, good.


the pork belly.
so tender and delicious.
we let the mooner eat the fat,
which got his seal of approval.


sake in a pretty bottle.
plus we had kirin on tap.


deep fried tuna croquette-like thing


"shrimp mayo mayo"
deep fried perfectly,
topped in a thousand island-like mayo
then in kewpie mayo.


baguette gratin.
a chunk o' baguette gratineed
with some kind of bechamel-like sauce,
shrimp, and lots of cheese.
one of the hits of the night.


the special chicken in spicy yuzu sauce.
it seems to be on their normal menu
(the pork belly, too)
another one of our favorites.
so juicy, flavorful, spicy, crispy outside, tender inside.


cheese risotto!
brought out in a big hunka parmigiano reggiano.
so, so rich and good.


after it was scooped outta the big cheese.
har har.




stingray fin, DIY grilled at the table.
on a MINI grill! eee!
perfect with beer.
salty, chewy, not as tough as dried squid.
but similarly as delicious with beer.




finally, dessert.
maple syrup creme brulee.
creamy, sweet, torched at our table,
perfect couple bites for each of us.

we ate and drank at a somewhat leisurely pace but didn't linger as long as we might at a real[er] and less busy izakaya. there were quite a few others waiting for tables. it was so nice to catch up and reminisce about the fun we had while all sharing an apartment on the westside, past snowboard trips we took together, and just catch up over good food and drink. we'll have to get together more often this summer before the school madness starts up again for me.