sakkio it to me!

First off, I would like to thank blog reader Matthew for suggesting the title of this post. Second, I’d like to thank all the loyal blog readers who expressed their strong opinions about where to go next for the Great Food Court Project, by which I mean, thanks George and Matthew. You both suggested Sakkio Japan, and I heard you loud and clear.

Well, I almost abandoned the Sakkio plan today because of something unexpected and wonderful. I am very excited to tell all of you that there is a new restaurant in the Lenox food court! It is called Baja Bistro, and it is between Chick-fil-a and Nathan’s Famous. I almost stopped right there in my excitement, but I decided to stick with the plan and give Baja Bistro a few weeks to work out the kinks and get really great. I did get to sample a little bit of a quesadilla on a toothpick and I can report that all the correct ingredients seemed to be there (cheese, tortilla).

So I headed off for Sakkio Japan, which offers several varieties of teriyaki, tempura and veggie things. It appears to be the kind of place where people go habitually, because everyone around me in line had very specific orders. The girl in front of me asked for “just a little vegetables.” Then she gave the guys working there a hard time because they gave her “too many vegetables.” After she got her meat products, the guy asked her if she’d like some extra teriyaki sauce. She said, “just a little,” and the guy, having learned his lesson with the whole vegetable debacle, gave her just a little. But then she got mad and asked for more sauce. This girl gave me a headache and I just tried to focus on the guy who was scooping fried rice into the warmer.

So anyways, I had chicken teriyaki, fried rice and the aforementioned vegetables, which are primarily of the cabbage variety, although there were also little pieces of carrot, pea, and broccoli. It was clear that Sakkio Japan deals more with chicken teriyaki orders than the beef or shrimp options, because they had what must have been fifteen chickens grilling on the cooking device. Beef and shrimp they did only when someone ordered.

One thing I should probably mention at some point is that despite being called Sakkio Japan, everyone there was speaking Spanish to each other. But everyone was nice and efficient, which is good because Sakkio Japan had a fairly healthy line for most of the time that I sat there and observed. The restaurant garnered a mix of all genders and races, more so than any other restaurant that was in my line of sight. But only about four restaurants were in my line of sight.

Now, I’m unhappy to have to do this, but it appears the Great Food Project has a Nemesis. I have encountered this Nemesis on all previous food court trips, but hoped it was a fluke. But today I have had to upgrade this person to full-on Nemesis status.

This nemesis is the lady who cleans food court tables. Granted, this is an awful job and I probably shouldn’t make someone who cleans into a nemesis. I am generally grateful to the people who do this. But in my opinion---and let me know if you think differently---the ideal time to clean the table is when no one’s sitting there. This lady only seems to have the desire to clean at the moment that someone sits down to the table. Then she comes over and wipes it down as you’re trying to get settled with your food. The unfortunate side effect of cleaning at this point is that it’s possible for the old crumbs to get into the new food. She tries to get her dirty rag all up in the uneaten food’s business.

I will get you, Nemesis!

Other than the encounter with my new Nemesis, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Sakkio Japan. While not one of the best teriyakis I’ve ever eaten, it was one of the better meals I’ve had as part of the Great Food Court Project so far. If we were to rank the meals so far, it would probably go:
1. sautéed onion hot dog from Nathan’s
2. chicken teriyaki from Sakkio
3. Taco Bell nachos
But then, I’ve only been to four places. So take the ranking with a grain of salt.

Where will I go next? Your suggestions are welcome!