Sakura. . .Draught Beer served at 41-degrees

If you have lived in Tucson for any length of time your are no doubt aware of Sakura, the teppan yaki restaurant located at 6534 E Tanque Verde Road. The owner, Mr. An, is familiar to most do to his philanthropic nature and ubiquitous advertising.

Most people dine at Sakura in the evening for special occasions or family gatherings. On this particular afternoon, three of my colleagues and I decided to try Sakura for a business lunch. As we sat down at our table, Mr. An came to visit with us. It is always a nice touch to have the owner of the restaurant spend a few minutes with the patrons, it really made us feel welcome.

I ordered a pint (16 oz.) of draught which came in a six inch glass, the same style of glass that the ice water was served in. I left my thermometer in the brew for quite a while but the temperature stayed stubbornly at 41 degrees.
We ordered two baked California rolls and one shrimp tempura roll from the sushi bar to share amongst the four of us.

We appreciated that Sakura is sensitive to the fact that a business lunch shouldn’t take as long as a dinnertime meal. We were immediately served our salad (or soup). The lettuce in my salad was fresh and cool, served with a tasty ginger dressing. Gene ordered the Miso soup which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Again, in a need for speed, our teppan chef arrived right away and started flipping, dripping and frying two eggs for the fried rice. We continued to talk business as our chef primped and performed. The conversation lagged only momentarily as the chef’s tricks became more spectacular. A person instinctively leans backward as a wall of orange flames is ignited across the length of the table.

Our sushi was served at about the same time the teppan yaki show began. Both rolls were quite delicious and made for a great appetizer.
Three of us ordered the chicken and scallop entree, requesting teriyaki sauce, as Gene tried the seafood combo. Each entree included fried rice, mushrooms, onions, bean sprouts and carrots, all skillfully cooked, along with the entree, on our steaming hot teppan table.

There was a lot of tasty food. Plenty of food. More than enough food. Gene and Gloria asked for to go boxes and had enough left over for a second meal.

One nice thing about this particular afternoon was that there was no waiting for a table and, unlike what happens at the dinner hour, there was no need to pair unfamiliar parties together on any one table. Mr. An keeps enough teppan yaki chefs on staff during the lunch hour so no party has to wait. In fact, including drive time to Sakura from our offices in mid-town, the whole dining experience took less then an hour.

I recommend Sakura for any special occasion. It is also a great place to make a business lunch special as well.

William Ackerley
coldestbeerintucson.com