Chotto

got the chance to catch up with a friend over some japanese small plates at Chotto the other night. Chotto is an izakaya, which to my knowledge is a japanese restaurant serving alcohol and various small dishes to accompany the sake. my favorite izakaya so far is Izakaya Sozai, but Chotto comes in at a very close second. the food is prepared well, the ambiance is nice and modern without being pretentious, and the staff is friendly. it's a great place to take someone who is from out of town, or just to catch up with a group of friends. because the small plates are meant to be shared, it's best to go with a few people so that you may sample a variety of dishes. i went with just one person and we definitely ordered way too much food. but that's how i roll.

uni risotto

yumm!!! creamy and not overly "uni." i can't stand uni in it's raw form. the texture grosses me out and the taste isn't great. but in other forms, i love it. this was a great way to have uni.

hamachi crudo

with ponzu and lime. fresh and light. always a good dish.

kakiage

sweet corn and negi (green onion) fritter. i liked this a lot. it was really earthy.

pork jowl

the cheek of the pig. the jowl here was particularly fatty. personally, i enjoyed it but the texture was too much for my friend.

bacon mochi

deep fried. dude. this was gooood!! the mochi is sliced thin, allowing the mochi to melt a little bit and get sort of gooey. this is hands down way better than the bacon mochi at Sozai.

spicy ramen

i took this pic after having taken a portion out of the bowl so it looks unappetizing. it was good but not great.