You may have noticed the eclectic mix of art on the walls in our dining room.  Did you notice that much of the art on display is for sale?  Of these noted pieces, the entire selling price will be donated to your choice of several worthy charities.  We are currently featuring art donated from several talented local artists.  Each piece is framed and ready for gift-giving goodness!  Current pieces include fine photography, collages, and paintings.  We also have Japanese sumi paintings created by our very own Chef Hajime Sato.

We are proud supporters of many charitable organizations, including Seattle Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seattle Animal Shelter, and West Seattle Food Bank.  We encourage you to support your favorite organizations however you can, all year long.

As this Thursday, November 10th, is the second Thursday of the month, it is West Seattle Art Walk time!  Art Walk is an excellent time to check out Click! as they will be open until 9:00pm.  And hey, how often do you have something really fun to do on a random Thursday night?  The Junction is cool like that.

Let us tempt you further:  Join us at Mashiko for some delectable sustainable sushi this Thursday.  Show us your receipt for a purchase made at Click! during this Art Walk, and we will bring you a complimentary order of edamame.  That’s right, you will be rewarded with a yummy appetizer just for purchasing cool stuff.  There will be $1 off select beer and saké as well.  See you tomorrow!

Truly a special event, this dinner will be a seven course meal paired with Yaegaki and other premium sakés.  Each course will be introduced by our very own Chef Hajime Sato along with a brief explanation of the individual sakés and how they were chosen to pair with that course.  There will also be an added emphasis will be on the importance (and deliciousness) of sustainable seafood.

At $80 per person (plus tax and gratuity), this saké pairing dinner is a great deal that makes for a memorable night.  Seating is very limited, and advance reservations are required.  Give us a call, and we’ll save a space for you!

Katsu Burger is a burger joint with a unique, flavorful twist.  All of our burgers are prepared katsu style:  dipped in tempura batter, coated in panko, then deep fried to juicy perfection.  This keeps them superbly flavorful and juicy.  Everything is made to order, and you get to pick from beef, pork, chicken, or tofu patties.

We are proud to serve only meats that are free from growth hormones and antibiotics.

And for on the side?  How about some wasabi coleslaw?  Oh yeah, it’s as good as it sounds.  We’ve also got fries seasoned with curry or nori.  Dip them in one of our many sauces, including tonkatsu sauce and spicy mayonnaise.  Our green tea milkshakes are not to be missed!

We look forward to serving you in beautiful, industrial Georgetown!
Check out our current menu here.

We understand that times are especially tight for many right now.  Being able to donate time or money may not be an option for some.  But we have great news!  There is an alternate way to support the West Seattle Food Bank.  We were delighted to read this blurb in their latest newsletter:

“Your receipts from Metropolitan Market and West Seattle Thriftway can be turned into cash.  Send us your receipts and we will then submit them to these stores for a 1% donation of the pretax total.”

Holy smokes!  Just think of how quickly that would add up if we could get all of the shoppers of these fine supermarkets to just mail in their receipts.  The moment it takes to address an envelope can add up to so much more.  Please participate if you can.  Better yet, encourage your neighbors to do so, too!

Don't expect to put this book down easily.

What can we say?  We really cannot recommend this book enough.

What the World Eats lets us tag along with Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel as they visit 25 families in 21 countries, observing what mealtime means to each of them.  Don’t be fooled – this is no boring textbook.  This is food and culture brought to life.  Each chapter begins with one family surrounded with a typical week’s worth of food.  From there, you are hooked.  Ever wonder what typical street vendor food might be in Ecuador?  Curious about what a kitchen looks like in Mali?  Family recipes, regional facts, and field notes are brought together in the most fascinating way.  The personal stories of each family will linger, challenging your ideas about food, family, and beyond.

And hey!  With the kids out of school, this book would be a great summer read for you to share with them.  Spending time together, having fun, and learning?  That would pretty much make you the coolest parent ever.

Here’s the deal on why this class really needs to be completely full:  Sure, it will be loads of fun learning to make some sustainable sushi basics with our very own Chef Hajime Sato.  And of course, we know that the Dish It Up location in Ballard is full of fancy schmancy kitchen stuff that you’ll probably want.  But the real kicker is that this is a tsunami relief effort, with $20 of each student’s fee being donated to the American Red Cross.  Hajime’s instructor fee will also be donated.  Have fun, learn a bit, and contribute towards helping Japan?  Win, win, win.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday.  All mom really wants is more time with you, ya know.  How’s about making reservations for the two of you at Mashiko for dinner.  Then you can surprise her over dessert by telling her that you are both going to Dish It Up for this class!  Holy wow, she would be one happy mom.

As many of you know, our very own Chef Hajime Sato was in Hawaii last month eating lots of local fare and continuing his aquaculture research.  A good portion of one day was spent visiting Big Island Abalone.

Big Island Abalone's Hiroshi Arai showed Hajime ezo awabi in different stages of growth.

Most wild abalone habitats along the West Coast have been severely damaged, so it is very difficult to get any quality abalone in that manner.  Under the right conditions, abalone can thrive when properly farmed.  Big Island Abalone primarily grows a Japanese strain originating from Hokkaido called ezo awabi. Interestingly enough, the main food source enjoyed by these abalone is seaweed strains originating in our Puget Sound!  The clean, non-invasive conditions of this type of aquaculture produces 60 tons of abalone per year.  Think of what a relief this must be to the wild sources, allowing them to reestablish themselves in the oceans.

Oh so much delicious abalone...

Hajime returned with a fresh perspective on abalone.  What better way to share his renewed passion than to serve you some, fresh from the Big Island?  We just received a beautiful shipment of ezo awabi.  We invite you to stop by Mashiko to experience the unique flavor and very gentle texture.  You won’t find fresher abalone in Seattle!  They won’t last long, so get yours soon!

But we digress.  Mashiko diners, we appreciate you more than we can accurately express.  We want you to eat what makes you happy.  But as always, we strongly encourage you to try new things.  Why?  Because our very own Chef Hajime Sato says so, that’s why.  So, how’s about a bento tonight?