Monday, June 17, 2013

Maki Yaki - Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Larry and Vickie in front of the
Rio Rancho NM Maki Yaki
Maki Yaki – Albuquerque, New Mexico
11/3/2012 Maki Yaki 36
https://www.facebook.com/makiyakirr
4300 Ridgecrest Dr. SE, Ste 0, Rio Rancho,
New Mexico (505)892-3554
http://maki-yaki.com/web/index.html






This was my second encounter with a store-front takeout serving sushi and Japanese themed foods. The first was OEC Japanese Express in St Petersburg, Florida and now this one in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Whereas OEC Japanese Express seems to be a unique entity, Maki Yaki would be part of a larger franchise headquartered in California, this being store number 36. Established in 2004, most of the stores are located in the Southern California region but apparently the store plans expansion through the rest of North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Ambitious since one of the proposed sites is Tokyo, Japan.
Clean and bright
The best that I can come up with for the name is Maki – rolled (as in makizushi) and Yaki – grilled broiled or fried (as in teriyaki or teppanyaki). ,Maki Yaki or Rolled and Grilled would seem to be an appropriate name considering the fare offered. What a fun way to learn to speak Japanese.

From Top Clockwise: Eel Special Roll,
Baked Scallop Roll, and Spicy Tuna Roll
Arriving in the late evening, the store was brightly lit. It had a clean, bright appearance. Even in the dark, with reflections, the windows were clear and not a smudge to be seen. The inside was spartanly decorated. The tiled floor had recently been swept and mopped as there were few signs of traffic on its shiny surface. The store, roughly divided in half, featured a dining area with basic tables and chairs for eating in up front and the rear half with the counter and kitchen area. Strangely, it did lack the traditional sit-at sushi bar; perhaps a manifestation of the restaurant’s bare-bones appearance. All of the food preparation was done in the back kitchen. The walls were decorated with a large lighted picture menu board and some poster art depicting “pretty as a picture” foods; the art work a standard corporate supplied item.
 

Left: Boston Roll
Right: Spicy Tuna Roll
Tables are in two sizes, small for two people and larger for four persons. The three of us were quite comfortable at a larger table but if there had been a fourth person it would have been quite cozy. Tables are set with a napkin, disposable chopsticks and a bottle of soy sauce.
We were warmly greeted quickly on arrival and shown to a table. Menus were passed and a beverage order taken. Most of the beverages came from the self-serve style refrigerator cabinet against the far wall; a back to basics touch. Our order taken, we could see a flurry of activity behind the partial curtains setting the kitchen apart. It seemed that the courteous woman who greeted us took care of the dining room, the counter and the register. I could only discern a single male in the kitchen. It was slow at the time we were there and the two of them were able to handle the traffic effortlessly. I would think, however, that they would need additional help for busier times. While waiting, we were all served a bowl of miso soup.
 

Combo Plate: Chicken and
Beef Teriyaki
It is an extensive menu featuring many Japanese dishes other than sushi. With so many good things offered it was hard to finally decide on what we each wanted. Larry and Vickie do a little mix and match across the table and can sample many items with a minimum order; sometime an order just to share. Vickie ordered an assortment of sushi items. These included a spicy tuna roll (Spicy Tuna Roll $5.95), eel special roll (Eel Special Roll $10.95 in: crab meat, cucumber, avocado out: baked fresh water eel) and baked scallop (Baked Scallop Roll $9.50 in: spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado out: baked scallop).
 
Larry ordered some sushi items. He chose a spicy tuna roll (Spicy Tuna Roll $5.95) and a Boston roll (Boston Roll $8.50 in: crab meat, cucumber, avocado out: shrimp tempura). He also ordered a Teriyaki Combo Plate ($7.95 Chicken and beef teriyaki served with steamed rice, vegetables and miso soup).
 
Bento Box: Mixed Tempura, California Roll,
Salad, Steamed Rice, and Teriyaki Beef
As luck would have it, Maki Yaki also features my favorite, the bento box. It is a great way to sample a lot of different food items in one dish. They offer six varieties of bento boxes; I chose the basic and out of seven choices chose the beef teriyaki ($9.95 Beef Teriyaki Bento Box served with salad, 5 pieces of California roll, steamed rice, mixed tempura and miso soup. Between the three of us we ordered a lot of different things. Nonetheless, our order was quickly prepared and it was time to eat.
Larry and Vickie both thoroughly enjoyed their selections. Suffice it to say there was no need for any take-home container. My bento box had a lot of good things. The salad was made of crisp lettuce mostly, a cherry tomato and some pickled onions. The salad was good but the pickled onions would not be my favorite. There was an inverted bowlful of steamed rice with a toasted sesame garnish. Rice is rice but this rice was cooked to just the right consistency to pick up with chopsticks. With the bento box that is important because you can’t just raise the bento box under your chin like a small bowl of trice. The California roll was good, the ingredients fresh. The artificial crab picks up flavors very quickly and if the crab has been sitting around any time it will take on some of the surrounding fish flavors Even with a dunk in the soy sauce you could taste the crab, avocado and cucumber; a good roll. The tempura selection was good, the batter the classical thin and crispy. It was very good. Even though my favorite is the bento box for its varied selection, I almost wished I had chosen a tempura platter instead.  The tentsuyu sauce was excellent, just the right saltiness to accent the flavor of the tempura.  There was a nice serving of teriyaki beef. It was quite tender and lean beef in teriyaki sauce with toasted sesame seeds garnish. The sauce had cling without being too thick; you could coat with as little or as much sauce as you liked each bite. The sauce had a good flavor, slightly sweet, slightly soy that did not interfere with the taste of the beef. All in all, I enjoyed my bento box very much - well, perhaps the pickled onion I could do without.
 
Maki Yaki Wall Menu
Maki Yaki is convenient, close to Larry and Vickie’s home. The food is excellent and there is a wide variety to choose from. The shop is clean and well cared for. The prices are reasonable. It is little wonder that Makin Yaki has become one of Larry and Vickie’s favorite places to go when the sushi urge strikes.

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