I fell in love with Okonomiyaki a year ago when my brother introduced me to this dish in a little Mom & Pop (Mama-san & Papa-san?) bistro near the many-red-gated Fushimi Inari Shrine on the outskirts of Kyoto. The base is a batter made from egg ,flour, yam and cabbage that gets fried up on griddle or a teppan. From there, you can add pork, beef, fish, oysters, scallops, daikon, vegetables, shrimp, shiso leaf, cheese, kmchi, and you can top it with fish flakes that seem to dance in the heat . According to my brotherl, okonomiyaki means "your choice, grilled", so sky's the limit. We ordered some variation of the above, and then striped it with Japanese mayo and a brown sweet sauce. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?
I was hooked, instantly. In Japan this is considered bar food, which is all the better for me! I ate Okonomikyaki at least 3 more times during my twelve days in Japan, sampling the regional variations as I went from Kyoto to Tokyo to Hiroshima to Osaka. Sadly, upon my return to the States, I wasn't able to find it anywhere. After searching far and wide--if asking for Okonomiyaki in some sushi or rice bowl joint, should I find myself in one, counts--I had concluded that no one serves this famous Kainsai dish or a fair substitute within a reasonable distance from my home....
Until today! While doing my weekly stroll through the Silver Lake Farmer's Market, I decided to check out the Crepe Guy's omelet menu. It's limited to three omelettes, but each are about $6 and all of them sounded tasty. I went with the Andalusian--smoked scallops, onion, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and cheese in a mushroom garlic sauce.
After chatting with the sugar cane smoothy/raw vegan taco people in the booth next door and sampling some of their goods, I I came back to the crepe booth to find my omelet waiting for me. Oh man!! The texture! The flavors! The hot goey gruyere, the lightly chewy scallops, crisply browned onions and fresh veggies all encased in a fluffy pocket of eggy love. And strikingly similar to my first taste of Okonomiyaki. It ain't exactly the same, but Crepe Guy's andalusian omelet is awesome in its own right.
Tip: If you're ever looking for a cheap Saturday brunch in Silver Lake that won't entail waiting in line with a dozen hipsters for half an hour, walk over to the farmer's market and get your crepe or omelet on for $4-$6. And there's delicious small-batch roasted coffee a few booths down at La Bodega de Cafe Organico for $2. Just get there befor 1:00.
