All the Teriyaki in Seattle #5: Rainier Teriyaki

[@Yuhaj1]

This is Sam Kim's (korean singer) family restaurant, his dad was killed during a robbery. Im glad you are providing a proper review and support!

[@nikip9161]

Dear goodness, that's beyond tragic. I hope the tater was found and is being fully impounded in every sense of the term. Washington and Oregon are far from what they used to be. They've gone DOWN THE d drain.... It's very sad.

[@Sch2155]

​@@nikip9161 Congrats for taking a teriyaki review and turning it your own personal nightmare

[@thecook8964]

Spread fear- then they won't move here

[@bryanlara9117]

It's all the Somali immigrants. They need to go!

[@thomaslum2]

Starts out saying maybe once a week he will hit up a teriyaki spot, proceeds to crank out 5 places in 7 days. Awesome !

[@DougArcidino]

Here is the sign of someone who is humble. Kenji said “I eat a lot of chicken teriyaki” and not “I write cookbooks and recipes.”

[@BobJoeman]

Although he is prolific, he's probably eaten more containers of teriyaki than written recipes

[@zeyadhamza8791]

The contrast between how this video ends and the last one is quite something

[@kraptastic333]

He was bummed at the last one

[@MrMoeRod]

Hi Kenji, once your grand Teriyaki tour is over I would love to see you show us an at-home version!

[@DrProfessor33]

Going back into the shop to express appreciation for the food is a class act. I wish more people would go out of their way to say thank you and to show kindness. Thank you.

[@jimhong]

Kenji does one of my favorite teriyaki places a solid (and the larger neighborhood as well)! As someone else said, the previous owner was killed in a robbery not too long ago, and the family continued the restaurant. So incredibly sad.

[@nikip9161]

It's HORRIFIC is what it is. Actual folks, living the American dream. Thanks to d policies, many more bad people on the streets, MANY more... Never forget, this is all intentional! Policies put forth by the/perhaps your current administration. It's a crying shame. Americans are DYING while the umpf is to 'protect and accommodate' illegals. Yeah, no. Think 5 times before your next voting and, dear goodness, please vote in person, on election day.

[@adambillen5164]

This has been my favorite teriyaki spot for like 6 years. I got diagnosed with Celiac last year and not being able to eat here is truly the only part of it that truly kills me. Seeing Kenji praise this whole section of Rainier that raised me makes me so happy. This is my review from 3 years back: I can only describe my first time opening a box of Rainier Chicken Teriyaki as love at first sight. It was a cold, grey, Wintery evening in Seattle and my friends and I needed comfort food. We ordered over the phone, drove down, and brought our food into the chilly car. We opened the first box and were hit by a literal wave of warmth from the hot bed of thin, beautifully sliced teriyaki chicken. We each let out a squeal of un-suppress-able joy. I picked up that first piece of chicken like it was a priceless treasure and watched its caramelized corners and edges shine in the dim light of the Prius we sat in. The first bite was magic, the classic, sweet teriyaki sauce working in perfect tandem with the thin chicken as it slowly crumbled apart on my tongue. We devoured that plate of teriyaki like I’ve devoured few foods in my life. Since then, it has been a difficult decision to peel ourselves away from Rainier Teriyaki to go to any other establishment.

[@user-ke2up6mr8t]

what about chicken teriyaki can a celiac not eat?

[@nomokona]

soy sauce isnt gluten free unfortunately

[@Freakattaker]

@@user-ke2up6mr8t Unless it's specifically made to accommodate celiac, pretty much everything except the rice and salad and maybe the salad dressing. Cross contamination is often where a lot of the sacrifices have to be made. The sauce the chicken is marinated in likely contains trace amounts of gluten at minimum, but likely significant in quantity to a celiac. The sauce served with the chicken/gyoza is in a similar boat. The gyoza is pretty much dead on arrival because the wrapping is made with wheat. Depending on the place, the salad dressing may use a condiment that is thickened using gluten or simply contains trace amounts of gluten. And all of this is produced on a site that likely will produce cross contamination onto every part of the meal. So even if on paper rice and salad are fine, a bit of less than careful handling can have gluten cross contaminated onto those pieces of food as well. Some celiac either don't mind or can handle a light amount of gluten contamination, but it varies for each individual as well as their personal tolerance of what they're willing to take on. The truth is that even if there are foods without gluten in existence, wheat being a core part of humanity's diet for thousands of years has led to it being interwoven into 90% of the foods available which literally turns drafting a diet into a nightmare when you discover you have celiac.

[@user-ke2up6mr8t]

@@Freakattaker you have to keep in mind this person had to be diagnosed as celiac. If that's the case, light contamination should be no issue.

[@adambillen5164]

@@user-ke2up6mr8t I mean... I had to be diagnosed because I was having symptoms? Everyone has to be diagnosed (blood tests and then an upper endoscopy), even those who have had symptoms since birth. It's also possible to develop celiac later in life and then start having symptoms at which point you would go to get tested. Light contamination can be and often is still an issue. Any trace amount can wreak havoc on your small intestine/immune system. Your symptoms also get worse/your body becomes worse at processing gluten the less you eat it, so I react much worse to cross contamination now than I did when I was first GF. But yeah, it's the soy sauce that's the most obvious issue here. Tamari is GF but soy sauce isn't.

[@TonyPepperoniLXIX]

I don’t live in Seattle…. I don’t even live in the states… and yet here I am, enthralled by each episode

[@Garrett4prezz]

I wonder if the word is out in the Seattle teriyaki community that Kenji is coming so better step up your game

[@torsloke]

Kenji coming, yo.

[@mikeybification]

We will know when he can’t stand outside and eat in peace😂

[@ech4ng]

Yeah, it's like Portnoy and pizza. (I know Kenji doesn't like him, but this is the same thing with teriyaki lol)

[@driftspecs13]

@@torsloke is you takin' notes on a criminal fuggin teriyakispiracy?

[@torsloke]

@@driftspecs13 HAHAHAHAHA!!!

[@jjh5374]

It appears none of these places have any idea that a world class member of the culinary community is purchasing their food to review. And that’s a good thing as we get an honest representation of their actual food. A glowing review from Kenji can go a long way!

[@jpeshek]

They do now, when we went I showed a picture of Kenji to the lady and she exclaimed "He come here two times! Each time we get too many customers after!"

[@totlyepic]

I love that you went back in to let the dude know they do a good job.

[@morinaga7630]

One of my favorites in south Seattle. I stop by every time I’m in the area.

[@armyofmeat]

This is my neighborhood joint and I'm happy you're helping people discover how good it is!

[@hui-an-xin]

Just over a year ago that the owner was tragically killed. These guys deserve all success, and it's beautiful to see top tier teriyaki being enjoyed as a legacy of Hansoo Kim.

[@K80vengeance]

I lived in Columbia City when I first moved to Seattle, and you're absolutely spot-on about there being a ton of amazing food in the area! I honestly kinda miss it haha.

[@NishyVasquez]

That's my son's favorite teriyaki place. Not only is the food great, but the customer service is great as well.

[@necoconecochan]

That hand gesture after the rice bite lol that's when you know it's good

[@jpeshek]

We went there a few weeks ago when we visited Seattle, was fantastic. What kind of rice do they use? I can't make my rice stick like that at home. Gyoza was among the best I've had, thanks Kenji!

[@mariov5035]

I live in Columbia City. So nice to hear that you love the food here too.

[@timbyrne914]

I second the excellence of Rainier Teriyaki, and will also add that Mekong Market across the street also has a phenomenal selection of Thai groceries and produce. It's my go-to spot for all things Thai in Seattle, and it never disappoints. It's my go-to spot for makrut lime leaves, galangal, kaprao ("holy basil"), cha om (for traditional thai veggie omelette), and others. They also have a large selection of Mama instant noodles, Thai Lays chips and Thai condiments (including one of the best Thai fish sauces I've ever tasted).

[@ottophil1064]

Been loving this series, the teriyaki love hits me right in my heart. I feel like I've been attempting this series my last 30 years and it has brought nothing but joy. My personal favorite find is Yummy Teriyaki in Redmond (near the safeway). I hope you cross paths with it some day. May all your lettuce be crisp, and your sticks chopped

[@rf7414]

This really is one of the best neighborhoods for food in Seattle. You gotta try Safari Njema. Right next door to the Full Tilt you mentioned. One of my favorite spots -- probably Seattle's only Kenyan restaurant. Billiard Hoang is incredible too! They'll add an egg to anything on the menu for fifty cents. It's like, pay attention, all other restaurants. Incredible menu design. Their spam & egg banh mi is not to be missed. Thanks for doing this series, I'm taking notes 🤣

[@jrtjohnson1974]

I had an appointment in the area today, so made the trip over for lunch. Well worth the trip. The katsu was tasty as well, especially the sauce.

[@Lady-Lilith]

This place is great! They can use lots of love and support, even over a year after their tragic loss.

[@DaveSP196]

If I didn't live in the UK and was anywhere near this place, I'd be running there!

[@ulrikbaltzer8020]

Link to Rainier Teriyaki is broken in the description. Here is a link to the restaurant if you want to support it: maps.app.goo.gl/RdDG5TR3Ypps6w6U7

[@Treyorrrr]

NEVER STOP THIS SERIES

[@marymary122]

This was also my favorite Teriyaki place! We use to live in S Seattle and frequented many of the places you mentioned in Columbia City! Geraldine's was always amazing, there was a great Jamaican place too.. We were sad when Jones BBQ closed that location....really miss living in Seattle! Cheers from Zurich! (Where sadly....there is no Teriyaki).

[@cosmicdeven5976]

Hey Kenji, I know this place is a bit out of your way but there's this spot in Lynnwood called "Ichi Teriyaki" and while their teriyaki is great, their spicy katsu is the most tremendous thing I've ever had. Every time I come back to visit family in Washington I always get the spicy katsu at least once. Highly recommend if you happen to be in the area! :D And yes, specifically ask for the spicy katsu, it's got some special sauces on it that elevate it and I haven't been able to find any other place that does what they do.

[@3weight]

Thanks for running the gauntlet, Kenji, I’ll be checking out Rainier next time I’m in the area! I like that standard ‘yaki place salad ok, but miss the days when you’d sometimes get a simple sunomono, usually just the cukes/vinegar with a little salad shrimp on top. That was refreshing. I think Miyako’s on Main (long gone now) actually had a couple of pieces of tako on theirs.

[@gamecockanon1542]

Kenji - are you working on a teriyaki recipe? Not all of us live in the Seattle area

[@benshew]

I'm sad I lived in Columbia City for 2 years and never went here. I'll have to stop by next time I'm in the area.

[@etherdog]

It was good of you to return to the shop and tell the guy how good the food was!

[@NateSchu]

I wonder if Kenji will make homemade teriyaki at some point during this series

[@avishaybs]

Hi Kenji, thanks for the inspiration and the best channel name ever. I’m looking for the teriyaki recipe in my copy of The Wok you mentioned in a comment on a previous video and can’t find it in the index or tables of contents. Any hints where to look?

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

I’m realizing that might be one of the recipes we cut! I’ll release a Teriyaki recipe eventually

[@fightingfoos]

We are visiting Seattle at the end of this month and we copied all of your recommendations! Thanks for the list, will definitely visit a few.

[@caldasReport]

This is a great content idea! Teaches us what to look for and gives the restaurants business. You're the man!

[@algaeadmirer]

Buxx Teriyaki in White Center is our go to. Best char and the spicy chicken is the best. Rainier teriyaki here pictured is our go to since it's closer to us.

[@MSD-c2g]

I love teriyaki in Bellevue! Pay particular attention to the FRESH LETTUCE SALD

[@ashtonstreit9196]

Do you have a list of the places to try or do you stop every time you see a teriyaki shop around you?

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

My list is every single shop in the city, so wherever I am, I can pick when I haven’t been to yet and go there.

[@JG-ld4rs]

Looks great and the server seems to be just a gem.

[@SirEdwardTheV]

Hey Kenji, I’ll be in bogotá this weekend and was wondering if you have any restaurant recommendations?

[@frye-er]

That Teriyaki is probably the best looking one so far

[@JohnHausser]

Hey Kenji Is it possible to find “decent” thick teriyaki sauces in grocery stores ?

[@minwara7055]

His teriyaki recipe is really easy and delicious. I've made it numerous times myself and you can always make a big batch to keep. Plus you can get creative with what aromatics you can use to flavor it too!

[@blandrooker6541]

I can tell that it's my kind of place with the double scoops of gohan.

[@sorayasafavi]

I grew up a few blocks from here, and it's the only teriyaki place I go to :P next time you're down there you should try the banh mi at thien phat next door, probably the best value meal you can get in the city when you're tight on cash.

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

I always let them know when I think something is really good too. I did that when I had the best clam chowder I ever had, even if it seems like something simple I think those are easy to mess up.

[@mserf8132]

How do you blister your dumplings? Please make your dumpling recipe? Also, please show us your teriyaki chicken recipe? Thank you for your reviews and your cooking demonstrations, my family and I are learning a lot! Keep up the brilliant work on your videos! Stay safe!😋

[@cameronyu2413]

This makes me want to get some teriyaki chicken. I live in ne portland and i am not trying all the teriyaki places but will certainly eat at a few of them. Great job with the video series.

[@thesoze1]

It's really the Mount Baker neighborhood, Columbia City is south of it, best teriyaki in seattlle

[@piy0911]

What are your thoughts on dipping/pouring the teriyaki chicken with your salad dressing kinda like a sesame goma dressing over tonkatsu strat? Sometimes I just like the salad or steamed veg as is and go for a witches brew flavor on the chicken. Keep up the great work!

[@drewgalbraith4499]

is this going to be followed up with a recipe for how to make this at home, similar to your Halal cart chicken?

[@WhatJules]

a video where you cook the perfect version of this combo would be epic :))

[@adamwesterman8358]

I love this one too, it was so sad to hear about what happened to Mr. Kim. Love their teriyaki

[@coletrain2002]

A buddy who works in the food service industry in Seattle said he has close to 400 teriyaki accounts in the I-5 corridor

[@nealmuir6207]

Hi Kenji! If you’re up for a trek, I would recommend you try Tokyo Stop on Whidbey Island - it is really good. Only a Ferry away.

[@mrfroopy]

Its not just how the rice is cooked.. they must use better quality rice.. as. you know it makes a huge difference.

[@ghostgirl6970]

When "I eat a lot of teriyaki" is the understatement of the decade.

[@seanharding]

Teriyaki shops go through one carrot per day.

[@eliot3010]

That does look good, will have to give it a try!

[@blondeenotsomuch]

Have it marked as a go to when i take that legendary roadtrip.

[@szde]

You could call this series Yakking Bout 'Yaki

[@JeffTaylor-tr7my]

That looks great. I will try and go tomorrow.

[@sonyguy123]

I wonder if he gets sick of eating teriyaki so often for this series (I wouldn’t)

[@Zach-h2l]

considering he said in episode one that he'd do one or two places a week, and he's going at like double or more of that pace, i would wager he's enjoying it more than he thought he would

[@xandrios]

That looks great!

[@covenant11]

I have been eating teriyaki in Seattle for 30 years. While this looks absolutely delicious, this also looks pretty standard. Like on the average this is what I expect from Teriyaki in King County Wa. Luv ya Kenji!

[@stevenjacobs2750]

What is your top spot?

[@covenant11]

Well, Toshios down there on Ranier was the first teriyaki I ever had back in about 1995. I am pretty sure it's owned by different people now but I think I measure all other teriyaki places by this one. I do prefer the salad in it's own container, like Kenji said...but Toshios was my first. @@stevenjacobs2750

[@imcharming4808]

⁠@@stevenjacobs2750check out Jim Johannison’s Terrifying Terrific Teriyaki in Spensburg! Up around Crimson Circle!

[@adambillen5164]

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh get out

[@covenant11]

naaahhhh i dont want to...dont like my opinion? too bad! its MINE...@@adambillen5164

[@billbennington4444]

i think Kenji was actually hungry for this one

[@Booogieman]

happy to see you happy

[@niccc3]

Is there a historical reason as to why the rice is served as two separate smaller balls rather than just having one big portion?

[@fl3782]

This looks better than last one tbh

[@bdellovibrioo5242]

Everyone knows that Rainier Ave has amazing food. But I wish the city would do more for pedestrian safety. I wonder what the city would do if a majority white neighborhood, say Capitol Hill for example, had the same amount of traffic violence. It just seems like these communities get unequal support from civic leaders here.

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

Agree. The biking and pedestrian infrastructure in the neighborhood is among the worst in the city. It makes biking down there dangerous.

[@MarkMark]

This is so true. I hope we start lifting our neighborhoods without pricing our neighbors out to new locations.

[@bigbird2451]

Definitely the best looking chicken thus far.

[@jhericlexto4961]

The best teriyaki was the one on 6500 4th Ave S Seattle, WA 98108. I Luv Teriyaki sadly got burned down. I wonder if they end up getting a new place near or around Seattle area?

[@JPKoutloud]

It’s funny to me that the layout is almost exactly the same as teriyaki madness.

[@ediba1267]

Re you going to go to Du's Grill? I believe its the OG and best Teriyaki in Seattle, this the country? We have some in Portland and its by far the best Teriyaki here

[@sea80vicvan]

This looks the best of the ones you've visited to date. You should take up City Nerd on his collaboration offer by having him tag along to one of your teriyaki visits the next time he's up in the area.

[@user-ft9tf5tw6l]

I thought squirt was the drink of choice in seattle?

[@JKenjiLopezMain]

I love squirt!!

[@browngnome]

I love it!

[@mattschonhoff2614]

My spot! Don’t forget La Medusa and Persephone on the strip ;)

[@bwillie1793]

Not to mention Pho Bac a few doors down which just reopened. The best broth in town.

[@yoshinuma1]

bro... I love you bro

[@brianspies6202]

You should do a cooking video so those of us not in Seattle can get a little taste of it in our own homes!

[@opolisk]

Coke zero today, much better.

[@MrPootzen]

Shorter link: maps.app.goo.gl/QXXLPK8BZ4kNhon28

[@englishwillable]

My brother’s hood

[@BallardBaller]

Grillbird teriyaki west seattle

[@pg2826]

I wonder how many more of these you can have before getting sick of it. Maybe by the end you won't have teriyaki for the rest of your life.

[@KamPatterson69]

Wow chicken and rice again! Riveting content kenji no one else would’ve thought of that! You’re the genius that I strive to be in life!!

[@billbennington4444]

found him!

[@nikip9161]

Just say no to the pc ramble, please already, enough is enough. *How about, "hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in." See? It's simple, everybody means everybody. Words have meaning after all, like seasonings and utensils...

[@apocello42]

Genuinely curious why it matters to you. What is it about specifically mentioning non-binary folks that's a problem for you? You say your version means the same thing so why does it matter if the intention and meaning is identical, as you posit? Kenji changing the outro he's been using for YEARS doesn't mean non-binary people will suddenly stop existing. Do you get mad when someone greets everyone in a room by name? "Just say 'hello everybody'. It's simpler and everybody means everybody."

[@nikip9161]

It's simply silly, that's why. Unnecessarily silly. You do you, babe. ​@@apocello42

[@nikip9161]

Funny, my reply was commandeered....

[@apocello42]

@@nikip9161 what does that mean? Your comment was a sea faring vessel that was captured by pirates? All I know is that I get notifications for replies and there ain't been nothin so either you didn't hit post or you got caught by an auto-filter.