Katana Takeout (Carmel Valley)

Ordered takeout tonight. Better than it has been in a while. The katana roll is one of the best rolls there. It's not drenched in sauce. Healthy, fresh and light.

Katana (Carmel Valley): So-so

Takeout from Katana (it has become a standby). It seems to be slipping, but not so much that we won't stop ordering, at least for now.

CH: liked his miso soup + chicken teriyaki

SB, getting over a tummyache a few days ago and still on modified BRAT to get him set for candy-day tomorrow, had miso soup, rice, and edamame and seemed content

Me: miso soup in styrofoam: tasted chemically
--edamame: really bland, most boring edamame ever
--Ichiko roll: not on the print menu; spicy fake crab, avo, tuna on top, spicy mayo: pretty tasty, with or without soy-wasabi; best part of the meal, reason I would still order again
--salmon nigiri: fine, inoffensive

I wish they were more consistent!

Katana revisit (Carmel Valley)

Katana has a huge menu, and it's a place we've been going back to once a month or more with ST. It's quite good overall, and very toddler-friendly so it works. But the rolls are a bit hit or miss, so it's good to remind myself what I liked (and then search later!).

Today I got:
--baked mountain roll
--tuna tartar

CH got:
--"crispy chicken" app + soup + salad + rice

ST got:
--salad + rice + cubed tofu + miso

ST was thrilled as usual with his food, plus the X-Games on the screens.

CH was not happy he ordered something new: he thought the crispy chicken would be more well-done grilled, and it was chicken fingers. Luckly he wasn't very hungry.

Me: The tuna tar tar salad was not really tartare (in that it wasn't haché). But it was quite tasty. Cubed raw tuna, with avo, on a bed of mixed greens, with a yummy slightly spicy-sweet dressing. The kicker on the plate (which I wasn't expecting): crispy tempura-ed rice balls. Very delicious...and very not on my no-white-carbs-if-possible eating plan. They were too yummy - I ate more "tastes" than I wanted to.

--Mountain roll: I have to remind myself that this is a mess of a sushi roll. Too much sauce on the salmon. Tasty, but I'd rather get something healthier. I set out to have healthy raw fish tonight, and ended up with a stomach full of fried white rice balls and the goopy sauce on the mountain roll. (Ditto Alaska roll, which has an alfredo-like "truffle-in-name-only" sauce on it).

Overall, still like Katana a lot as a tasty, somewhat hip family-friendly option. But should go back to the delicious and riceless ex-girlfriend roll for me, and the beef bulgogi or chicken teriyaki for CH!

Katana (Carmel Valley)

Sushi, got a return visit from us one night.

Worth mentioning again because they are so kid-friendly for an adult place. Balloons everywhere: the hostess promised ST that if he was good he could get one at the end. That definitely helped his behavior. They also brought his food out very fast, and my sushi platter was yummy and well-priced.