Feeling a little fried

Let's just face it - going to restaurants is just more fun in Japan.  It is more interactive and interesting.  There are many do-it-yourself options that make it more interesting.

Kushiage isn't usually exceptionally fun (except the you get an entire meal of fried food), but a meal at Kushikatsu Tanaka is very fun. 

The cheese kushiage isn't very popular or common,

but it is always very fun.

When we first arrive, the waitress played jan ken pon (rock paper scissors) with our son to determine the price of his drink.  If the waiter wins, we pay full price for his drink.  If it is a draw, we pay 50%.  If our son wins, his drink is free.  After the waitress played the game with a couple other kids, we realized she always plays "rock."  Hopefully, we'll remember that next time, since our son lost this round.

Beyond all the fried goodness that is made in the kitchen (like asparagus, quail eggs, mochi, renkon, and more), there are several menu items that require participation.  My son always likes to get the 9-piece takoyaki plate that you cook yourself.  The takoyaki is free when you have a kid with you, so we always get it.  They bring a small gas stove with a takoyaki plate, batter, pickled ginger, and 9 tiny pieces of octopus leg.  After pouring in the batter, you drop in some ginger and the octopus.  As it cooks, you shape it and then burn your mouth on the molten lava balls.

My son asked if we could order the make-your-own onigiri.  He could be full to the gills, but still have room for balls of rice.  The rice comes to the table with seaweed, green onions, ground sesame seeds, pickled daikon, and mayonnaise.  Whoever forms the onigiri does so with the provided plastic gloves.  My son was super excited and loved forming the onigiri. 

My personal favorite was the do-it-yourself potato salad.  Marinated eggs, steamed potatoes, mayonnaise, and some crumbled bacon arrived in a pestle.  I loved smashing all the ingredients together to make the fantastic tasting potato salad.  I could have eaten the whole bowl by myself. 

For me, a visit to Kushikatsu Tanaka isn't complete without a special drink.  They make a ginger sour that is out of this world.  I've never had anything else like the concoction of simple syrup, ginger juice, shochu, and soda water.

Our meal ends with my son getting pressed ice cream (it isn't soft serve, they really do press ice cream through a machine).  This is another free perk for kids. 

We've been to other kushiage restaurants, but they aren't as fun as this one.