Wednesday, August 31, 2011.
Littler Tokyo. No Karaoke.
I saw an ad somewhere about Little Tokyo's newest location, on Carrollton at Willow. It bills itself as not only a sushi bar, but also a noodle house and a source of "small plates"--the current jargon for appetizer-size dishes standing in for entrees. I don't quite understand the Little Tokyo network. Some are franchises, some are owned by the guy who opened the Causeway Boulevard original in Metairie. They're each a little different from the others.
What caught my eye is that this one has karaoke every night. The Metairie location has had a karaoke lounge so long that the late Sheriff Harry Lee used to be a regular customer and crooner there. I am a karaoke fool, but I don't indulge much except on cruise ships. Never have, unless you count Roy Picou's stage at Impastato's.
I gave the place a try tonight. Started with miso soup, then salmon sashimi. The Burning Man roll here is much more emphatically peppery than any other I've had, and probably the best. (It's also one of the few rolls that contains no snow crab or crab roll). I finished with an order of four gyoza. All this was easily up to my standards, although if I was just a citizen of the dining world and in this neighborhood I'd be six blocks away at Ninja instead.
They did have a karaoke setup behind the bar. But nobody was using it. Indeed, the place was nearly empty when I arrived at about seven. By the time I was finished, people were waiting for tables--but still no singing. I asked, but the waitress said it usually doesn't get started until later. Oh, well. I was about the only person over 40 here, and I doubt my kind of music would please this crowd. I'll try on a day more auspicious than a Wednesday.
It has begun to rain, courtesy of a tropical wave in the Gulf of of Mexico. It looks as if this might turn into a tropical storm, and that it might appear in our neighborhood. First disturbance around here this season so far.
Little Tokyo Noodle Bar. Carrollton: 1340 S Carrollton Ave. 504-861-6088.
It has been over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
