Gyu Kaku

I think I've said this before, but one of the great things about working downtown is the huge selection of good eats...the downside of that is turning into a whale.  in my immediate work area, there are a lot of affordable places to grab a lunch, which really doesn't inspire me much to pack lunch anymore.  It also doesn't help that a lot of my colleagues don't pack lunch either and really, really like to eat out practically every day.  One of the places that we discovered was Gyu Kaku.  Apparenly, there are Gyu kaku's all over Japan, but I don't recall going into one the last time I was there. 

The outside of this place almost looks tacky, but once inside, it feels like an izakaya/restaurant.

We ordered a few appies like the ika karaage (Fried Calamari), and the Cheese Fried Wontons.  Both were cheap and tasty, but had me screaming for some sake to go with it (I couldn't of course, because I was working).

As you can tell, presentation was clean, and the chef obviously put some care into it.

I ordered the Unagi Bibimbap, and for about $10.95, I thought it was a steal.  All the Stone Bowl dishes had the servers do the mixing and the pressing.  Mine had a liberal amount of unagi in it so I was happy.  Taste was good, and for me, it came quick....can't say the same for everyone else though....

One of my colleagues ordered the Garlic Shrimp Bibimbap and it took forever to show up.  Most of us were done our meals by the time hers came.  I'm sure it was a one of type situation of miscommunication, or maybe they were still defrosting the shrimp, haha!  

For what it's worth, I still liked the place.  The food tastes good, the prices are reasonable, and the service was friendly enough, although a bit chaotic at times becase the place got pretty busy and it didn't seem like they had enough staff on at the time.  Would I go back?  Yeah, probably.  I haven't been back since, but that's only because there are so many other places to try downtown!