One Bite Japanese Grill [KC]

A few weeks ago, a number of KC food folk got together to sample the offerings at One Bite Japanese Grill in Overland Park.

There are a number of dividing lines that mark south Johnson County, depending on who you’re talking to (75th, 103rd, I-435, 119th). At 135th, One Bite is south of all of them. , Depending on one’s perspective, South Johnson County is either suburban paradise (with well-manicured cul-de-sacs and great public schools) or suburban hell (with lots of chain restaurants, elaborate strip malls, and beige). I don’t have much cause to head down that way.

But I’d heard good things about One Bite, and when the KC listserv’s resident clinical sexologist arranged a group dinner, how could I refuse?

We got one heck of a deal and a very fine meal, in eight courses.

One Bite promotes itself as specializing in okonomi-yaki, a self-proclaimed rarity in terms of U.S. Japanese restaurants, and it consciously differentiates itself from old-school grills like Ron of Japan and the current wave of sushi joints. It does not, however, hold itself to any strict traditionalist standard. I should note that my own familiarity with Japanese food of different sorts is fairly limited, basically to some small amount of sushi experience and a meal at Katsu.

I’ve been a little lax getting this written, so my order of all the dishes may be a little off. Thanks to Elizabeth for sending out a menu.

We started with gyoza, pork potstickers. I almost always like these things, and this was no exception. Not especially distinctive, but good nonetheless. They seemed to be cooked dry, rather than fried in oil. I think I prefer a little more oil, but I know many others do not.

Natto with seaweed salad – This was my first natto, and I’m a better person for it. For all the build-up, I didn’t find it nearly as offensive as I expected. Not offensive at all actually. The texture is certainly odd--kind of like okra--but the taste could have amped up the funky fermentation and I would have been happy (others experienced noted this was not a particularly pungent version). This dish was specially arranged, off-menu, and was really rather enjoyable. The accompanying salad was really good too, and offered a nice counterpoint to the natto.

Chicken udon – Udon noodles are a good example of a Japanese dish I feel silly for not having had before, but there you go. I really enjoyed it. It was pretty conservative, but the actual noodles were really quite good.

Ebi chili – The menu describes this Jumbo shrimp, golden deep-friend tofu & veggies, grilled in Japanese chili sauce...mild spicy!!. I don’t remember a lot more than that.
Chicken yaki – I’ve seen these yaki described somewhere as Japanese pizza (hmmm…I guess on the menu). I don’t really get that description. I guess it’s because you can top it with whatever you like. I’m still a little unclear on the concept, but as far as I could tell, the base relied heavily on cabbage and maybe sprouts or some other vegetable, mixed with some sort of binder. Then there was a big mess o’ topping, including meat and some kind of sauce. Not a very good description, I know. It ended up fairly thick, an inch or more, and it wasn’t anything you could pick up with your hands. Seemed more like a casserole to me. This wasn’t my favorite, flavor-wise, but was really interesting texturally and conceptually. I’d like to see where this leads. (Someone more knowledgeable, please chime in.)

When we were eating the natto, I think Elizabeth mentioned one other funky dish forthcoming, with bonito, or something similar but more extreme. This is what I get for posting so many weeks later. I believe she was referring to katsuobushi atop the yaki. It had a little funk, but a little less funk than I was hoping for. (Incidentally, KC’s new mayor is known as The Funk, his proper name being Mark Funkhouser. He’s an oddball.)

OB Cha-Shu Spare Ribs – The menu claims this as a signature dish, and I can see why. This is a town that’s serious about ribs, and even Japanese-style, you’ve got to deliver. They did. The sauce was perhaps a little sweet, but texturally they struck a nice balance between pulling off the bone and giving a little resistance to the tooth. No meat jello here, though no smoke either. They were sauced a little on the sweet side, but still a very fine dish.

Chicken chee – This was the only dish of the night I thought was a big miss, though others in the group certainly seemed to like it. Basically, chicken skewers covered by a big mass of cheese. It seemed out of place to me with the aesthetic of Japanese food generally and this meal specifically. It also seemed an obvious cop to the tastes of SoJoCo (Southern Johnson County—the menu declares it the best seller), which I do not begrudge them at all. In the dish’s favor…the chicken was cooked well, the cheese so as to create some tasty, caramelized burnt bits, like saganaki or Burt’s pizza, and it was served atop a huge amount of very thin, dry rice noodles, which made a nice snack, textural contrast, and presentation. Sorry, what a terrible sentence. For what ultimately, to me, amounted to a dish to make someone who eats at Chili’s a lot feel comfortable at a Japanese place, I thought it was pretty nicely done. Probably wouldn’t order it again though.

Snow ball – For dessert, Japanese ice cream wrapped in rice cake. Looked kind of like old Hostess Sno-Balls. Not sure what makes the ice cream Japanese. Pretty good, in a Good Humor sort of way.

All in all, a filling and fulfilling meal for…wait for it…$18 (inclusive of tax and tip)! And I should add, this isn’t a “divey” mom-and-pop ethnic shop, but a pretty slick, trendy little operation. Service was delightful, and the owner Erika is absolutely charming. Wine menu is pretty limited (though I think you can BYOB with corkage). Beer is fine, with Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban among other choices.

The company was excellent of course, and the best thing is, this is just such a great way to eat a meal. I’m not sure, having done it this way, how I would come back and commit myself to just one dish, not so much because it would be hard to choose, but because it’s an awful lot of food without being able to vary the flavors and textures, and the variety was a great part of the enjoyment. Thanks, Elizabeth, for setting this up…what a great opportunity.

Oh, and one other thing I thought was tremendously impressive—at the end of the meal, the wait staff brought individual checks to our party of 13, unbidden, adding the correct drinks to each persons tab. Fantastic.

Cheers,

Aaron

One Bite Japanese Grill
8602 W 133rd Street
Overland Park, KS 66213
913-897-9388
http://www.onebitegrill.com

One additional note...I left out the word izakaya, which is a Japanese restaurant form that means nothing to me, but is another word this place advertises itself as.

I noticed this post on Chowhound today:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/418947

Are others more familiar with this form?

Aaron Deacon wrote:One additional note...I left out the word izakaya, which is a Japanese restaurant form that means nothing to me, but is another word this place advertises itself as.

I noticed this post on Chowhound today:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/418947

Are others more familiar with this form?

Isn't Sunshine Cafe an izakaya?

Has anyone been to One Bite, lately?

I just looked at the restaurant's menu and am disconcerted by the strange and profuse use of cheese (with and in everything from pork to short-grained rice).

I'd *like* to think that I've found a traditional Japenese izakaya...

I've not been since the post above. You're right to be concerned about the cheese. I don't know from izakaya, but the cheese sure seemed out of place.

That said, the owner was a friendly and charming woman who seemed to know her stuff and, I imagine, would be amenable to trying to accommodate your tastes and serve a more traditional meal. She did set up shop in South Johnson County, after all.

I look forward to hearing your take on the place.

We took the boys to One Bite the other night in conjunction with some additional study of Japanese culture. Still pretty good.

Gyoza (pork) were okay, but not great.

Seaweed salad was a big hit, and the boys both devoured it. It was intermingled with a bunch of fried wonton strips, providing a pleasant textural contrast.

The elder child insisted on udon noodles with shrimp, and he ate most of them. Nothing super exciting here, but good noodles. Shrimp may have been a touch overcooked, but still perfectly acceptable.

Finally, the Modan Yaki, which was filled with what may have been vermicelli noodles. This may have been the same yaki we had last time, I don't remember for sure. Anyway, I rather liked it this time, maybe going into it with different expectations. The mixture of sweet & creamy sauces remains of dubious authenticity to me, but what do I know? Though I could see them being concocted in a corporate test kitchen somewhere, I still found them fairly tasty--and the yaki overall, well, there's nothing corporate about it.