If you've driven by on Tustin's Newport Blvd., you'd notice that the building that once occupied Yoshino
has been vacant for months. But today, I saw what you see above: a
hastily spray painted sign guided by stencil, which says “BARI BARI BBQ
COMING SOON”
What will Bari Bari BBQ
offer other than a very alliterative title? Well, the clue lies with
more paint. This time, block letters in Christmas frosty paint (or
whatever you call it) on the side windows says “yakiniku”, the Japanese
version of DIY table-top BBQ.
It won't be the first in the county, but it joins some pretty established competition which include Tsuruhashi in Fountain Valley, Manpuku in Costa Mesa and Gyu Kaku in Huntington Beach.
But that's not what worries me.
Take a look at that building. Does it look like it has enough vents?
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.