Just ONE DAY left in our list of lists known as 100 Favorite Dishes (INSERT YEAR), which means that very, very soon, you'll be able to run to one of the awesome businesses who loan us a few square feet of space and pick up a copy of our annual Best Of issue. YEAH!!! Enjoy!
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Café Hiro was included in this list last year, this year, and our Best of Issue many times before that. Its window still boasts one of our Best Of stickers it earned in 2005, one of the first accolades it garnered. Zagat, TripAdvisor and Yelp followed. Even today, us Weeklings continue to be ardent and loyal fans of Hiro Ohiwa's Franco-Italian-Japanese cooking, but especially me.
Café Hiro is on a short list of restaurants I can call myself a regular for most of the eleven or so years it has been in business. I've outlasted at least four different rounds of servers. But the entrees remain consistent and great, still served with a simple side salad of lettuce doused with a house-made miso-ginger dressing and a soup of the day that warms the soul.
But the one entree that I order more than the others is the sauteed chicken, and it is simplicity at its most delicious. Two thick pieces of chicken thigh are seared on a pan, with the skin on, until it attains a sort of crispiness just short of a chicharron, then glazed in something sticky/sweet/spicy before being piled on top of a mess of vegetables and a thin pan sauce that's as rich as consomme.
When I order this dish, it's because I need something comforting, unfussy–the kind of meal that represents Cafe Hiro as a restaurant and why it will continue to top lists like this.
See also:
The list:
3. Pizza di Salsiccia e Friarielli at Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana
4. Prime Gastro Burger at Dublin 4
5A. Lamb Tenderloin at Medii Kitchen
5B. Apple Pie Cookie at XA Sweet N Savory Cafe
6. Charcuterie at Little Sparrow
7. Ají Verde at Inka Mama
8. Frittata at Crave
9. Pickled Egg at C4 Deli: Cure for the Common
10. Fugazza at Pasta Connection
11. Cheese N Soujouk Manakeesh at Al Wadee Bakery N Restaurant
12. Salpicon at Nancy's Pupuseria
13. Soulrito at Papa's Fish N Soul Food
14. Combination Grill Plate at Kareem's Restaurant
15. Ta Pin Lu at Pagolac
16. The Chicken at XA Sweet N Savory Cafe
17. Mashed Potatoes at Tender Greens
18. Twice-Baked Potato Purée at James Republic
19. Salmon at Tavern On The Coast
20. Omakase at Sushi Noguchi
21. Pescado Zarandeado at Mariscos Los Primos
22. Sausage Anything from Sabatino's
23. Cemita Poblana from El Camino Real Market
24. Champurrado and Pan Dulce from Las Tres Princesas
25. Grilled Watermelon Salad At XA Sweet N Savory Cafe
26. Beer Brat At LinX
27. Bloody Mary Brunch at Charlie Palmer
28. Pork Belly Slider From The Golden Truffle
29. Hot Chocolate at The Catch
30. 95% of the Menu at Confetti Italian Ice
31. Hu Tieu at Hu Tieu Thanh Xuan
32. Beef Salad (aka “The Bobby Special”) at Sophy's Fine Thai N Cambodian Cuisine
33. “No Soup” Ramen at Santouka Ramen
34. Wild Mushroom Taco at Taco Asylum
35. Chivito at Puerto Madero/El Gaucho #2
36. Lamb Burger at Haven Gastropub
37. Breakfast Tacos at Chelas Mexican Grill
38. Grilled Brie With Apples And Fig Jam at Boudin SF
39. Fried Almond Shrimp Balls at Capital Seafood
40. Tulsa Potatoes At Tulsa Rib Company
41. Tiropites from Kentro Greek Kitchen
42. Pasta Salad from Crave
43. Chicken Plate at Surfin' Chicken
44. Rosemary Madeleine from Little Sparrow
45. Umeboshi Ochazuke at Kappo Suzumaru
46. Soft Tofu Soup at DooRei
47. Hitsumabushi at Sagami
48. The Fireball at Cortina's
49. Paint It Black Pie at Rebel Bite
50. Pidan Doufu at I-Tea Cafe
51. The Happy Hour Specials at Ahi Ahi Sushi Bar N Grill
52. Free Happy Hour Food at Gulliver's
53. Banh Tom at Van's Restaurant
54. Dinner at Marrakesh
55. Congee at Capital Seafood
56. Taquito Burrito at Cuca's Mexican Food
57. Clam Chowder at Billy's at the Beach
58. Volcan at Tacos Ruben y Mulitas
59. The Burger at ARC
60. Chocolate Chip Cookie at Crave
61. Lime Curd At Playground
62. Every Damn Thing at Mochi Cream
63. Most Things at Devilicious Donuts
64. Robiola Bosina at Provisions Market
65. Bite-Sized Stinky Tofu at Tofu King
66. Tacos Dorados at Tortas Ahogadas Los Primos
67. Tlacoyo at El Rincon Chilango
68. Whole Pig Roast at Haven Gastropub
69. Chingaderas at Smoqued BBQ
70. The Continuous Ramen Chronicles at The Playground
71. Shrimp N Grits at Slapfish
72. Bacon Cotton Candy at Biggy's Meat Market
73. Urban 3b at Urban Seoul
74. Waffles N Chicken from The Slummin' Gourmet N Waffles de Liege
75. Ahi Tuna Tartar at Nieuport 17
76. Chicken Wings at Hashigo Korean Kitchen
77. Brussels Sprouts Pizza at Pizzeria Mozza
78. Breakfast Sausage Hash at Thasos Greek Island Grille
79. Chocolate Doughnut with Jacobsen Sea Salt at Sidecar Doughnuts N Coffee
80. Loco Moco Dog at Dogzilla
81. Fruit Tart at Le Croissant Dore
82. Daing Na Bangus (Marinated Milkfish) Silog Breakfast at Chowking
83. Strawberry Basil Lemonade at Mick's Karma Bar
84. Lemongrass Chicken Salad at Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop
85. Tofu Soup at Tasty Thai
86. Take-Out Dim Sum at Capital B.B.Q. and Dim Sum Express
87. Hodo Gwaja at Cocohodo
88. Popcorn Chicken Salad at Guppy House
89. Fried Okra at Memphis Soul Cafe N Bar
90. Salted Egg With Bitter Melon N Scrambled Egg at Tasty Noodle House
91. Boysenberry Lemonade from Bautista Creek Local Produce at SOCO Farmers' Market
92. Scallop Carpaccio with Curry Oil and Yuzu Vinaigrette from Cafe Hiro
93. White Board Specials at Taco Adobe
94. Coney Dog at LinX
95. Halal Pizzas from San Giovanni Pizzas
96. Clayuda at El Fortín
97. Lunch Buffet at Dosa Express
98. The Meats at Darya in Orange
99. Panocha at Taquería Zamora
100. Bean-and-Cheese Burrito from Del Taco
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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.