I avoid eating fast food whenever possible. There are times, however, when I cave in. Usually when I fall off the wagon, it is because of those damned Jack-in-the-Box tacos and whatever banned substance is in them to make them so friggin' addictive.
Yoshinoya, on the other hand, I don't go out of my way to avoid. Heck, alright, I'll admit it: I eat there. A lot.
It is the default answer to the typical weeknight conversation which starts with “What should we do for dinner?” and followed by such qualifiers such as “I don't want to cook tonight“, “I don't want to go too far” and “I want something cheap“.
And the one that I frequent (in Tustin), seems decently managed and their chicken always has that nice crispy skin.
So now that you know I heart Yoshinoya, I have no qualms telling you about the newest one to open. It's in Orange at 1273 N. Tustin Avenue #A.
They'll have a grand opening this Saturday, May 16 at 11:30 a.m., with the mayor of Orange cutting a ribbon, a prize raffle, free food, and at least one radio station broadcasting live from the venue.
And oh, by the way, I just discovered that Yoshinoya actually has a game on PS2 (see image above). No, I don't plan to play it. I don't heart Yoshinoya that much.
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.