Dallas diners aren't sake drinkers.
So says Yutaka Sushi Bistro's Yutaka Yamato, who's rejiggering his Sharaku Sake Lounge to better accommodate local tastes.
"I tried to sell sake because it's a Japanese restaurant, but it doesn't work well," Yamato says. "A lot of people don't know about sake. They drink beer and wine."
Sharaku will still stock 40 different sakes, but the venue will be reborn next month as an izakaya, serving traditional Japanese bar snacks.
"An izakaya is a place where people come to enjoy their drink and the food is a great complement to it," Yamato says. "It's very popular in Japan."
While the menu hasn't yet been completed, Yamato's planning to serve kushiyaki (meat skewers grilled over binchotan charcoal), kushiage (meat skewers coated in panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried) and shabu shabu, or Japanese hot pot.
"We don't serve any sushi or anything," Yamato says.
Yamato has begun sneaking kobe beef kushiyaki on to Yutaka's specials menu in preparation for Sharaku's reopening.
"We served it and people liked it," he reports.
In the izakaya spirit, he adds that the snacks will be "a nice accompaniment to sake, or even wine or beer."
