Seattle’s Best Is No Longer Just Coffee: It's Teriyaki

If we were playing Taboo and someone screamed out Kurt Cobain, Fish Tossing at Pike Place Market and Starbucks, it would be easy to surmise Seattle is the winning answer. The land of a million coffee shops has many iconic contributions to the world — including being the birthplace of Sir Mix-a-Lot, whose 1992 “Baby Got Back” was an international megahit — but some would be surprised to know that Seattle helped put teriyaki on the map and in our hearts.

Teriyaki is obviously from Japan, but in the '70s in Seattle, Toshihiro Kasahara opened Toshi's Teriyaki, where he served large, inexpensive dishes and ushered in a new wave of the cuisine. Others modeled Toshi's, starting a long-lasting trend and making Seattle the teriyaki capital of the U.S.

Teriyaki restaurants were also embraced by other immigrant groups, such as Koreans, who put a spin on menu items based on their own cultural heritage. So it’s no surprise to see Korean short ribs on the same menu as teriyaki.

According to Julia Kwon, proprietor of 206 Luster Grill and teriyaki enthusiast, “Seattle is the mecca of teriyaki in the USA and has more teriyaki restaurants than anywhere in the world, including Japan."

206 Luster Grill is in Lewisville, slightly south of the Sam Rayburn Tollway at 4680 Windhaven Parkway. The restaurant name is a loose translation of the word teriyaki itself. “Teri” meaning shiny or with luster and “yaki” meaning grilled. And 206? That's Seattle's area code, naturally. The phone number? 945-SEATTLE.

The newly constructed building, along with a few others, is surrounded by a blank canvas of land and infinite space. Pulling up to the restaurant is like arriving at a secret oasis after trekking through treacherous miles in a food desert. Once inside, a massive mural of Seattle's iconic Space Needle lets you know you've arrived at the correct spot.

In addition to the namesake teriyaki, Luster Grill also offers sushi rolls and other Asian hits including yakisoba noodles, poke bowls and curry rice. We'd come a long way and wanted to go all-in on everything, so we started with chicken katsu ($6.95), karaage ($8.95) and chicken teriyaki ($12.95). We also added a few maki rolls after hearing amazing things about them.

The karaage didn’t disappoint with its ultra-crispy outer layer and flavorful chicken. The fan-favorite, chicken katsu, was fried to golden perfection, which can be a delicate dance because the meat is pounded into a sliver of chicken before being cooked. Overfry it and it's jerky. The hands at Luster Grill must have put in their 10,000-outlier hours because the chicken remained tender on the inside while still extra crispy on the outside.
The next dish to devour was the unaju. If you're like us and didn’t know the difference between unaju and unagi, it's like if you know two guys named Mike and assign a moniker to distinguish them apart, say Big Mike and Li'l Mike. Both dishes are made from grilled eel slathered in a sweet and savory sauce and served on a bed of fluffy rice, but unaju is the bigger dish. The fatty and savory texture of the eel just melts in your mouth.
Just when we didn’t think things could get any better, we got the chicken teriyaki. The chicken is marinated overnight in a house-made sauce and grilled to tender perfection, whereupon it gets another layer of that house-made teriyaki sauce. Plus, it's great to see a place that is not afraid to put a bit of char and crispy bits on the edges. These disappeared from the table so fast we had to place another order to-go.
The sushi rolls were beautifully plated and very delightful. The 206 Luster roll is elaborately made with shrimp tempura, crab and salmon layered with sweet mango and a creamy mango sauce, all of which works beautifully together.

So it’s no surprise that super-fan Claiborne Bell (owner of Seattle Sorbets) always allocates time to visit Luster Grill when visiting Dallas. We all know what it’s like to search for good barbecue outside of the Lone Star State. Although we may have all hit our limit with people migrating from California to Texas, Seattle should still be invited to the cookout.

206 Luster Grill, 4680 Windhaven Parkway, Lewisville. Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 7 p.m.