If you're looking for not so Americanized Japanese food, this is it! Being Japanese-Hawaiian, I lived in Japan for most of my childhood, and the food at Kitakata totally takes me back!
The bento boxes are the best - you get a great sampling of various menu items in one box, and it comes with miso soup, salad, and rice. For all that food, the price is a great value! For noodle lovers, their ramen noodles are what they're known for. Especially the spicy Tantan-men is soooo addictive!!! Get an order of gyoza (home-made pan-fried potstickers) on the side for a real Japanese meal.
What really surprised me was that they have a good selection of wines (not just generic house red and white) and original saketinis. The server said the Japanese businessmen usually go for the big bottles of beer, but they wanted to offer things to drink for their women customers, and that's how they started the wines and saketinis. I tried the Mint-Mochatini (mmmmmmmm!!!) and Dirty Mangotini (Juicy!!!), and my friend had a wine flight (any 3 half-glasses for less than $10!!!). We were in a very good mood as you can imagine...
The service was attentive without being intrusive, friendly but also very polite. If you have special requests, they are always willing to accomodate which is a big plus. The only thing that can use a little improvement is the ambiance - otherwise, the I would give them a perfect rating!
Pros: Good food, great price, lovely service
Cons: Not the prettiest place I've been
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