Bento

[mamster]

Portlanders, this one's for you. When I was growing up in Portland, the standard student lunch (and often dinner) was bento. I went to Lincoln High, and several times a week we'd go over to Big Dan's West Coast Bento. For about $4, you'd get a plastic box filled with good rice, topped with a skewer of big chunks of chicken or beef, teriyaki sauce, and his homemade chile sauce. I'm pretty sure Big Dan was one of the first bento operations in Portland and spawned tons of imitators, most of them also pretty good. For example, there was Zee Bento (now defunct, I think) which had "unfortunate cookies" with negative fortunes in them.

As far as I can tell, this trend never made it to Seattle. We have plenty of teriyaki here--probably too much--but it's not quite the same thing. It's less portable, the rice is usually gluey, and so on.

How's the bento scene in Portland these days? Anyone else have bento reminiscences? Anyone willing to open a bento place in Seattle?

[Human Bean]

AFAIK, bento is still alive and well in Portland. I don't eat much in Portland itself, so I can't recommend any names offhand.

Consulting Wilamette Week's Cheap Eats section shockingly doesn't seem to have anything at a glance. Keep in mind that it's almost a year old (new one due in March), and, inexplicably, they included Todai as a 'cheap eat;' it doesn't seem that cheap to me. Paging Jim Dixon-- help them please, they need an attitude adjustment.

The Portland (okay, Beaverton) Uwajimiya sells bento in it's hot food section; not in Seattle?

[tommy]

if i may speak for NJ, appropriately or not...

a bento place opened in famous Hoboken, NJ, about 7 years ago, by two post-college women. as described by mamster, it was inexpensive rice and meat in a stick. i asked the girls what the deal was with the place, and they explained that they had loved this stuff in college (and if i recall they were indeed from the PCW) and decided that it might be a good fit in the relatively young and hip town of Hoboken. it went under after limping along for a year or so. it was the first, and the last time i'd heard of "bento." til about 4 minutes ago.

(i didn't think it was very good. although i can see the appeal for some as it was cheap and filling).

Edited January 5, 2003 by tommy (log)

[nightscotsman]

I ate a lot of Bento when I was working in an office in downtown Portland, always grilled teriyaki chicken on a bowl of short grain rice. I just thought it was a pretentious name for chicken teriyaki since in Japan, Bento is far far more varied and interesting. Mamster, if you have the time and are comfortable, could you please describe in more detail how the bento available in Portland is different from chicken teriyaki, or is it just the bowl format?

[mamster]

You don't understand--the box was rectangular. Also, the chicken was on a skewer. Maybe the teriyaki places avoid that because we have so much satay in Seattle.

Okay, I admit it, it's not particularly different from teriyaki, and no, it wasn't brilliant food, but it ruled over anything served at the cafeteria or the nearby McDonald's. (Actually, since this was downtown Portland, there were lots of other great options available.)

[mb7o]

There's always the Bento Box on the eastside. Standard fare for many Microsoft employees.

Sanmi Sushi has a two Kaseiki (?) Bento Boxes. They're a pretty big meal, with sushi, meat, fish, salads, etc.

I swear I've seen more somewhere.

[Human Bean]

Bento as served at Uwajimiya is served in one of those rectangular plastic clamshells, approx 7 inches square. It has a good-sized portion of cooked rice, a bit of cooked veg (edamame in one of the ones I had), and a main course which can be teriyaki chicken or fish, but could also be some dim sum like shu mai.

Nothing like the elegant small meals called bento in Japan (so I've heard), but cheap and filling are the main principles. Good appears to be optional.

I tried a couple of the Uwajimiya bento boxes; they were terrible. To be fair, I got them as "half price after 5 PM" items; they may have been sitting under a heat lamp for five hours or more, and past their prime, but I don't think they could have been that good when fresher. I've completey repressed the memory of one, but the other was the worst teriyaki salmon I've ever had. I think the normal price is $5.25 per box; two for $5.25 seemed to be an acceptible risk, but I won't buy them again.

[nightscotsman]

Hana on Broadway also serves a bento box, but while good, their food is more home-style cooking and not as refined as it could be. Though I often find myself craving their beef teriyaki.

Of course the bento available everywhere in Japan is amazing - I haven't seen anything in Portland or Seattle that comes close. Even the boxes available in the train stations were wonderful, and very fresh as by law they have to be sold within 4 hours of being made (or so I read). Imagine dining on a small feast of many little delicacies (which cost you about 10 bucks) while hurtling along at 180 MPH in complete comfort and quiet (much smoother ride than the TGV, IMHO) as Mt. Fuji, rice paddies and small tea farms glide past the window.

[Schielke]

Hana on Broadway also serves a bento box, but while good, their food is more home-style cooking and not as refined as it could be. Though I often find myself craving their beef teriyaki.

Of course the bento available everywhere in Japan is amazing - I haven't seen anything in Portland or Seattle that comes close. Even the boxes available in the train stations were wonderful, and very fresh as by law they have to be sold within 4 hours of being made (or so I read). Imagine dining on a small feast of many little delicacies (which cost you about 10 bucks) while hurtling along at 180 MPH in complete comfort and quiet (much smoother ride than the TGV, IMHO) as Mt. Fuji, rice paddies and small tea farms glide past the window.

Damn you nightscotsman!!! Why must you tease me so?

Ben

[Jim Dixon]

It's too bad, but bento as used here (in Portland, anyway) doesn't really have much relation to what the word means in Japan, as least as I understand it. Big Dan is probably to blame for that, but it doesn't really matter as long as everybody understands going in that our bento is going to be rice with something else, most often some grilled chicken and a sort of sweet soy sauce (aka teriyaki).

That said, my personal fav is Tom's Bento (SW 1st and Madison near the Veritable Quandry in Portland). His rice is good (he actually rinses it) and he offers not just grilled (but not skewered) meats but panko seafood (oysters, shrimp, halibut, and salmon depending on what's available) and a few other things.

Jim

[gingerpeach]

Is it time for an update on the bento scene in Seattle? I had a fantastic bento today at Fuji Sushi in the International District. $8 bought me a bowl of miso soup, salad, rice, two pieces of California roll and my choice of two other items from a list of about eight. I chose the grilled saba and the "sushi", expecting at most a couple pieces of nigiri but enjoying instead three pieces of nigiri (the standard but very fresh salmon, tuna and shrimp) and half a cucumber roll. Yum - I'll be back!

[ExtraMSG]

Hawaii's bento is pretty similar to Oregon's. It's usually just a lot of rice in a rectangular plastic container with choice of entree (or mix of entrees) and a couple vegetables. This is, of course, the way the locals eat it. I'm sure in places like Honolulu there are real bento places. (Though I don't know what that means.) But bento like this serves as an alternative to the plate lunch, which has two scoops of rice, mac salad, and choice of entree.

[Andrew Fenton]

Isn't there a Portland strip club that also serves bento?

Or is that just an urban legend?

[Nana_Kat]

Seattle has plenty of places for bento but nothing as cheap as the $4 in Portlabd or other cities may have, however.

Tuna House in Bellevue has bentos for lunch, and Bento Sushi on 15th Ave NW in Ballard obviously always has bentos available all the time (I like their spicy crispy chicken roll BTW). There is also Bento Box in Redmond which has already been mentioned here.

Alas. I've been dreading the day Fuji Sushi in the ID was mentioned here. It's a secret no more! They have a dinner special Bento every day--I've yet to eat there for lunch--with your choice of two main courses (Sushi, Salmon or Saba Shioyaki, Chicken Katsu, Tempura, Teriyaki, etc. ) for $9.95, along with tea (when asked for), miso soup and rice. There are probably other places to take your taste buds for more refined Japanese cuisine but it's such a deal and everything--like the food, atmosphere and service--is so reliable there! To note though, Fuji Sushi apparently when under a renovation recently and I've yet to see if their menu has changed as well.