I ♥ Teriyaki Day...

At work we have a Wednesday ritual that was started long before I was hired. Wednesday is teriyaki day. For lunch on Wednesdays, a group of us walks about 3 blocks from the office to eat at a local teriyaki place.

The meal is very simple, just a bowl of rice with teriyaki chicken on top (or spicy chicken, my fave). It's surprising to me just how much I look forward to this. Even when I forget it's Wednesday, someone will stop by my desk & ask, "Teriyaki?" It's always a moral boost, and I've not gone only when a meeting or task has prevented it. Even then I usually ask for someone to bring one back for me, and hand over the money.

Now you also should know that I'd never heard of a "Teriyaki" place until I moved to Seattle. Apparently they haven't caught on in the south. When I moved here, I was amazed at how many places I'd pass with the name "Teriyaki" on them. I'd venture to say that there are more teriyaki places here than Starbucks, and that's a pretty bold statement. However, I'd never say that there are more teriyaki places than coffee places; that's just a lie. :)

Even if you arent' a fan of asian (read, chinese, japanese, thai, or vietnamese) food, I think you'd enjoy this. The chicken is grilled and marinated with teriyaki sauce (not soy sauce, there is a difference), sliced into strips (about 1/4" wide), and place on top of the rice. For the spicy chicken, a spicy sauce is used instead of teriyaki. And believe me, this is NOT restaurant spicy. I like spicy food & this is just about at my threshold. But it is good. It's spicy enough that my nose runs for about 10 minutes after I've finished.

So now I'm filled with rice & spicy chicken. Now I just have to find a place to take a nap. :)