Fukumaru Teriyaki, on Spenard Road, serves several lunch specials. The largest of the three, the $8.99 TK Combo Special seen here, includes your choice of two entrees, white or brown rice, and one side dish, as well as a bowl of miso soup. Fountain drinks cost $1. (Chris Klint/KTUU-DT / March 22, 2012) |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Fukumaru Teriyaki4505 Spenard Rd.
$6-$10 per plate
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday (closed Sunday)
907-222-6394
I live in Jewel Lake, and when I drive the southern reaches of Spenard Road near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport I can’t help noticing the finite dining options for people staying in the airport-hotel belt along Spenard: a McDonald’s, a Wendy’s, a Village Inn, and a Subway tucked next to a convenience store.
A few local options break the chain-store monotony, most notably Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant and a Today’s Pizza in the area, but there’s also a strip mall containing several eateries like Capri Pizza and the Coffee Land Café near the corner of Spenard and Wisconsin Street. On a recent Friday drive I recently noticed that a Quizno’s sandwich shop in the mall had been replaced by a teriyaki house, and decided to stop in.
Fukumaru Teriyaki retains a lot of its former tenant’s seating and bright décor, with the addition of small photos depicting Japanese landmarks and pagodas along the walls. The half-walls over which you’d typically order a sandwich at Quizno’s have been built up to enclose an intimate kitchen space, from which a lone greeter/server emerged to take my order at a front counter and relay it to the chef.
A chalkboard menu behind the counter lists a variety of Japanese dishes, everything from plates of sushi rolls to to yaki-udon (stir-fried noodles) and single-dish teriyaki plates with sides, which are supplemented at midday by plastic placards on the counter itself listing lunch specials. The specials include several meat and rice choices and are scalable for many appetites, ranging from the single-item meat-and-rice TK Bowl ($5.99) to the TK Lunch Special ($7.99), which adds a choice of several side dishes and the TK Combo Special ($9.99), which also adds a second entrée.
I’d skipped breakfast and the placards caught my eye, so I went with a two-entree TK Combo Special, selecting beef teriyaki and spicy chicken teriyaki, white rice and potstickers along with a fountain drink ($1). The place was empty when I arrived and I watched three other visitors order after me, reading through the menu on the chalkboard once I’d gotten settled; my food came quickly, arriving in less than 15 minutes.
The heaping portion of beef teriyaki was made the way I like it, strong and deeply marinated, almost melt-in-your-mouth soft but practically begging you to chew more and bring out its full salty flavor. There’s a steak teriyaki dish on the menu I’d like to try in the future, given how well-prepared this item was. Along with the equally huge helping of white rice and three simple but tasty potstickers, the beef provided an excellent base for the entire meal.
I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that I’m all about surprises, and my meal at Fukumaru offered me not one but two. I took a gamble in selecting spicy chicken teriyaki over the standard chicken teriyaki listed in the entrée choices because at many restaurants it’s usually an underwhelming dish: a sliced-up grilled chicken breast with a syrupy sauce drizzled over it. Not so with the spicy chicken teriyaki, which tasted merely warm until its slow burn hit, each bite making me savor the next as my tongue found the bits of peppers which powered its sauce.
While the beef teriyaki helped cool off the excellent chicken, most of my relief came from that second surprise: the simple cup of miso soup that wasn’t even listed as part of the combo. Even a spoonful of its intense umami (savory) flavor was enough to counteract the spice on my taste buds, making me alternate between the chicken and the soup to maintain a delectable balance.
The last thing on my plate was a mouthful of the chicken, which I wolfed down with gusto before stepping out into another rare local pleasure: a clear day, with a subdued chill in the air that made me thankful for that final burst of heat from my meal. While I have to confess a certain affection for Quizno’s and a corresponding regret that I now have to drive across town to visit one, its Spenard replacement seems well worth that minor loss.
