Jenn Dolari

Gyudon at Ikenohana

Today I went to my local Japanese restaurant, Ikenohana, specifically for a gyudon makeup lunch. I already know that Ikenohana has excellent gyudon – and it would be the unicorn chaser for the Donburi Factory experience.

I had actually made a lunch reservation – and got my usual table. Service was fast and excellent. I received hot green tea, ice water, a salad, and miso soup for starters. This all was included in the price of the donburi.

Salad, Miso Soup, and Green Tea at Ikenohana

(I’d actually eaten about half of the salad before the miso soup arrived and I took the picture.)

The miso soup was prepared, not instant – and had a rich taste not present in the thin soup at Donburi Factory.

The donburi was delicious, as always. This is to be expected from a restaurant that also serves excellent sukiyaki. And benishoga (red pickled ginger) is always provided. (I could have used some for the Donburi Factory gyudon.) Presentation is a huge step up from Donburi Factory, as the gyudon was served in a ceramic bowl, the miso soup served in a lacquer bowl, and restaurant non-disposable chopsticks were provided.

The Japanese servers recognized me and called me by name – and were super polite as always. I always feel spoiled by them. This is all to say that atmosphere and service were outstanding. I was very happy with lunch.

Because service was quick, I was finished with lunch in 40 minutes, even as I was reading Apple News during lunch.

A price comparison between my two donburi lunches this week is revealing:

Gyudon Price Comparison

Guess where I’ll be getting my donburi from here on out (not that there was any question)?

Gyudon and Miso Soup at Donburi Factory

Today I tried out a new-to-me restaurant for lunch. I visited Donburi Factory, a place I discovered recently by happenstance. The restaurant is not far from where I used to live and work in Beaverton – and it’s only about 10 minutes from my current home.

Given the lack of fast food gyudon places around here, I was interested in finding out if Donburi Factory could serve as a substitute for Yoshinoya. Donburi Factory’s gyudon (beef donburi) isn’t cheap, so it qualified as an indulgence. I also splurged by ordering a miso soup.

I arrived at the restaurant at 11:30 am. Two customers with takeout orders were exiting the venue, leaving the restaurant devoid of customers. There was indoor seating – primarily two-person tables - which was perfect for me. I placed my order; it came to about $21.50, and to that I added 20% tip – an unusually expensive lunch for me.

The miso soup was hot, and I’m pretty sure it was an instant soup. It looked and tasted generic – and had those tiny, uniform tofu cubes. I wouldn’t order it again.

The gyudon was steaming hot – it had taken 10 minutes to prepare – and the portion was generous. There was a surprising amount of beef. Unfortunately, the flavor was unexpectedly bland – even with all the onions. The counter person had offered me a choice of spicy or mild – and I chose mild. (I’d never even heard of spicy gyudon before.) The beef had a slight amount of flavor I associate with gyudon – but not much. Most of the beef bowls in the area have a teriyaki flavor, and this bowl had none of that – which at least put the bowl closer to gyudon than most. Anyway, this beef donburi was underwhelming.

I ate half of the bowl and asked for a lid so that I could take the remainder home. I’ll have the second half of the bowl for lunch tomorrow. I don’t have any ginger in the house, but I can add more sesame seeds tomorrow.

At any rate, I doubt I’ll be returning to Donburi Factory.