Domo Restaurant
John Lehndorff
Friday, August 4, 2000
The mixed industrial area on Osage Street near downtown was the last place I expected to find nirvana. But my friend Leland and I discovered it in the Zen rock garden at Domo after visiting an ailing friend at a nearby hospital.
Tables are scattered throughout the garden in this authentic northern Japanese country restaurant. Fenced with weathered wood, it has a small pond with a bubbling fountain framed by water plants, flowers and precisely placed stones.
The traditional lunch menu is equally satisfying. The namazu teriyaki ($7.50) was exquisite pieces of fresh catfish in a rich teriyaki sauce served with uncommon vegetable, sprout and seaweed side dishes and a bowl of warm miso. The yakiniku chicken ($6.25) offered tender juicy poultry with pickled ginger. My favorite, though, was the Kaisen kasunabe ($8.25), a soulful assemblage of salmon, shrimp, scallops and veggies with noodles and an outstanding broth.
As we sat sipping green tea afterward, we reviewed the parade of sharply defined textures, aromas and unusual flavors we'd encountered among the vines a few blocks from Interstate 25. Chef/owner Gaku Homma has created an open-air dining experience so compelling it whisks you away to another country and a healthier state of mind.
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