Sizzling skewers are just the beginning

The great thing about going out on the town with friends is that they know things about this far-flung city that you don’t. Not long ago, we took some neighbors to a small theater they hadn’t known about. A few days later, they introduced us to a terrific restaurant that had been, for us, hidden in plain sight.

Nanbankan, a place for “yakitori and other good things” (as is accurately stated on its menu), is on Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A., near the Nuart movie theater and that great used bookstore around the corner. Before and after movies and while book-browsing over the years, my husband and I have checked out half a dozen cafes in the area and shied away from checking out another half a dozen. We never found any we’d return to.

Meanwhile, in an officey-looking building, behind a facade that looks -- except for the Health Department rating in the window -- like a law firm or an accounting office, Nanbankan lay waiting. But not idly.

When we open the front door, with its inconspicuous nameplate (the only signage), and step through the noren (door curtains) at the end of a small entryway, we find a handsome dining room that, as it turns out, is almost always busy -- packed on Saturday nights and filled with regulars at the yakitori bar by, say, 6 p.m. on a Sunday.

Couples of all ages, family groups, parties of four or five guys or gals -- the crowd is varied and down-to-earth. People are casually dressed in sweaters and jeans (there’s a notable absence of black clothes) and seem to have come together for conversation, not just sustenance. The big band (do I hear Sinatra?) music in the background, the sizzle of the grill and the buzz of interaction among diners give the place a convivial feel.

The decor has a personal touch, with sleek banquettes and walls hung with Japanese woodcuts. White-clothed tables and white-shirted wait staff lend an air of occasion, not formality.

Long before there were fashionable small plates, there was yakitori, the Japanese tradition of grilling small pieces of meat, poultry and vegetables on skewers. At Nanbankan, the social side of yakitori dining is emphasized. Waiters tell you how many skewers are in each dish, so you can order enough for everyone in your party to taste. They weigh in on when you’ve ordered “enough to start.”

And although you order everything at once, the staff sets a perfect pace when serving: Cold salads and pickles arrive early on, then a few grilled items, then kitchen specialties, then the showier grilled items. It’s leisurely enough for conversation and spacing between tastes, but you never get to the point of wondering when the next dish will arrive -- it just does.

Yakitori is the draw

Nanbankan serves a variety of non-grilled dishes, donburi (rice dishes) and sushi, but it is the yakitori that customers come for and that is central to every meal. There are 40 grilled dishes on the menu and lots of daily specials. It’s great for vegetarians and parties of folks with varying demands because there are plenty of choices in every category: vegetables, seafood, poultry and meat.

I love to start with an order of kinpira, julienned burdock root and carrots in a spicy soy sauce, and one of the cold spinach dishes, either namuru, spinach with sesame oil, or oshitashi, boiled and rolled spinach with bonito flakes in a vinegary sauce. The kinpira is unlike anything I’ve had before, and some of us at the table love it -- the chewy-crisp matchsticks have a roasted flavor and a chile kick. The spinach dishes are light appetizers that perk up the palate with seasoned fresh greens.

Along with these dishes, our drinks arrive (half a dozen sakes are on the menu, along with two Japanese beers and three wines), and we dip our chopsticks into a dish of cold, soft fresh tofu that’s tangy and clean-tasting.

Then our server brings a few vegetables, hot and smoking from the grill: baby zucchini, snappily crisp with a delectable char; salted sweet onion slices looking like lollipops on their skewers. Both are delicately seasoned and cooked just to the point of releasing their juices.

Often yakitori skewers are compositions of contrasting flavors. Charred and juicy chunks of chicken are set off with piquant shiso leaf; green beans and asparagus are wrapped with side pork (like uncured bacon).

Heartier dishes arrive with the incredibly delicious yaki onigiri (charbroiled rice ball -- actually a triangle) that we order instead of steamed rice. You can get them plain -- and they’re wonderful, chewy and crusty on the outside -- or stuffed with plum, salmon, tarako (cod roe) or dried bonito. The plum-stuffed yaki onigiri is appealing -- crunchy white rice with a thin inner layer of savory pureed plum. But to accompany dishes such as the meaty little Australian lamb cutlets we order one night, try the rich “house special” yaki onigiri made with green onions and seasoning incorporated into the rice triangle until it’s the color of brown rice and grilled until the outer layer caramelizes.

Barbecued corn on the cob, grilled cod or shrimp, chunks of top sirloin and cloves of garlic roasted on skewers are both familiar and wholly new -- deftly spiced, perfectly cooked. Sauteed dishes in small cast-iron skillets punctuate the parade of skewers. I love the mixed mushrooms -- shimeji, enoki and shiitake sauteed in butter -- and the garlic sprouts sauteed with mushrooms and scallops.

When we eat at Nanbankan, each person orders just a few intriguing-sounding dishes, but we always end up with a feast. And if you hate a yakitori dish (we haven’t yet), you’re just out a few dollars. Even the least adventurous diners we bring along feel free to explore and try things.

It’s as much fun as having friends show you the new cool place they’ve discovered.

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Nanbankan

Location: 11330 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles; (310) 478-1591

Price: Yakitori dishes: quail eggs, $2.25; shrimp, $3.50, shiso chicken, $3.75; top sirloin, $4.25; squid, $8; kinpira (burdock and carrots), $4; namuru (spinach), $3.50; mixed mushrooms, $7.50; yaki onigiri (rice ball), $2.50 each. Specials can be higher. Kitchen dishes up to about $15. Prix fixe dinners $21 and $22.

Best dishes: Yakitori daily specials including zucchini, onions, corn, Australian lamb; mixed mushrooms; ninniku no me (garlic sprouts sauteed with mushrooms and scallops); kinpira (burdock); yaki onigiri (rice ball).

Details: Open for dinner 5:30 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, until 10:30 p.m. Sunday and holidays. Lot and street parking. Sake, beer, wine. Corkage, $7.50 per bottle. Minimum order, $10 per person. Visa, MasterCard (minimum charge, $20).