FOOD!!

[Julie Moore]

So we have been up and down the strip in the area of foster/lester/kadena... lots of restaurants, but I just wanted everyones opinion of what is good? We are not scared at all to try new food, however, we don't want to spend a ton of money on BAD food.
We tried a sushi-go-round the other night and loved it! I think we were the only Americans in there. There's no telling how silly we looked =)
We definitely want to venture out farther once we know the area better, but just curious about what's good around the base (but off base) for now.
Thanks so much, I can't wait to hear opinions!!

[Cherie]

Gen is a great Sushi place, it to the right outside the Spot gate on Foster.

Oblagoto's off of 58 has good Mexican food.. Well not like the states.

American Village has some great places to eat. All are good.

Daisy's Cafe is a fun little bar on the beach. Wonderfull view, its by Araha Beach to the left if you are walking on the board walk.

[Jen Shue]

you know, I have yet to have anything here that was just yuk, and I've been here and been eating out for over a year now. Some places I would (and do) go to again, some I would change some ingredients/preparation, but so far, everything has been good.
I think 4 Seasons and the Sam's chains are over-priced rip-offs, but that seems to just be me. Other than that, I love eating out here - everything is good.

[Julie Moore]

Thanks for the input! I can't wait to try Oblagato's, I miss our mexican dive at home. Homemade salsa, cheese dip and chips, YUM!! Is there anything close?
Need to try Gen sushi too then, does it have an American sign that says "Gen"? Okay for kids? Not too fancy?
Thanks for telling me about 4 seasons though, we've been talking about going there, but I really don't like chain restaurants either!! SO thanks for the input, keep it coming =)

[Tammy List]

sam's cafe has decent prices

[Kaitlyn Carter]

Mike's Tex Mex is pretty decent Mexican food. We're from Texas and were pleasantly surprised. There's no queso though, not sure if there is at Obligato's, we haven't been. We love Transit Cafe, it's down on Sunabe Sea Wall and has a pretty view and yummy food. Pizza In (haha there's only one N) is good if the kids like pizza. The pizza is decent and they have lots of American style as well as some Okinawan style pizza (calamari pizza? it's pretty yummy). It's a regular pizza buffet like Pizza Inn or CiCi's. Kangaroo Jack's and Pizza in the Sky are good places to go if you're up near Nago. Yogurtland in American Village is my guilty pleasure. The food in all of American Village is decent. It's amusing to see what they think is "American" to eat too, lots of hamburgers and hot dogs. I haven't had anything just gross either, as long as you go in with an open mind you'll find lots of yummy new things.

[Jen Shue]

The husband said he didn't like Obligatos, but that doesn't mean others won't. My beef with 4 Seasons is that you get charged about 4x too much for your meal (premium prices for 2nd rate food). We went right before my husband deployed and the wait was so long - we talked about just ditching (we were with a group and the kiddo was getting cranky) and going to Hotto Motto instead. After the meal was finished we decided that we wished we had just gone to Hotto Motto instead, saved a pile of cash, eaten much sooner, and gotten what we paid for. But, clearly, the vast majority of people love the place. I just have my moments when I can be a food snob. ;)
On a side note, I had some calamari pizza at a little Italian-esque cafe in Raleigh, NC. It was really good too. I'll have to try it here.
Ishigakijima Kitchen is good - had a very satisfying (though a little greasy) burger there one night and my daughter enjoyed her kid's plate. Climax Coffee is great and you should ditch Starbucks entirely. Well, except that Climax doesn't seem to have brewed coffee, only espresso-based coffee and the usual matcha and tea offerings. The mocha is heavenly though. Went in there one night to pick up another of said mocha and whatever they were cooking smelled so good I almost tried to eat 2 dinners. Almost. Izakaya Genki is pretty genki, too. I think I like it better than the popular izakaya off of 23, which name I cannot recall ATM. Pretty good selection and everything has always been yummy and reasonably priced. Could really stand to go back there again sometime soon.
One place I keep meaning to drag some friends to is Poco a Poco. There are 2 locations- one in Ginowan the other near Kadena. I think all orders before 7pm are half price and the food is really good. We went as a group and really enjoyed passing everything around appetizer/tapas style.
Still meaning to try Daikon no Hana and I recently spotted another bagel place while I was out exploring one afternoon.

[JaNae]

One of my favorite places is Transit Cafe on the sea wall. It has a great atmosphere and I enjoy the food (the cheese appetizer, open faced sandwich and the chicken salad are some of my favorites). Don't forget to take a detour into the bathroom which is pretty cool with seashell floor. It's one the sea wall towards the north end, a small white cafe on a corner. It will cost you around 1000-1500 per person.

[Jody Yeagley]

If you like sushi, there is a place off of 23 called Delicious Sushi. Giant sushi rolls, with a free complimentary soup and salad with your lunch. Another plus is the menu lists the amount of calories. Also, there is a wonderful Thai restaurant in American Village, I just don't remember the name of it, it's downstairs from the Yogurtland (which is yummy too!)

[Alana McCawley]

where is this sushi place?

[Ed Loy]

Directions and review at this site:

http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2009/09/delicious-sushi.html

[Julie Moore]

This is awesome input! I am getting hungry just reading. We went to Oblaggato (sp?) today and it was really good, definitely different that we are used to, but in a good way :)
Next on the list is sushi and we must go to transit cafe. Really excited!

[Michelle Koizumi]

I am in Naha and I like to eat at A-Danny its Indian..real good and Authentic.
I like Ha-na which is organic Italian.
And Yazaemon sushi in Shintoshin is amazing...
Nahamaya is another great Italian place just off of Kokosai.
I think all the places up in the Sunabe/Chatan area can be a lil bland and very Americanized!