California Teriyaki Grill a delicious and welcome addition to USC

 

The commercial area underneath Tuscany is undoubtedly one of the most reliable areas for high-quality takeout food around USC, featuring Chipotle, Chik-Fil-A and Quizno’s, to name a few. This semester, the restaurants are joined by a franchise of California Teriyaki Grill, an all-natural Southern California-based chain.

With its new USC location marking the seventh California Teriyaki Grill in Southern California, the restaurant serves up a quick yet delicious variety of teriyaki dishes.

The menu is fairly basic, featuring a choice of a bed of rice, noodles or vegetables, and one of four teriyaki items: chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetables. Side items include gyoza, miso soup, kimchi or egg rolls, bringing together several different Asian specialties to create what Teriyaki Grill calls “California-style” dishes.

The chicken plate ($6.95) arrived in a standard black takeout box, and featured a large pile of pounded-thin chicken breast dressed in a delectably tangy teriyaki sauce on a bed of white rice. On the downside, the dish was accompanied by a lackluster iceberg lettuce salad in a questionably scented lemon vinaigrette.

The California plate was made up of a shrimp skewer, a half-order of chicken and a half-order of beef teriyaki. All three proteins were of good quality and well cooked, but the real standout was the teriyaki sauce itself. CTG prides itself on having a secret recipe passed down from Seattle restaurateur Jun Hong.

The amount and quality of food is certainly a good buy for the price; CTG states all meat and vegetables are supplied fresh on a daily basis, and white-meat chicken is available on request. It’s an all-natural restaurant that advertises its refusal to use additives or oils. Nothing on the menu costs more than $10, and each plate is large and filling.

CTG can be found between Quizno’s and Chipotle at 3742 S. Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA.