02/23/2013
A friend of mine opened a pizza restaurant not too long ago and last weekend I went to visit him and his new business (his first restaurant) to see how he and his business were doing.
Still being new (he opened it on New Years) they were somewhat busy, but not nearly as busy as he expected (he does have a terrific location - first class - ANYONE opening a restaurant in this location should find success).
I didn't first check his refrigerator and freezer and kitchen. Instead I was a customer. I ordered 2 pizzas and a ceasar salad.
I was disappointed with everything I ordered. Immediately after trying the food I set it aside and walked into the kitchen and said: "What do you make here on site?" He was confused at first: 'Pizza?' Bu****it. Buying a crust and a tomato sauce and meats from Sysco or FSA and then combining the crap they deliver isn't 'making' a pizza.
Making a pizza is creating a dough, letting it rise and using that dough as the base for your pizza. Then, using ingredients (beginning with tomatoes) creating your own sauce. Once you have that base, it is OK to use sourced ingredients on top (though the real good pizza shops make a variety of their own toppings in house and they're usually better than even the best sourced shops).
Hey, Island's not a Pizza shop! Why write all this???
Well, because it's a great into for how ISLAND CREATES GREAT FOOD IN OUR OWN KITCHEN!
1) At Island we take teriyaki seriously. We are not like most so-called teriyaki shops who buy their sauce from an outside vendor. I make ALL our teriyaki sauce, using the world's best Soy Sauce (Yamasa, which just so happens to be brewed in Oregon) and ONLY C&H Brown adn C&H White sugars; real Hawaiian grown Ginger Root; and Wine. Simple ingredients, but expensive. And real. And, cooked correctly, those ingredients together make the very best teriyaki sauce possible.
2) We don't (like many '''teriyaki shops''') buy pre-formed, pre-'grilled' chicken.
Our chicken is marinated in our own teriyaki sauce overnight. It is then baked (reducing fat) and then char-grilled to serve. We have no fryers in our kitchen. We serve the most healthy food possible to our customers. By marinating the chicken, we flavor it naturally and don't have to resort to injections or frying in order to make it taste somewhat good.
3) Our 'Korean Style Short Ribs' are also made in-house. We slice our own ribs, and marinate them in our special spicy sauce. Again, no phony ingredients. Rather, real Peanut Oil, Garlic, Chili Sauce and a bit of C&H White Sugar and our Homemade Teriyaki Sauce. And the Ribs marinate in the sauce overnight and are full of flavor when they hit the Grill when you place your order.
4) Garlic Pork is pork shoulder, delivered whole by SP Meats of Portland (Local Oregon Grown and Raised Pork). We slice it in-house. The shoulder is marinated in our own Homemade Garlic Sauce and grilled to order.
5) Year round we do our best to buy locally grown carrots, green onions and red cabbage. There are still commercial growers in the SE Portland area who grow all 3 vegetables. We buy from them whenever possible.
6) In the Spring and Summer Months we discontinue the pineapple slices and instead use fresh fruits & veggies grown organically and locally by Larry Thompson of Boring's Thompson Farms.
Fresh strawberries and broccoli and cabbage and snap peas among other great foods. Thompson Farms also sources locally (Oregon) grown peaches and watermelon and other fruits and veggies.
We LOVE our local provisioners and are pleased to be partners with true LOCAL businesses - after all we're a local business who sells our foods to LOCAL RESIDENTS!
There are a lot of chain/outside owned restaurants in the Sandy area. Doing business with them takes your money out of our community. Better to spend your money locally so it stays local and benefits your friends and neighbors. Better for you to eat REAL food!
Buy local, eat local.
Great food Fast,
Island Teriyaki
We thank you for your continued business!
Island Teriyaki... In May we'll celebrate our 12th year in business thanks to you, our customers!!
