Kotobuki

 On several occasions last year,
     Dennis Galletta
 published here glowing reviews of Kotobuki, a Japanese restaurant just
 south of North Park.  We went last night; here are my comments.

 First, it was by any definition a fine restaurant.  The food was
 delicious and attractively presented, the staff was friendly and
 (mostly) quite helpful, and the decor was all we could want.  I fully
 support Galletta's review.

 However, my wife and I are vegetarians, and the place just isn't all
 that friendly to folks who don't eat meat.  There are a few appetizers
 that might be OK, but there was only one entree that we could eat -- the
 vegetable tempura.  After studying the menu, we noted that the beef
 sukiyaki was full of interesting ingredients, plus beef.  We asked the
 waitress if they could make it without the beef.  She thought not, but
 we prevailed on her to go back and ask.  In fact they could provide it.
 So my wife and I shared an order of (non-beef) sukiyaki and an order of
 vegetable tempura.  The sukiyaki was splendid, full of good vegies and
 things.  The tempura was tasty and attractively presented, but it was a
 bit oily for our taste.  The salad and the soup were fine.

 Would we return?  Probably not by ourselves, as the selection (for us)
 was too limited.  We would probably return with friends, though.

 Service: While our waitress was as helpful and as pleasant as she could
 be, it was clear that English was not her strength.  We had a hard time
 communicating our requirements.  For example, I would hesitate to go
 there with someone with complex requirements caused by allergies.  We
 didn't ask if there were beef stock in the sukiyaki or the miso soup,
 although we usually do.  I would have liked to sample the non-fish
 sushi, but I just didn't feel up to asking for it.

 Art Evans