Ikegawa’s course starts the same way for all and moves from lighter to more decadent flavors, but it ends when each guest lets him know they can only fit two or three more skewers. In this way, guests can have their fill enjoying more typical morsels of chicken alongside some more unusual parts and still have room for the chef’s oyako-don chicken-and-egg bowl. The skewers are generous and belly-filling, but the chef’s mastery is felt in the fact that you never tire of the flavor.

The first skewer is always kashiwa, allowing the chef to demonstrate his grilling skills fully. He asks guests to note the charcoal aroma as they sink their teeth into the chicken thigh meat because the experience is one for all five senses. He uses top-quality Kishu Binchotan charcoals, occasionally breaking them down with a hammer or rousing them with a traditional Japanese fan, captivating diners with his deft movements.

While some skewers are flavored simply with salt, a yakitori restaurant is often judged on the quality of its tare, the sticky, salty-sweet sauce many skewers are brushed with during preparation. Ikegawa inherited his recipe from his master at Toriyoshi. It is relatively light with a clean finish, designed for guests to devour plenty of skewers without feeling weighed down. It sits in a bulbous pot next to the charcoal grill. Other seasonings at the ready, each with their own brushes, are chicken fat, sake, dashi soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil, and water. They sit atop the grill to stay warm, trapping in the umami until called on to make each skewer the most delicious and juicy version possible. The grill temperature tops 350°C, searing the surface quickly to lock in the juice and extract umami, and the resulting flavors are dreamy.

The teba chicken wings bring unparalleled satisfaction with crisp skin and a juicy middle, testing the skills of a yakitori chef more than any other part. Despite their large size, you will find yourself returning many times to extract every last piece of flesh. The tsukune skewered ground meat is made in an authentic style from thigh meat with finely chopped cartilage throughout. For the skewers of kawa, Ikegawa uses skin from the chicken’s neck or seseri, a place that gets a big workout, ensuring delicious texture.

Less common chicken parts served here include a chicken’s esophagus, diaphragm, Achilles tendon, inner thigh and groin, and around the knee. The four seasons referenced in the restaurant’s name come through in the seasonal skewered vegetables like okra, new potatoes and corn. Another wonderful dish is deep-fried tofu, lovingly brushed with chicken fat as it cooks on the grill over charcoals to roasted perfection. It is finished with dashi soy sauce, chopped green onions, ginger and daikon radish sprouts. Guests are always floored by the velvety, creamy texture of the chicken liver, a testament to the high quality and freshness of the product.

Then comes the closing dish: oyako-don. A perennial favorite for the Japanese, young and old, it starts with a bowl of rice, topped with a hearty, comforting mixture of cooked chicken and egg. The chef’s key components are chicken soup that he has reduced from chicken bones over eight hours, skin-on chicken thigh and green onions infused with delicious charcoal flavor, and premium eggs. Ikegawa ever so gently heats the eggs so they slip lusciously and easily down guests’ throats.

INGREDIENTS
Date-dori chickens raised in a healthy, stress-free environment are shipped directly to the restaurant from a producer named Takahashi, whom Ikegawa has known for more than 25 years since his training days. The tender, umami-rich flesh has a flavor that guests do not tire of – essential in a meal featuring dish after dish of chicken. In addition to receiving the freshest whole chickens, Ikegawa takes delivery of precious parts, proof of his deep relationship with the poultry farm. The eggs contain 32 times the normal level of vitamin E, and the chef selects seasonally delicious rice, including the Nanatsuboshi varietal from Hokkaido. The indispensable salt component is yakishio roasted salt from Shikoku, which Ikegawa roasts once more just before opening each day for even finer grains. Because it is very dry, roasted salt is ideal for grilling, not dissolving into foods and drawing out their juices, but sitting on the surface for perfect flavor in every bite.