Eat Japas at Yakitori Boy

We usually advise going for the priciest places during Center City District’s Restaurant Week, to get the best bang for your buck. After all, at some of the spots on the long list of participating restaurants, you can fill up for $35 per person — or less — any night. But even though we wouldn’t count Yakitori Boy (211 N. 11^th St.) among the more expensive eateries, we were impressed by the Chinatown bar/restaurant/karaoke lounge’s Restaurant Week menu, which GM Jin Shen says is, roughly, a $55 value.

We’re longtime fans of Yakitori Boy’s Japanese pub-style fare, aka “Japas” (Japanese tapas), and happily dug into yellowtail carpaccio; lobster claw, tuna and avocado sushi rolls; grilled whole lobster; a variety of skewers, including short rib and bacon-wrapped quail egg; and other plates both big and small. The only downside was having to choose between the tempura ice cream and the mochi ice cream for dessert.