Chomp Chomp — Restaurant in Bend

Better than any French Fries I ever had during my years in Japan I can tell you that! Hands down! And to be honest the Katsu too! Chomp Chomp and I’m rollin through Bend! It’s late, I’m hungry, and the choices are dwindling. I see the Okonomiyaki and I haven’t had that in so many years, but it’s such a risk outside Japan. And well, the Curry Katsu Curry is too, maybe a little safer, but I haven’t risked either of them in years. Japanese street food is generally botched in the states.

But driving through Government Pass is already enough of a risk for me, so I think, what the heck, and I give Chomp Chomp a shot. Now I’m going to say that the Katsu is almost not authentic and I’ll tell you why. In my memory of Japan where I lived for a considerable time in those semi mysterious lands, the Katsu Chicken was usually pretty dry and at Chomp Chomp it was succulent and tender. The curry was pretty spot on. Quite similar in my memory compared to the great guy under the railroad track in the holey tshirt who made curry and Okanomiyaki and claimed he was fat because he inhaled too much grease. He was not only a master of his craft, but a showman and a comedian.

That was the real Japan and the reason I hesitate to eat Japanese street food in the States. It simply rarely compares. Chomp Chomp might be a touch too fancy, a touch too ski town, but they’ve got their food dialed in. If I ever come this way again I might even try the Okonomiyaki, I’ve never had it done well in the states, maybe they’d even give me a raw egg.

Now let’s get back to the fries. If you made me a bed of them, I’d roll around in them like a dog. They were that good. Every single one them. Good flavor and a perfect crunch. As if a magic alchemist had worked some special potion and transformed the lead of a potato into a mysterious and precious gold. I don’t know what it has to do with Japan,...

I came here with a friend expecting a pretty good japanese experience. What I got was less than perfect. This is only toward the food and not the servers. The servers were amazing and helpful and they were attentive.

We got for appetizers the cucumber salad and the crab Rangoon. Both were really good, though the salad was a bit one-note with the tangy pickled flavors being prominent. The Rangoon were fabulous and the chili sauce was nice with a good burn.

Where the experience fell flat was the entrees. My friend got the ramen which was very lacking in flavor. The broth had almost zero flavor and even though it was veggie based, there was no flavor that shined through. I ordered the okonomiyaki and initially got the kara-age on mistake (which also was a little over done and somewhat chewy). The okonomiyaki while delicious in flavor was texturally chewy, which it shouldnt be in practice.. The noodles were chewy and the fried egg on top was chewy too.

All in all it was a fairly forgettable experience, though the appetizers were good. If I went back, I'd have to try the katsu curry, but I'd be concerned about the cook...

We ordered the tonkotsu shoyu ramen x2. One with no meat. My friend has a soy intolerance and asked for the pork broth but with veggies. Server did not write anything down. It took 30 minutes after ordering for meal to arrive and it was semi cold. The person who delivered the meal then told us that he was delivering one tonkotsu and one miso ramen. Server came to our table and we asked her to clarify due to my friends miso allergy and she went back to the kitchen and told us that it was absolutely certainly the same tonkotsu shoyu broth. Upon tasting broths they were certainly different. This was told to our server and her response was that the “kitchen had told her they were the same.” Bad service. She didn’t even know what she brought out. She was nice but there was zero compensation for getting our order wrong and it was even written on the tab that she rang in the wrong thing: I don’t appreciate being lied to and if my friend had a severe allergy things could have gone really wrong. Ramen tasted mediocre. I will not be back. Positives are that drinks were tasty. Atmosphere...