NEIGHBORHOOD NOSH / YAKITORI JINBEI, Smyrna: Grilled Japanese dishes sublime

At this time of year, after holiday parties and dinners, and all those hors d’oeuvres, Christmas cookies and cups of eggnog have reached a critical mass, it’s refreshing to go out for something completely different.

Maybe it’s that hilariously happy image of that Chinese restaurant in the movie “A Christmas Story,” but simple Asian places always seem to do the trick.

And whatever the season, Yakitori Jinbei in Smyrna has been a longtime favorite for resetting the palate and settling the brain, offering really good but not fussy Japanese food in an easygoing atmosphere.

Yakitori style

Jinbei is a tiny slip of a space, tucked into a strip center on humming Cobb Parkway. Walk through the door and the chefs begin shouting greetings in Japanese. In true yakitori-ya fashion, the decor is spare. But the long, narrow room is bright and clean and calming, appointed with blond wooden tables and chairs. Wooden screens shield the semiopen kitchen from the dining area, where there’s a short sushi bar and a few stools. Service is ever upbeat and attentive, and even if communication can sometimes be better accomplished by pointing rather than speaking, the owner and several of the staff speak English.

Skewered satisfaction

In essence, yakitori is bamboo-skewered chicken, grilled over a special Japanese “binchotan” charcoal that burns superhot and quickly cooks the meat, leaving it juicy and flavorful, with a hint of smoky char. Among the offerings, which can be ordered in various combos, and either sprinkled with sea salt or brushed with a sweetish “tare” soy sauce, there’s “young fresh chicken,” with green onion and hot pepper, and chicken wings. One of the tastiest items is seasoned, ground chicken “meatballs,” delicately nestled inside shitake mushroom caps. In addition to traditional chicken, look for charcoal-grilled vegetables, beef, pork and pork rolls.

Sushi, rice and noodles

Beyond yakitori, which isn’t offered during weekday lunch hours, there’s sushi, tempura and lots of rice and noodle dishes. The tempura assortment makes a good starter with a dry Japanese beer or a cold sake. The crunchy-fluffy-golden tempura batter cracks open to reveal white strips of straightened shrimp and colorful vegetables, including yams, green beans and squash, which you dredge in a light, ponzu-style dipping sauce. Plates come with miso soup, salad, two kinds of daily vegetables and dessert —- and you can choose from yakitori, tempura and teriyaki varieties. And there are combination boxes with sushi and tempura, as well as yakitori or teriyaki. At close to $10 each, the noodle soups are pricey, but they’re big enough to share, and the flavors are sublime. Tonkatsu ramen is a cloudy, pork broth-based soup with silky egg noodles, green onions, seaweed, and tender slices of roasted pork.

AT A GLANCE

> Where: 2421 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna, 770-818-9215.

> Signature dish: Yakitori (charcoal-grilled chicken and other items on bamboo skewers)

> Entree prices: $11-$25

> Hours: Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. Dinner: 5-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Closed Mondays.

> Reservations: Yes

> Credit cards: Yes

> Online: www.yakitorirestaurant.com

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