DINING OUT:Teriyaki Me! for Asian grill

Sometimes you have to eat quick. But the “usual suspects” of the fast-food world can leave lots to be desired, with their drive-through trans-fat, calorie-packed offerings.

Teriyaki Me! in Glendale, with its made-to-order fare, offers an alternative to the burger trap. Billed as a gourmet Asian grill, the menu offers skewers, stir-fries and yakisoba, with no steam tables or heat lamps in sight.

Most of the kitchen is in view in this tiny place. As you place your order, you can see the saute guy hit the pan with a thin stream of oil to start cooking your meal. The cozy dining area is equipped with a few tables, distressed concrete floors and mint and yellow walls, stenciled with the restaurant’s motto — “Eat Well Everyday.”

The menu on the wall lists more than a dozen combinations, most including tempura, salad and brown or steamed rice. Nothing on the menu is more than $10, and most items are under $7. A “Number 8,” for $6.95, boasts a hefty skewer of grilled beef, another of tender grilled shrimp, tightly nestled against one another, along with generous servings of the sides. The beef is fragrant and flavorful, glistening but not overwhelmed by teriyaki sauce.

Adding a third skewer, this one chicken, will set you back another buck. That’s a great value, because this is a lot of food. Especially if you opt for the nutty and flavorful brown rice, which is very filling, and healthy, to boot.

On one visit, “Brian’s Special” included chicken thigh meat (or white meat “tenders”), with tempura, gyoza, rice and salad, for $6.50.

Three lacy-crisp tempura pieces — shrimp, onion and potato, — nestle next to a container of dipping sauce. The gyoza are plump, fresh and golden, their blistered exterior encasing a moist filling. Pot-sticker dipping sauce accompanies the tasty bundles. The chicken is threaded onto a bamboo skewer, and boasts cross-hatched grill marks.

The meat is tender and still moist. The skewer rests atop a mound of fluffy rice. The slightly sticky texture of the rice makes it manageable for even all-thumbs chopstick wielders.

Other offerings include yakisoba with a choice of vegetable, beef, chicken or shrimp ($5.95 to $7.50).The nest of toothsome noodles tangles tasty chunks of carrot, broccoli, bok choy (and meat, if desired) in its web. A take-out container of these noodles will most likely chill out in your refrigerator. Unless you are sharing, it’s probably too big to finish in one sitting.

A BBQ Short Rib special looked appealing as another patron carried it past me. It features short ribs, a grilled chicken skewer, tempura, salad and rice for $7.50.

A Family Feast is $29.95, and I’ll bet it feeds a great, big family. Included in the feast are four skewers each of chicken and beef, eight gyoza (or stir-fried vegetables), tempura, rice and salad. The menu says “feeds four,” but I’ve seen their “single-serving” size, and I can just imagine the quantity.

The food is fresh (with no added MSG), the quantities large and the prices low. Why not Teriyaki Me! sometime soon?

FYI:

WHAT: Teriyaki Me!

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday

WHERE: 207 W. Wilson Ave., Glendale

COST: $5.95 to $9.95

CONTACT: (818) 786-2556