Just a block from one another on State Street, Dragon I and Osaka House each offer two different experiences, depending on what time of day you arrive.
Both offer lunch and dinner during the day. Dragon I is a sister restaurant to Nam’s Noodle and offers mainly Vietnamese dishes, while Osaka House serves Japanese primarily through carryout and delivery, since its capacity is only 19.
By night, however, both become popular bars. Like Nam’s Noodle, Dragon I offers private karaoke rooms, which are located upstairs. From Sunday through Wednesday, the hourly rental fee is $25 before 9 p.m. and $30 after; Thursday through Saturday is $30/$35. The rooms come in various sizes to accommodate different-sized groups. You get unlimited songs–Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and American–during the time in your room. If you like karaoke, you’ll love this experience, especially since it’s among your close friends, meaning you can pick songs you wouldn’t have the courage to do otherwise.
I have read how bad the service is during dining hours at Dragon I, and I see that it’s just as bad at night. A staff member may occasionally stop by to see if you need more drinks, but you’ll likely have to go all the way downstairs to order. Plus, no one seems to know how to make any of the featured cocktails And while the rooms are mostly soundproof, you can hear other singers through the vents.
From singing we go to dancing at Osaka House. The entrance to the bar is on Gilman Street, not State Street, which sort of gives you the feeling you’re going to a secret club. I’ve heard it called the “sake lounge,” but the manager told me it really has no name.
Inside you’ll find just a handful of bar stools, a nightly DJ and a small dance floor. From 9-10:30 p.m. the place is dead, but then suddenly the entire place reaches its 49-person capacity, and a line quickly forms to get in. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly a college-aged crowd, and even the drinks are aimed at them (shot menu includes Patron, Jose Cuervo, SoCo and Absolut–totally for students who don’t know any better).
Meanwhile, the IPA was milder than I thought it would be (not a bad thing). Still, the beer had an excellent aroma and just the right amount of hop flavor (for me, this means not an overwhelming amount).
Pancheros salutes Bob, whose claim-to-fame is mixing ingredients for a uniform taste in each bite, by holding a contest in which diners take the unique utensil out of the kitchen and into the wild. Participants are encouraged to get imaginative and take Bob to places it otherwise would never see, like the beach or an iconic landmark.
