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Nestled in a basement in Seattle’s retail core lies my favorite teriyaki in all of Seattle.  Happy Teriyaki is the real deal – slices of chicken carved by someone with much skill; minimal gristle and fat, stir fried vegetables instead of that stupid iceberg salad that every other place gives you so you’ll STFU about eating something so unhealthy, and .. good rice (worth noting?)  They also let you mix and match the traditional, spicy, types of meat etc etc.  It’s all just really great, and today it was especially great because I got my plate for $1.32 thanks to a full loyalty punch card I filled back when I worked in the Westlake area.  So I ordered the delicious 1/2 plate of standard with 1/2 spicy.  Life is good.  *Be warned – there are at least 3 restaurants in Seattle called Happy Teriyaki and the other 2 suck.  Be sure you are going to the one in the basement on 5th between Pike and Pine.

But there’s something else about this place that has fascinated me ever since I first discovered its existence – the music.  There was a period of about 3 months back in 2009 when they were constantly looping Jon Secada – Greatest Hits.  It didn’t matter what time of day I went.  I could always be certain I’d hear Just another Day or If You Go.  At another point in time they were looping Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey albums from the 90s in much the same way.  I had almost forgot all of those songs existed.

Today’s music sampling featured a classic rock vortex from the 70s. As my plate of meat smothered in sauce was delivered to my table, Love Hurts by Nazareth began to play.  This put me in a bit of a foul mood while I consumed my chicken.  It was taking away from the Happy in Happy Teriyaki if you ask me.  Maybe they’ve carefully selected the playlist to chase people out of there within 10 minutes to make room for more eat-in volume (It does get quite busy during lunch rush).   Next we heard The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy.  This really got me into a mood to eat chicken!  I refilled my water and went to “Town”, on that delicious spicyness that covered half my plate.  To close out the experience I was dished up a big plate of Just What I Needed by the Cars.  I couldn’t find a more fitting song to describe the finale of my experience if I tried.   I wish I could remember more.. I think maybe there was some Boston when I walked in, but I didn’t actually start paying attention until Love Hurts.

So if you’ve just read this and are wondering what the point of all this is, well… there is no point.  It’s a blog.  But I think it would be cool for you to try to play some of these songs at home while vicariously reliving my lunch half hour and see if the same feelings of anguish-then-excitement fill you deep within.

Also, go eat and give business to Happy Teriyaki.