In 2010, John T. Edge wrote an ode to Seattle teriyaki for The New York Times. He quotes Knute Berger, elder statesman of Seattle media, as saying the shops are “so ubiquitous as to have become invisible.” And once invisible, they actually disappear; two of the four restaurants Edge focused on have since closed. For those who grew up in Seattle, teriyaki was a way of life. Eula Scott Bynoe of the podcast Hella Black Hella Seattle tells the story of bringing a dying relative teriyaki from a favorite spot: "I was there to say goodbye," but the relative, a Seattle native, she joked, "just wanted the teriyaki." For new transplants, the simple dish doesn't fit the narrative of the shiny, new city. Teriyaki shops -- dirty and run-down -- aren't listed on any hot lists of where to eat in Seattle. Not in Seattle Metropolitan's 30 restaurant experiences you "must have," nor in alt-weekly The Stranger's "Eat Like a Local." To Seattle’s latest Amazon and Microsoft recruits -- living here as Seattle earned (and is still earning) acclaim for its culinary scene -- the city was built on Copper River salmon and Taylor Shellfish oysters. A place where neighborhood restaurants like Anchovies & Olives shuck bivalves fresh daily and serve pristine fish, even away from the waterfront tourist traps. To have arrived in Seattle in the last five years was to watch Zoi Antonitsas and Jason Stratton both win Food & Wine "Best New Chef" awards and appear on Top Chef, to see Ethan Stowell's combination of Northwest and Italian cuisines spread to more than a dozen outlets, to taste Blaine Wetzel's food at Willows Inn and Jamie Boudreau's drinks at Canon -- as each were celebrated for being one of the world's best restaurants and bars, respectively.

But for all the seafood and all the awards, former Seattle Times food writer Nancy Leson admits of Seattle's iconic foods, “When people talk about ingredients, I would go with the salmon and oysters, and that’s fine… but when it comes to definitive dishes, teriyaki is on top of the list." In the 2010 New York Times piece, Berger offers insight to why such a major dish isn't more prominent. “Seattle yuppies love the idea of going to some obscure Chinese place for dim sum, but they won’t dare tell you that they eat chicken teriyaki.”