bring on the takoyaki

Nothing says Japanese comfort food like chicken katsudon ... but having eaten takoyaki recently, I've gotta admit that it's also good stuff.

Japanese fast food makers eye U.S. market
Updated: 1:28 p.m. PT June 25, 2006
TOKYO - If Morio Sase has his way, hungry teenagers around the world will soon be snacking on something more exotic than McDonald's hamburgers: takoyaki, or octopus dumplings.

With more than 350 takeout stores in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan already, Sase's Gindaco chain is one of a barrage of fast-food companies bringing lowbrow Japanese chow to overseas markets. Its first U.S. store is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2007, and it hopes to open 20 stores in California by 2010.