My first experience at Samurai was when I went to the U of A (in the late 80s). I used to play cribbage with a buddy and we'd bet everytime we played for Samurai's chicken with rice. I would often lose, but I didn't care because it gave me a reason to go there...and I went there A LOT! After college, I moved back to my home town in Portland, OR. Although Portland has great restaurants, it's the fond memories that I had of Samurai that I haven't been able to replace it here. There have been some similar authentic Japanese restaurants that have come close, but it's the simple home-style cooking that Samurai has over others. Everytime I go to Arizona to visit friends I would go out of my way to drive to Samurai (from Phoenix!). I usually stay away from chain-restaurants, but I wish Samurai had multiple locations including Portland so there would always be one close-by. If there are any negative reviews about Samurai, then whoever is writing the review doesn't know how to eat and should just probably just go to places like ""Samuari Sam's"". That was mean, but I don't care. I look forward to my next visit soon!
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