The last two times I came to France, I wanted to try the Japanese food for kicks, but never did. For some reason I doubted the authenticity. I have good senses when it comes to this: I'm half Japanese, and I recently spent a month in Japan doing pretty much nothing but eat, eat, eat!

Back home in San Francisco, a (full) Japanese friend of mine calls the myriad restaurants serving up "typical" Japanese food "pseudo sushi." Considering Parisian Japanese restaurants have an even narrower repertoire of dishes - almost invariably sushi, sashimi, and yakitori - I hereby coin the term "Fauxponais."

Exhibit A amongst the Fauxponais: Konichiwa.

Although the sushi isn't awful, it's simply not worth your time or money (€18.50 for a dinner menu) for what barely passes as a six-piece tray of nigiri in other countries where sushi has been a trend for a while. Other than perhaps sesame oil, the opening course of shrimp salad contains no flavors even reminiscent of actual Japanese food. Ok, so the beer is authentic. Unless someone is bootlegging Asahi and Kirin.

I throw them the second star, though, for their yakitori. Unlike almost every place outside of Japan, Konichiwa DOESN'T smother their chicken skewers in super-sweet teriyaki sauce. Instead, they do it up proper, lightly salted and then roasted over a charcoal fire.

If I ever go back, it will be for beer and yakitori. Full-on Izakaya style. A dining trend I'm sure won't reach these shores for at least another decade...