Many of the makings for a glorious meal are right in front of you at Lower Queen Anne's Obasan. Many of the makings, that is except flavor. That is the unfortunate circumstance of Obasan's bland entry in the teriyaki game.

For $7 plus tax Obasan's chicken teriyaki meal begins with a warm bowl of miso soup. Classy but nothing special, the soup is a nice bonus but doesn't contain enough goodies to light the world on fire. Next comes the rest of a meal: a healthy portion of thinly cut, all white meat chicken, a small mixed green salad with a creamy ranch dressing, and a little bowl of white rice. The good in the triumvirate is the large portion of perfectly grilled, all white chicken. Unfortunately, however the light teriyaki sauce barely brings enough flavor to the proceedings to make any impact. The result is a whole lot of blandness in an otherwise impressive attempt at making good on the chicken.

Further dissapointment comes in the very small portion of rice that accompanies the chicken. With rice being exceptionally cheap, it makes little sense to skimp on that segment of the meal. Oh, well.

As for the salad: like the rest of the Obasan meal it lacks the pizazz to make it noteworthy.

Overall I enjoyed my experience at Obasan but was bored by the food. With teriyaki chicken showing up pretty far down the menu, it seems apparent that purchasing a bento box or chicken katsu is the encouraged choice at this particular Japanese restaurant. So be it, and that choice will most likely be well rewarded. But as far teriyaki is concerned, Obasan has its heart in the right place, it's just missing the soul to move to the next level.