Chill eats

Welcome flavors: Oak Park’s restaurant scene continues to blossom. This time, it’s a cherry blossom painted on the festive walls of the neighborhood’s only Japanese restaurant.

OBA Japanese Kitchen (4605 Broadway) had its soft opening in late July to work out the kinks. “We finally got our open sign, so we’ve got more people coming in,” said Jodilynn Lee, 18, the manager. She’s the daughter of owner Damond Lee, who also operates two other Japanese eateries: The Izakaya (5651 Freeport Boulevard) and Sushi Cafe (1221 Alhambra Boulevard).

Regulars to Izakaya will recognize much of the menu. The same chef, Billy Huang, turns out ramen with house shoyu broth and nearly identical lists of appetizers and sushi, including the signature Iz roll. But at OBA, you’ll find more options: yaki-soba and udon noodles, shrimp pops and an unagi rice bowl.

What’s more, OBA has added three sandwiches—roasted beef, grilled chicken and spicy pork—and kept some “honor items” from Louie’s, the Chinese restaurant that previously inhabited the space since 1989 and served a steady stream of fans. For those loyalists, OBA still has Walnut Shrimp and deep-fried General Chicken, among other Chinese-American classics.

Desmond Lee is friends with those former owners, so the Lee family saw the potential of the space with its ready-made regulars, Jodilynn says. They’ve totally remodeled the interior with wooden floors, rustic Japanese chairs and walls that are as colorful as they are quirky. A panel of cartoon sushi with cute, glistening eyes verges on an elegantly painted mural of blushing women in kimonos.

Echoing the bubbly decor, Jodilynn is excited to exercise her creativity outside of her business management major at Sacramento City College. She helps come up with specials, which recently included an everything-but-the-sink Sunset Roll with shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, crab salad, salmon, masago and green onions.

“I try to come up with fun specials to expand my imagination,” she said.

Banana hammock: Celebrate everyone’s favorite fruit that we didn’t know is a berry. The Eighth Annual Sacramento Banana Festival will offer a variety of bites to show how the banana is cooked throughout Asia, Africa and the Americas: banana beef tacos, banana guacamole, banana rum beignets, banana kabobs and even banana 7-Up floats. It all takes place this weekend, August 12-13, in William Land Regional Park (3800 West Land Park Drive). Tickets are $6-10, and free for children 5 and under.