Ume Grill

There are two places called Ume Grill. «Ume Grill Snack Bar» at the Amazon Pool, and «Ume Grill Onigiri House» food cart about two blocks north in the Humble Bagel parking lot.
I’m not sure what their relationship is to each other, but I ate at the food cart yesterday. I got the kalbi plate (Korean style short ribs), a «baked egg» (which was actually a fried egg and delicious), and two types of onigiri (Japanese grilled riceball) — tuna furikake (tuna based rice seasoning) and kimchi sesame (Korean style spicy fermented cabbage with sesame).
The short ribs were delicious, but seemed more like a one person portion rather than for two people as mentioned on the menu. Along with the short ribs were salad, small portion of grilled veggies, generous amount of rice (which was cooked perfectly), a container of toasted sliced almonds, and some yummy tahini dressing.
The onigiri were excellent — much better than the ones at Meiji Izakaya. The were huge, generously filled, and grilled in miso butter. Probably the best onigiri I have ever had, including when I lived in Japan.
The Japanese woman taking orders and cooking spoke really cute broken English. There was also a man in the back of the cart who I’m guessing was her husband.
While the food was excellent, I think the plate meal was a little overpriced and the service was slow. I don’t mind that it took so long since I think it was due to her putting so much attention into each dish she was preparing.

New owners, canned corn, over cooked «fresh» veggies, smaller menu. enough said. End of an era. We will miss you Helen and Rick! Quality and Flavor were your trademarks along with great citizenship and lovely service. This place won’t last. Back to packing lunches for the pool. Thanks for saving me $ «Ume» grill. Our family is sooooooooo disappointed.

My first experience at Ume Grill was not a great one, and I’m pretty sure I have no desire for a repeat performance. My kid and I were using the pool and wanted to break for drinks & snacks, so we ordered some pretty basic stuff — Izze sodas, a bag of chips, and a hot pretzel. The chips & drinks were served to us and I was shuttled to the side to wait for my pretzel. And wait. And wait. And wait.
After 15 minutes of waiting, I inquired whether my order had been skipped, as they were serving orders that had been way behind me in line. I was told, «No, food orders take longer than the shaved ice orders.» Okay. So I waited another 5 minutes. And another 5 minutes. Finally, when 25 minutes had elapsed, I left my receipt on the counter and left without my pretzel. I had placed my order at 4:49pm, the pool had long since closed down, and there I was (with a whiny and hot kid), sitting in the sun at 5:15 still waiting for a basic soft pretzel. I’m not impressed.

This place rocks!
A large group of us ate lunch here — bento boxes, snacks, drinks, and desserts. We couldn’t stop ourselves. Love to see healthy options at a very reasonable price, great price actually. So great to have this option for quick, healthy, quality Japanese food. The owner and worker there at the time were a pleasure to talk to, and it makes me feel good to spend my money at a small business like this.
The whole experience was so good that I actually came back later with my father to introduce him to Japanese style shaved ice. He loved it, and he’s a picky eater. It was awesome! Super legit, like I had when I lived in Japan. Real fruit, real-​deal mochi, great flavoring and toppings.
*this review is actually from a visit in August 2013.

I haven’t tried any of the savory food at Ume Grill, but the desserts were so good that I salivate thinking about them. I had the mango syrup & condensed milk shaved ice with fresh fruit and iced mint leaves, which was the perfect cool-​down treat on a hot Saturday noon at the park. I only regretted getting the mango shaved ice when my friend walked back with her marionberry shaved ice… it looked even more refreshing. I also tried the chichi dango mochi, which was soft, chewy, slightly sweet & super addictive (not to mention adorably colored & cut into perfect little squares).
What a gem of a poolside snack shack! I totally did not expect to find authentic Japanese treats next to the Amazon kiddie wading pool. This makes me happier than redeeming McDonald’s Instant Win! Monopoly stickers. Than finding a hidden fun-​size Snickers bar at the bottom of my purse. Than driving 8 hours south to locate the next place where I can nosh on fresh mochi & snowy, creamy shaved ice. Yay.

The last time I visited Ume Grill, the business was still a small food cart with a limited menu offering good quality and well prepared items.
They have since moved (summer 2013) to a new location at Amazon Pool. They are now offering a different, slightly larger menu and working from within the snack bar at the south of the pool and lawn area. Diners can walk up to the east side window and place orders without having to be admitted to the pool. For seating, there’s a couple of stools at the counter and a small folding table with chairs.
My experience was atypical, yes, but left an impression nonetheless. I went online via my smartphone to check the business hours, learned that they had moved and changed the menu, and placed an order online specifying pick up time. When I showed up, I caused great confusion and eventually learned that the company no longer accepts online orders. Apparently, some of their website access still lists online ordering as possible. It is not.
Staff was friendly but flustered and scattered, having to take orders from both windows. I was told they would fix the situation immediately. I sensed the busy energy and asked if they were out of any items; maybe I could come back another time. «No, we have everything,» I was told. So I ordered the 3 Ume sliders (2 beef 1 chicken) and the Yaki Bowl. I waited about 20 minutes, all the while listening to the staff say «we’re low on _​_​_​_​_​, we’re out of _​_​_​_​_​_​_​». The only obvious adult working came and gave me a cup of iced tea «for free, because of the wait.» Thanks, but according to your menu, my Yaki Bowl comes with tea.
When I finally got my food, my Yaki Bowl had a measly portion of gummy rice (inedible) that couldn’t be salvaged with the tasty plum sauce, skewers of meat that had been over-​marinated and thus affected the beef’s texture, 5 sad cold edamame pods, a bit of coleslaw, none of the advertised cucumber salad, and instead of the advertised and much anticipated fresh moochi, I found a pathetic half-​strawberry and an orange slice. The sliders were disappointing due to the same weird spongy meat texture and mediocre wheat buns that are a far cry to the Eugene City Bakery ciabatta rolls used at their old location.
So, while I guess there is some good knowing that families at the Amazon Pool and Park have a healthy food option, I was so underwhelmed by food and experience that I will probably never return again.