The izakaya in Japan

[torakris]

居酒屋

izakaya

This is a Japanese style bar that serves various small dishes along with an equally extensive drink menu. Izakayas can be large chains (and there are a lot of these) or they can be tiny one person run shops with only 3or 4 seats.

To learn a bit more about izakaya and see a sample menu look here:

http://greggman.com/japan/izakaya.htm

Do you have any favorite izakayas?

What are some of your favorite menu items?

[Hiroyuki]

What are some of your favorite menu items?

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When I lived in Tokyo, I almost always ordered yakitori (skewed and grilled chicken) and nikujaga (meat and potato stew) at an izakaya. While yakitori was passable at any izakaya, nikujaga greatly differed from one izakaya to another. It's no exaggeration to say that I have never had nikujaga exactly to my liking at any izakaya.

[lannie]

I used to frequent Furaibo in Nagoya for spicy tebasaki and cold beer. There was also a family-run izakaya located in an old part of Nagoya that had been spared the ravages of war that had the biggest and best tebasaki.

There was also a huge izakaya called Yagi-ya where they had a great spicy Thai-inspired chicken dish, and these huge ice cream parfaits that could feed 5 people!!!

Other dishes that I liked to order were miso nasu, agedashi-dofu, and aspara-bacon.

[torakris]

I had a favorite family run izakaya just down the street from my house but it closed 2 years ago.

My favorite dishes were a chicken karaage that was soaked in ponzu sauce and topped with a tartar sauce and a daikon and kaiware salad with a miso dressing that I have never been able to duplicate....

[torakris]

Unless they are a chain you will probably find no two izakayas to be the same. A couple of my favorite places aren't known as much for their food but for their atmosphere. I have pictures of one such place in my blog from two years ago, starting here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=471187

The company owns a couple restaurant all with different themes, in the same blog I visited another one, pictures start here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=473100

the homepage (in English) with great pictures of all the restaurants can be found here:

http://www.ug-gu.co.jp/english/e-resutaura...estaurants.html

[torakris]

here is a great list of Tokyo izakayas for every type of person, every occasion:

http://club.nokia.co.jp/tokyoq/reviews/arc...kayabyfeat.html

[tissue]

I like fried chicken wings, beef tongue grilled or stewed, and asparagus stir fried with bacon. My favorite izakaya in LA closed down 2 years ago and I've not been able to find a replacement.

[torakris]

another favorite dish is asari no sakamushi (あさりの酒蒸し), asari are a small type of clam and they are often steamed with sake. My ansolute favorite ones are the places that add lots of butter at the end, the "soup" is so good that my husband and I drink it....

This is so easy to make at home but just always tastes better in the izakaya atmosphere.

a not very good picture:

http://onion.cocolog-nifty.com/homemade/2004/03/post_60.html

[Hiroyuki]

A blog you provided a link to on the Japanese food blog thread had a better picture of asari no sakamushi, along with a recipe!

http://kokonuggetyumyum.blogspot.com/2004/...-sakamushi.html

A copy from that blog:

Many recipes on the net seem to use minced ginger & garlic and soy sauce, but I personally like the simpler seasoning when using fresh Asari and good Sake.

I agree with this comment. Asari, sake, and salt, period. No more ingredients needed!

[Hiroyuki]

I think many of you will describe an izakaya as posh, stylish, and so on, but what I associate with the word izakaya is an old dilapidated building with a red lantern hanging outside.

http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/nn/aa00nn20.htm

Edit to add

I meant to say that such an old dilapidated izakaya is where I would rather be.

Edited January 13, 2005 by Hiroyuki (log)

[tissue]

Wow there is a Furaibo in LA as well that I went to Tuesday night. One notable dish was yamaimo and mentaiko, washed down with some cold beer. It was delicious.

Teresa

I used to frequent Furaibo in Nagoya for spicy tebasaki and cold beer.  There was also a family-run izakaya located in an old part of Nagoya that had been spared the ravages of war that had the biggest and best tebasaki.

There was also a huge izakaya called Yagi-ya where they had a great spicy Thai-inspired  chicken dish, and these huge ice cream parfaits that could feed 5 people!!! 

Other dishes that I liked to order were miso nasu, agedashi-dofu, and aspara-bacon.

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[torakris]

Wow there is a Furaibo in LA as well that I went to Tuesday night. One notable dish was yamaimo and mentaiko, washed down with some cold beer. It was delicious.

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weird....

this exact dish is on my menu for Saturday dinner, I pulled the recipe out of a Japanese cookbook about 10 years ago and make it whenever I have the two in the house at the same time.

How is theirs served? I julienne the nagaimo/yamaimo, wash it and then drain it well (trying to make it a little less slimy) then make a sauce with a bit of mirin and the mentaiko and mix them together.

[torakris]

another favorite dish is asari no sakamushi (あさりの酒蒸し), asari are a small type of clam and they are often steamed with sake. My ansolute favorite ones are the places that add lots of butter at the end, the "soup" is so good that my husband and I drink it....

This is so easy to make at home but just always tastes better in the izakaya atmosphere.

a not very good picture:

http://onion.cocolog-nifty.com/homemade/2004/03/post_60.html

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asari were on sale yesterday!

[easternsun]

i have a new favourite - it might not appeal to all, as it is a macrobiotic/organic izakaya. they have a few seafood items but mainly they serve vegetarian versions of japanese favourites.

i took a break from the books last night and treated myself to dinner out.

i had gobo kinpira, negi chijimi and tempeh ankake. served with a frosty ebisu beer.

the tempeh ankake was delicious and the soup was a burnt orange colour and not too thick.

they have a deal so you can try a variety of items for a lower price than the menu states.

it is called kokoro (or kokoro something...!). midosuji line - showacho station. from the kohyo supermarket, walk one block west, it is on the southwest corner.

it is so hard to find good veggie/organic restaurants in osaka and this place does it well.

[Kiem Hwa]

This evening, I went to an Izakaya here in Honolulu. They had a selection of shochu drinks, but you could also buy the entire bottle of shochu, and...... if you didn't finish it, write your name on it and come back later to drink the rest.

My BF thought he saw something like this happening at an Izakaya in Japan on the TV show Burari. Is this a typical practice in Japan??

[torakris]

My BF thought he saw something like this happening at an Izakaya in Japan on the TV show Burari.  Is this a typical practice in Japan??

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yes it is quite common.

[Hiroyuki]

This is called 'bottle keep' (botoru keepu).

You two mean that this practice is peculiar to Japanese bars?

[torakris]

I am not a drinker, but I have never heard of this in the US before.

I love going into izakayas or other small mom n pop run places and looking at all of the bottles lining the walls. I am pretty sure they also do it in higher priced bars and hostess bar type places but I have never been into those....

[Hiroyuki]

For an izakaya, this is such an easy way of getting regulars...

[jupiter]

Hi. First post in the Japan section. I just recently updated my food blog with some pictures from an izakaya that I frequent when I visit Japan. The link is in my signature.

Torakris,

What area of Yokohama are you from? Perhaps we can meet up next time I am in Japan along with anyone else here that is in the area.

[torakris]

Hi.  First post in the Japan section.  I just recently updated my food blog with some pictures from an izakaya that I frequent when I visit Japan.  The link is in my signature.

Torakris,

What area of Yokohama are you from?  Perhaps we can meet up next time I am in Japan along with anyone else here that is in the area.

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Great pictures!!

I am in Aoba-ku on the Denentoshi line, but I like to travel!

Just post a note in the ISO thread (pinned at te top of the forum) next time you are here.

and welcome to eGullet and the Japan Forum!

[torakris]

I really like Izakaya food but never really thought of it as a place to go with a family, but last weekend we decided to give one a try taking our 3 kids (ages 10, 8, and 5).

We have quite a few Izakaya chains in our area and we picked Doma Doma.

I was very pleased we will be going back. The price was equivalent to what we pay for a dinner at a typical "family restaurant" but they food was much better. With 5 people eating we were also able to get a variety (about 10 small dishes) and a enjoy a little bit of everything.

I especially liked Doma Doma's amaebi (sweet shrimp) yukhwe, as well as their tuna kama-yaki (grilled collar), their platter of fresh vegeatbles with dipping sauces contained some of the sweetest cabbage I have ever eaten.

[torakris]

A couple weeks ago fellow eGullet member Whitegold and I got together for dinner at Tofuro, thir Ginza Ichome location. We chose the place based on good reviews from other parts of the internet but I wasn't particularly impressed.　The restaurant was huge and had this very old Japan feel to it but since we were seated in a little cubicle with a curtain at the only entrance the atmosphere was lost on us. The drink menu was quite impressive but I found the shikwasa flavor in my drink to be very weak.

Their specialty is freshly made tofu that is made a couple times a night and brought to your table in a wooden box, they then scoop it into a bowl and serve it with various condiments. This was one of the best dishes, sorry for the very off color picture.

I really enjoyed this salmon-avocado dish

This dish of Nagoya cochin tenderloin was disappointing and most of it was overcooked, rendering it tasteless

we both enjoyed this maguro (tuna) katsu served with a ponzu sauce

Their version of goya (bitter gourd) champuru was excellent

We then finished off the meal with a plate of freshly made soba noodles that were another specialty of the restaurant and they were quite good.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you for your report, Kris.

One question: Did you actually feel wabi sabi while you were there? I ask this question because, according to their website, they want you to feel wabi sabi.

茶の湯の世界を思わせる「わび・さび」を感じてもらいたい、日本の伝統文化を伝えていきたい。

土風炉はそんなコンセプトのもとに生まれました。

Another excerpt from their website:

"Tofuro" was born under the concept of sharing the simplicity and tranquility of the world of tea ceremony

and promoting a better understanding about Japanese culture.

"Tofuro" is suitable for the gathering after work and the business meetings.

Based on handmade "WA (Japan)", we provide grilled dishes, boiled dishes, fried dishes,

Oden (Japanese hotchpotch) and Sashimi (sliced raw fish), and we also serve Juwari soba noodles using 100% pure buckwheat flour.

The restaurant reproduces the streetscape of the Edo Period and has a number of characteristic small rooms.

It creates a comfortable dining atmosphere with warm and dim indirect lightings.

from here

Hmm.... juwari (100%) sarashina soba... Sorry, I'm not a fan of sarashina...

[torakris]

One question:  Did you actually feel wabi sabi while you were there?  I ask this question because, according to their website, they want you to feel wabi sabi.

茶の湯の世界を思わせる「わび・さび」を感じてもらいたい、日本の伝統文化を伝えていきたい。

土風炉はそんなコンセプトのもとに生まれました。

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Not really.

I described the inside of the restaurant as having an old Japan feel to it, but since you only see the interior of the place as you are being led to your seat or when you are leaving, the atmosphere is lost. There was nothing about our little cubicle that I would describe as wabi sabi.

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of wabi sabi please check out this thread.