Welcome to Kitchen Kat!

I love writing. I love food. Those are two interests that have stayed constant throughout my life. So why not combine the two? Perfect! Trying out different food is like almost like traveling; you get to experience different smells, tastes, and atmospheres. It brings a bit of the culture to you, even if you didn't leave your home. This blog explores Portland restaurants (plus any notable ones I encounter on vacation), recipes that worked out exceptionally for me, plus any other epicurean delights that come my way. Put any reservations aside, now it's time to chow down on some food for thought....

Friday, April 10, 2009

Tanuki? Wonderful. Natto? Blechhh.

Last night, a visited Tanuki for the third time. It never fails to please. It's a tiny little sake and Japanese barfood place (no sushi) on NW 21st between Flanders and Glisan--my old neighborhood. I loved living there, but parking was always an ordeal, as it proved so last night. But anyway, that's not the point.
Tanuki is dark, candlelit, raucous, and has bizarre Japanese sitcoms (?) muted on the flat-panel above the kitchen. One featured a chimp dressed in safari gear, and another depicted a band of female zombies in ordinary circumstances.
On to the food.
We started off with Kiku-Masamune Taru-Sake, sake made the old-fashioned way, aged in cedar casks, which supposedly imparts a cedar flavor. Honestly, I could maybe smell a hint of cedar in it, but taste it? No. It was good, I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I couldn't really taste anything cedar-like about it. Our server even gave us a little cup of non-cedar sake to compare it with, but still, nothing.
Next came Niku dango: wild boar meatballs w/sweet soy curry bbq sauce. It was served over rice and completely delicious. Sweet, but not cloyingly so.
Then, Uni: fresh golden premium sea urchin roe w/true wasabi & shiro shoyu. Wow. Seriously. I've tried ordering uni before at various places, but it always seemed to have run out. Now I know why. It's soft, buttery, and with a subtle flavor of the sea.
Then came the Natto. Bad news. Slimey fermented soybeans atop rice, flourished with green onions and a raw quail egg. It was bitter. The texture was disgusting. We both hated it. Will managed to finish his serving, but I didn't think it was worth the effort. I hid mine under mussel and clam shells from our next dish. Talking to the staff about it, some of them don't like it, and apparently half the Japanese population doesn't like it. It's an "acquired taste." I have not acquired that taste.
OK, back to the good stuff. Udon noodle soup in a spicy chili-infused broth with mussels, clams, basa (I only know of basa fish, but this was not fish. It was delicious though, whatever it was.), tofu, and green onions. Good stuff, perfect for a rainy night.
Finally, off-the bone rib meat, shredded, with shredded cucumber over rice. Possibly my favorite dish of the night.

Go to Tanuki, you will enjoy it! Skip the Natto, though.

413 NW 21st Ave, PDX 97209

503-241-7667

www.tanukipdx.com

Open 4-close (10 or later)

Tuesday-Saturday

Closed Sun-Mon

Chef/Owner Janis Martin

email: Janis@tanukipdx.com


2 comments:

Megan said...

yummm...I love uni. so jealous.

believe it or not, we actually have one awesome japanese restaurant and a very good sushi restaurant in lawrence. who would have thought?

Anonymous said...

Uni is great! The first time I saw it, I wasn't sure I could do it, but it's well worth setting aside your inhibitions. Natto natso much. I tried it twice, in case the first time was just not a good representation. I really don't get it. It tastes like bile.

trept,

-a