In Tanuki we trust

I had a fantastic meal — the best I've had in ages, really — at Tanuki with ThatJolieGirl last week.

Tanuki is a small izakaya in Northwest Portland. Izayaka means something like "place that sells sake," and the food is served tapas-style in small, shareable portions to accompany your drinks.

I'd been reading about Tanuki, which opened in spring of 2008, and had heard that ordering omakase — chef's choice — was the way to go.

We were not disappointed. We ordered drinks (very interesting sake shandies — sake and ginger beer with a shot of fresh carrot juice) and set a price of $20 each for food. Here's what we got:

• Sunaku - House bar mix w/nuts, rice crackers & wasabi peas


• Scallop sashimi


• Kimchi


• Mussels with ground chicken in broth


• Shrimp with dried gourd noodles and cauliflower in a smoky hot tea sauce


• Clams with pork and tofu skin noodles in savory broth


• Shottsuru buta boro "nanakusa" - shottsuru braised pork in Chinese
  style crepe w/seven-herb salad & bittersweet sesame sauce


• Grilled unagi with house pickles


• Okonomiyaki - savory griddle cake stuffed w/Oregon bay shrimp &
  vegetables topped w/katsuobushi & special okonomi sauces

(It was a little tricky to figure out exactly what each dish was. The ones with Japanese names and descriptions came from Tanuki's site; the others are my guesses.)

Everything was delicious, but the standouts were the scallop sashimi; the dish with clams, pork and tofu skins; the pork wrapped in crepe with herb salad; and the okonomiyaki pancake.

Tanuki is a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but clean and friendly, and by the time we were finishing our meal, it was really hopping in there. For the quality and quantity of food we got, it was an excellent value. I literally couldn't stop thinking about our meal for days and can't wait to go back! I think the goofy smile on my face in the photo Jolie took says it all.