Getting There

July found me on a train crossing the Willamette River.  

To that place that locals love to take photos of the carpet. Portland International Airport. So of course, I did that. 

Knowing that it would be some time before I would get a meal, I searched for something to eat.  Portland Bowl at Tamale Boy. It's great how flexible they are with their dishes. This is black beans, rice, mixed greens, tomato salsa, eggs, Monterey Jack cheese and guacamole sauce. Next time I will skip the eggs. Other than that, it was like a nice salad. And not expensive.

The plane to Canada was late. It's a Bombardier Q400. It is interesting to fly in a plane this size. A little noisy too.  

But the views are very scenic when the clouds clear. Mount Rainier with a couple lakes in Washington.

It's not easy getting photos through plane windows. So I'm always happy when my zoom picks up an image like this. Snowy Mount Rainier, even in summer.

And Vancouver International Airport. Time for another carpet photo. 

Finally boarded my plane and starting to roll out. 

Several hours later I make it through Narita International Airport's Immigration and Customs. Deep inside the train station there was a bamboo tree with tanzaku wishes for Tanabata. 

Once again waiting for my N'EX train. I didn't think to get a photo of Narita Airport's carpet. Maybe next time?

I found Bourbon Choco Anpan cookies while waiting. These are the same thing that was given away as prizes at the Moi dix Mois ~La Kitchen Knife Aristocracy~ shows. So I had to try them. Compared to the other Bourbon cookies, these ones were a bit dry. I prefer the Kikori no Kirikabu, Tree Stumps to these. But they are much harder to find.

So I was off on my journey back to Tokyo. Compared to March, the fields around Narita were green.

Going Back to a Place that is in my Heart

Two years ago I went to Japan in August. For a concert. While the heat and humidity was not the greatest experience, the concert was something I had dreamed of doing, sort of. For about 14 or 15 years I have been a fan of a band that I wish I could have seen live. There are videos of their performances and I would watch and wonder what it would be like to be in that audience. Because this band would have amazing concerts that went beyond just performing music.

 2016 I needed something to look forward to. Returning to Japan after my last trip during which the Great Tohoku Disaster happened, and having the chance of a lifetime to see the founding members of this band perform together, that was something. I blogged about that trip here, and about the Deep Sanctuary concert which featured the reunion of Közi, Yu~ki and Mana, founding members of MALICE MIZER. It also was the start of my enjoyment of Moi dix Mois live performances.

So when this year's Deep Sanctuary's concert was announced, I wasn't considering going. I already had my trip for March planned. Plus being in that heat and humidity again wasn't something I was keen on, since it means going places is a little more difficult. I needed to deal with moving once I returned from Japan. Tickets went up for sale and I passed on buying one even though they had a special way for overseas fans to buy them.

However, the person who was putting this concert together kept making announcements about it. Like how this time there would be three vocalists. There would be more songs than there were at previous shows. New costumes, resurrecting classic instruments, and more.  Temptation. And then they announced a second day. By then I had everything taken care of in regard to my moving, and also a certain Gackt Taeyang doll sold for enough money to pay for my ticket. So I gave in.

September 11th, I got up early, caught a bus to the local train station and headed to Portland International Airport. My first time going this way, and it was really easy and very inexpensive. I don't think I've ever posted a photo of the trains here. Till now. They aren't fancy but they are run well. It was nice being able to put my feet up too. 

I'm pretty sure I've posted photos of Portland International Airport. So instead here is a photo of the place I ate breakfast at. Portland has more great restaurants than one can imagine. Getting an additional space in the airport is a popular thing, and The Country Cat is one of those restaurants.

Like most airport restaurants, Country Cat has a well appointed bar. 

However I was just there for food. I ordered their Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon. This was way more food than I normally eat. Even though it was really good, I couldn't finish it. But it was a nice meal to start my trip. 

Another benefit of flying out of Portland is getting to see the green woods and fields, along with Oregon's mountains. 

Along with all our rivers, bridges and volcanoes. Like Mt. Hood off in the distance. That is Portland below with the Cathedral Bridge and then the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge.

However most of my flight to my first stop was over blue Pacific waters and clouds. Because I was trying something new for the place I would connect to my flight to Tokyo. Hawaii. Which will be in my next post. 

Aloha!

Snapshots

I've been posting photos on Twitter without much explanation. One or two may look familiar but these are new croppings and maybe a tweek or two. So let me write a little explanation here.

Top is Mount Hood and downtown Portland Oregon from the viewpoint of Portland Japanese Garden in 2012. The trees are taller now so one can't see as much of Portland.

Middle is looking east at the Columbia Gorge and the Columbia River from Vista Point. On the left is Washington and the right is Oregon. This was November 2013. Honestly could imagine Lewis and Clark and company paddling their boats down there. Love how undeveloped it still is.

Bottom is the beautiful Multnomah Falls. I definitely recommend going there if you ever visit the Portland area. Taken in July 2012.

Transitions 2016 Nodoguro at Han Oak

If I was to give a word for what is happening with the Portland food scene, it would be "transitions". Restaurants closing, opening, moving to new locations, spaces being taken over.

For the Japanese happening dining spot Nodoguro it meant trying to find a new place since their prior location was going to be next to Powell Books latest expansion. Luckily a new multipurpose dining space opened just in time to be a temporary home.

The new space is Han Oak, which will not only host different chefs but also have price fix Korean dinners. Peter Cho and Joe of Han Oak were present for the inaugural Nodoguro dinner at the beginning of February.

It's a really nice space open with very high ceilings. A few fixes still needed but overall it's a comfortable dining area. It was a bit dark at table level which is why my photos look dark. We were dining by the light of the moon, or candle light.

The menu for the night. No visual theme, just what looks like a simple menu with a home cooked meal comfort food concept.

Before food was served Sous Chef Colin Yoshimoto offered diners a cup of Dewatsuruu kimooto junmai sake. Kimoto refers to brewing sake in the oldest style, mixing the yeast mash for a period of time creating the moto which is used to brew sake.

Slight yellow color, sweet, smooth and dry. This was from Chef Ryan Roadhouse's personal stock. Turns out there was no drink pairing for the evening since this was a new place. It was suggested that diners bring their own if they wished to drink during dinner.

On to the food! First up was Albacore sashimi with ponzu, Jacobsen salt, and a touch of wasabi. Sublime of course.

Second course was this delicious Eggplant in dashi with winter greens and ginger. Diners couldn't get enough and were caught sipping the salty dashi.

Third course was Taro with Saikyo miso, yuzu, and topped with water cress. A simple looking dish with lots of flavor.

Following that was tender Octopus with kelp, buttered potatoes, crispy ginger. The green dots were Kombu puree topped with crispy ginger that diners loved.

Because I was distracted by this lovely wine I missed taking a photo of the Acorn Squash flavored with curry and yuzu dressed with cranberries. Which was too bad because it was delicious. The cranberries added just the right bit of sour sweet flavor and totally complimented the acorn squash that was splashed with curry flavor and yuzu. As for the wine, it is from The Four Graces winery in Dundee Hills, Oregon. This lovely pinot noir was an excellent choice for this dinner with a deeper flavor of fruit and hints of cocoa. The lovely ladies sitting next to me offered me a glass which I could not turn down.

Nodoguro's take on a Winter Nabe. Salad or sunomono of leek, dungeness crab, egg, watermelon radish, wakame with a aromatic smoky taste. This would be a combination dish using typical nabe or Japanese hot pot ingredients dressed as sunomono.

Mackerel perched on top of poached daikon topped with umboshi puree, ginger blossom and green onion was next. Each time Chef Roadhouse serves mackerel is better than the last and the umboshi puree was perfect in intensity to match the flavor of the fish.

A few days before this dinner I was thinking about Salmon Oyakodon. Usually Oyakodon (parent and child) is made with chicken and chicken egg but I had a craving for a salmon version of the dish. I almost tweeted Chef Roadhouse asking him if he ever made this dish. So it was a happy surprise to see this on the menu! Cured sockeye salmon with Chef Roadhouse's special ikura salmon roe on rice with shiso, sesame, aged shoyu and a bit of wasabi.

Of course there was Chef Roadhouse's delicious Tamago yaki.

We ended with Chocolate, soba and citrus. Chocolate mousse infused with mandarin orange with coconut granola with crispy cracker roof. I broke up the cracker to eat it with the mousse which I recommend doing to get full enjoyment of the lovely flavors of this dish. As for this dinner, I would eat it all again. Thanks for the lovely meal Chef Roadhouse! And congratulations to the two time James Beard Awards semi-finalist!

So what is up with Nodoguro? For March they will still be at Han Oak. Reservations still should be made by purchasing tickets at the Nodoguro website when they are available. You can find out when by joining their email list or following Nodoguro on Twitter. 

Normally There Would Be A Full Post Here

Due to circumstances outside of my control yesterday and today I have not had the time that this next post deserves for putting it together. So for now please enjoy this great photograph taken by the lovely Lynn Nguyen of Moods of Florence of the great chefs of the Under the Antlers dinner last week. On the left in the hat is the enthusiastic Lyf Gildersleeve, seafood purveyor extraordinaire and owner of Flying Fish Company of Portland, Oregon. In the middle is innovative Chef de Cuisine Chris Starkus of Urban Farmer where the dinner was held. On the right is the energetic Executive Chef of Departure and much more Gregory Gourdet. More to come about this hopefully tomorrow.

Ultimate Omakase Sushi at Nodoguro

I've written about the wonderful creative Japanese cuisine that happens at Nodoguro. But it wasn't till recently that I was able to try the other remarkable dining that sometimes happens there. Since my birthday was coming up I wanted to continue my small tradition of a nice sushi dinner.

It's a limited seating that only happens a couple times a month and sells out within hours. It's almost as elusive as trying to see a mermaid. But thankfully not. Given the amount of work and preparation that must go into a service like this it's not surprising that this is a special night for diners.

Diners sat at the counter that surrounds the working kitchen. Team Nodoguro, Mark, Elena and Chef Ryan are all present preparing and serving the starting dishes or kobachi.

First up was a pair of local Bay Oysters with yuzu and scallions on ice. Nice way to start the meal.

Second was the return of soy cured Ocean Trout with a bit of fresh real wasabi. I believe this was the same or similar to the one served for the Fast Food meal in November. I don't have a problem with that because it was delicious and I would order this again if it was on a menu.

The Crab topped with ikura and Japanese parsley in a egg was probably my favorite of the small dishes. I didn't catch how the foamy the egg was while eating this, but my photo did.

Probably the most unusual dish of the evening was this. Scallops with bonito shuto. If you are brave you can look up bonito shuto. I don't think I would eat bonito shuto by itself but the way Chef Roadhouse served it with the scallops was very tasty.

Next was the Akimo dish. Plated over barley miso with persimmon and scallions it was a really nice combination. I liked the taste of the persimmons in this dish.

The Black Cod with chestnut miso made a return from the December Gitter dinner. This time paired with thinly sliced pickled lotus root. I could tell by the comments that diners loved this dish.

Another first for me was Giant Clam with a bit of mitsuba on top.

We were moving into the omakase sushi portion of the meal. First up was this lovely bit of New Zealand Sea Bream or Tai. Very popular fish to eat at New Years in Japan where it's considered to be the king of fish.

Second was probably my favorite of the sushi, Ocean Trout. Tender and delicate.

Following this was Scallop or hotate. By this time I was enjoying the food so much I almost forgot to take a photo.

Nodoguro's sitting is at the counter. Which gives diners a great view of sushi master Ryan Roadhouse at work as Elena waited to serve us. This was when Nodoguro was next to Pastaworks in Portland.

Next was a bit of gunkan sushi topped with Maine Sea Urchin or uni.

Also fun to see how a sushi chef cuts the fish. This takes lots of practice which was very much evident for sushi night at Nodoguro.

Lovely Aji or mackerel. My take on mackerel is it better be fresh or forget it. This was very fresh and delicious. Following this was a marinated piece of Tako or octopus which I did not get a decent photo of. Another nigiri that many places don't seem to be able to make well. Tonight's serving was tender and appreciated by diners.

Kohada nigiri or gizzard shad made an elegant presentation in the line-up.

Really nice to see a bit of pressed sushi. By this point my notes are a little difficult to read. I blame the beer. But I did note that this was Saba mackerel with shiso and covered with a type of konbu. I also remember it was delicious.

Grilled Unagi or fresh water eel is one of my favorite dishes. But because they are endangered I am trying to find places that know how to serve Anago or salt water eel. Nodoguro is one of those places that does know how to make it as tasty as Unagi.

Happy to see this Temaki or hand roll. Filled with rice, ikura and yummy local Dungeness crab. Which reminds me I should get some more of Dungeness crab since they are in season and rather inexpensive right now.

That was the end of omakase service. But not the end of sushi. Because Chef Roadhouse opened it up to whatever we wanted of the fish that was left.

So of course I had a few more pieces as did other diners. Good thing I didn't eat much during the day. But then well prepared sushi is one of the few things I can eat a lot of.  No question as to if the Ultimate Sushi at Nodoguro was that.

Other diners indulged in little bowls of ikura. It seems I wasn't the only one there that was a sushi aficionado. We joked about going for a walk and then coming back for more.

However next time at the end I am asking for a Captain's Bowl. It was too late for me to find out about getting a bowl of sashimi. Just one of the secrets at the amazing Omakase Sushi service at Nodoguro.

So far Ultimate Sushi has only happened a couple times a month on Sunday nights. Reservations fill up quickly. I'm hoping that more nights will happen so fans of great sushi will be able to experience this amazing meal. Just be sure to eat light beforehand.

Nodoguro's website is here.

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シェフのライアン・ロードハウスは福岡で修業後、地元ポートランドの日本食レストラン「やざくさ」、「ます」で修業を重ね、「のどぐろ」を開店いたしました。
「のどぐろ」は3735　SE　Hawthorne ブルバードにあり、皆様のお越しをお待ちしております。座席数が限られております。ご予約はhttp://nodoguropdx.com/からどうぞ。皆様のお越しをお待ち申し上げます。