Skip to main contentThis little izayaka, or sake bar, in the basement of the old Hillsboro library is just remote and rustic enough to make it feel like you've stumbled into a samurai's watering hole. Rice-paper screen windows, giant sake bottles lining the walls and an exhaustive menu of Japanese soul food make the whole place feel like a quaint inn rather than a slick sushi bar. Raw aficionados make the trek for thick wedges of unusual offerings like meltingly fresh young yellowtail and pen shell. The draw is not only the raw, but the homey cooked items like the nasu miso—buttery eggplant pieces stir fried in miso—and lighter-than-air shrimp, pumpkin and onion tempura. (IM)
WWeek 2015