Last week I ate one of the best restaurant meals of my life, at [Tanuki](http://tanukipdx.com) in Portland, OR. My review will be in Gourmet soon, so I’m not going to talk about the details of that meal, but I do want to talk about what kind of restaurant Tanuki is and why we need more of them.
But first, a tortured analogy.
I am a huge fan of 37signals, a Chicago company that builds web-based software. They have several products, but the one I use most often is [Backpack](http://www.backpackit.com/?referrer=MATTHEWAMSTERBURTON). “Most often” is a euphemism for “dozens of times every day.” I organize all my writing projects in Backpack. Any miscellaneous piece of information I know I’ll need later goes into Backpack. Gift ideas, vacation plans, ideas for projects I might want to take on in the future, it’s Backpack all the way down.
Not everybody loves Backpack or the other 37Signals products, however. There’s a discussion board where people frequently post to say that Backpack doesn’t have the features they want, and what is 37signals going to do about it? The answer is: 37signals is going to suggest that you use something else. That’s because the company doesn’t build products to please their customers; they build exactly the products they want to use and assume there are people out there who are looking for the same thing–hopefully enough people to keep 37signals in business.
Tanuki and other restaurants like it take the same approach. The menu at Tanuki reflects the things chef-owner Janis Martin loves to eat. It’s not designed to appeal to a wide audience, but for the right people, it’s hugely appealing.
The chef best known for this kind of restaurant is David Chang. The menu at Momofuku Ssam Bar is insane. Scrapple, Chinese pork buns, kim chi, country ham, all on the same menu? No vegetarian options? This menu tells a story, and the story is: this is the stuff I love to cook, and if you don’t love it, eat somewhere else.
These very personal restaurants (what do you call them, anyway?) are the most exciting places to eat in the world. They don’t serve refined food and they rarely offer great service. But wow, what a rush. I’ve rarely had a meal that was more exhilarating than at Tanuki or Ssam Bar.
We need more restaurants like this in Seattle. One that comes close is [Poppy](http://poppyseattle.com/), which I wrote about recently. Poppy’s flavors reflect the tastes of its chefs, Jerry Traunfeld and Dana Cree, and it’s an unusual restaurant. They’ve been reconfiguring the menu a lot lately, though, which makes me nervous. I hope they stay true to their original vision of lots of little tastes, a liberal hand with herbs and spices, and an emphasis on vegetables.
I want to see every chef with a crazy idea just go to town on it. Get a tiny space (Tanuki has about four tables) now while rents are low, fire up a hot plate, and cook the stuff you love. Especially if you live in my neighborhood and the stuff you love involves spicy noodles. Then you won’t be able to get rid of me.
Isn’t a ‘Tanuki’ a racoon-like animal popular in Japanese folklore for its disproportionately large testicles?
Just sayin’.
Yes, and it’s also something you can turn into in Super Mario 3.
Guess you can’t have one without the other. I’d be reluctant to name my restaurant after something noted for its ability to change from meat to stone, but I would totally name it after a semimythical creature with enormous balls.
Tanuki is fabulous. I’ll have to go back there soon.
I can’t wait to try it. Is the food/experience similar to Ssam Bar, or just the idea that the Chef does what he/she wants and to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it.
The experience is different; Tanuki is smaller and less of a scene. The food is similar in the sense that they both concentrate on spicy Asian food, but Tanuki ventures outside Asia less often and is more Japanese-focused with some Korean, as opposed to Korean-focused with some other stuff, like at Ssam Bar.
Is this what Joule is attempting as well?
I hate to admit that I haven’t been to Joule. I really need to rectify that; it sounds like completely my kind of place.
Ssam Bar or Joule does not hold a candle to Tanuki. My husband and I go down to Portland from Seattle about every 3 weeks to go eat Janis’s food. The things she can do in the little kitchen of hers is amazing. I am glad you enjoyed the restaurant, Mamster.
Thanks Kye, for sending me a link to this lovely write up.
Regarding why I named my bar Tanuki- in Japanese folklore Tanuki is kind of a patron saint of sake merchants and restaurateurs. In izakaya (sake bars) and aka chochin (super divey sake bars) there will always be a statue of Tanuki to watch over them.
When you see a picture of a Tanuki (the spirit, not the real animal) he will always be carrying a sake flask in one hand and a fake promissory note in the other.
Anyway, so glad you enjoyed your visit. Thanks for your kind regard for my little venture.
Thanks for visiting my little venture, Janis.
Kye, I’d have to say I like Ssam Bar and Tanuki equally well, but in a different ways. Ssam Bar has a frenetic New York energy about it than Tanuki deliberately lacks. In short, I’d like to eat at Ssam Bar frequently, but I’d like to move into Tanuki.
Also, I’ve been to Ssam Bar and Tanuki one time each, so I’m not sure if my comparison is worth a spilled box of gochujang.
(Now I’m thinking about a spilled box of gochujang and feeling sad.)
Mamster, I am also very sad thinking about spilled gochujang. I respect and love the approach that Janice is taking with her food and the experience she wants her diners to have. And the value….you just can’t beat her omakase! I would like to move in with you.
Sorry, we’re full over here!
….I meant to Tanuki. Sorry for the confusion.
One of my favorite aspects about the menu at Tanuki is that it’s as much a shapeshifter as its namesake. On any given day, things are added or things disappear. And if you order omakase, then some off-menu items appear as well.