Izakaya Bars - Japan's Version Of Tapas

Yesterday I wrote about izakaya bars . This idea of Japanese tapas intrigued me. Japanese food t me involves a soup and a light but filling dinner. The idea of having quick but well cooked or fried cuisine sounds like a delicious alternative . This is not typical bar food but more along the line of the Spanish tapas which features bites from all different food groups.

Izakaya bars have been in my area, the New York metr,o for the past forty years. I'm sure I've passed them on my trips to Manhattan and thought they were just small Japaneses restaurants. there are a few throughout the US. These bars offer not only sake, the Japanese rice wine and chuhai , a carbonated cocktail but also American whiskies and wines. The foods range from simple edamame , salted soybeans and karaage , a kind of deep fried chicken nugget. There are also soy dishes such as hiyayakko, cold tofu with different savory toppings. This is a popular summer dish perfect with cold beer on a warm humid night . Izakayas also serve yakitori, grilled chicken kabobs that have been marinated in some kind of ginger sauce and then charcoal roasted.

New York has some good izakaya bars. There is Sakagura , in midtown which offered sake lovers some two hundred varieties of sake. Another well loved place is Soba Totta where you can watch yakitori being grilled . Other big US cities like Boston, LA and Chicago have them as well. You can do a search of your area for them .

Izakaya bars are neat way to enjoy good Japanese food and drink if you're pressed for time. They also make great date spots and fun pre and after theater or movie hangouts. You get to experience the best of Japanese food if you're on the run.