WEATHER: Mostly rain. Highs about 60
Today was George's day to run the aerator in the koi pond. Sometimes it is hard to get started. Unfortunately, today was one of those times. He had to work in the rain. I skimmed off a lot of leaves and pine needles from the koi pond, while he worked on the motor.
We worked on Halloween costumes for a party we're attending tomorrow. More on that to come tomorrow!
We drove to the suburb of Hillsboro to try a nano brewery there. They proudly state that they are the only brewery in the Portland area that does not make IPAs. They specialize in Belgians, The brewery is in a garage-type building. As the only customers, we talked to the owners, who are from Minnesota.
Then, back to Beaverton where we had reservations at an izakaya restaurant. Izakaya means Japanese appetizers, served in so-called Japanese tapas bars. I has read that Portland has some of the best ones in the world. Surprisingly, one famous one is here in a strip mall in Beaverton. There is no signage. You just have to know it is here.
Because it is tiny, reservations are required. I'm so glad we had them, as lots of customers were turned away.
It is really authentic. About half of the customers tonight were Japanese. Our waitress was one of the Japanese owners, speaking to us in Japanese. Nothing fancy with the decor. We ordered hot sake and a bunch of izakaya.
A series of small plates were slowly delivered to our table. First up was mentaiko...spicy cod roe with nori
Next was sanmashi yaki.....a whole, baby mackerel with grated daikon and lemon
Then a platter of gyoza
I had to have one of my memories, onigiri, honorable rice ball with pickled plum inside
We ended with shirakata,...house-made fermented squid
All the flavors were unique. They don't serve sushi or other common Japanese foods served in most US Japanese restaurants. They do serve ramen and soba, to eat after the appetizers, but we just came on home.
DINNER: George was still a little hungry, so I warmed up some gnochi soup for him.
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