This Week's Evan's Eats
Afuri Izakaya Ramen + Dumpling - SE 50 3rd Ave
After spending Thanksgiving break in Phoenix to visit family, we returned home to realign ourselves and to hopefully not gorge until stuffed beyond our means. Thanksgiving is a terrific holiday for someone like myself, as you could imagine. I get to drink my fill, eat more calories than necessary, and no one bats an eye. I can truly indulge the way I want to without remorse. The only thing that inhibits me from acting like this routinely is the voice in the back of my head that reminds me that I will die by the age of 52 if I continue to treat myself in such a fashion. I imagine you think I am just some portly fellow that has no control, and to say that would be true would be only slightly correct. Listen, I know the things I enjoy, but so do you, and for that, I would hope that whatever that thing is that makes you happy, can also be seen in the same light for myself. Anyway, when we came home, we took things easy and got back to our regular routine. I burned off some of the extra lbs that I earned over the Thanksgiving break in order to cash in for the following weeks to come as the holidays commence. I essentially exercise not as a means to stay “fit,” or healthy, but instead to make sure I can still enjoy the things I like in my life, and those things just happen to come in the form of food and drink—sue me. While getting back into the swing of things, we found the colder weather of December attracted us to the idea of filling our bellies with something warm and tasty. This week, we ventured to enjoy the food and ambiance of Afuri Izakaya Ramen + Dumpling in SE Portland.
Ramen has been a cornerstone for me since living in Portland—especially in the colder months of the year—as well as the occasional hangover remedy. My first experience with ramen outside of cup noodles was when I was going to school at Portland State University a handful of years ago. I had to have been a freshman or sophomore at the time. One of my best friends—Dave—had suggested we go to this relatively new spot that makes terrific karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and Ramen underneath the Hawthorne bridge.
I only have a handful of friends that truly appreciate and enjoy food as much as Dave does. He is among a short list of people I would ask to have make my last meal. Every time he is in town, we make sure to have at least one home cooked meal that we make together. Its been something we have done since living in the dorms. Brothers bonded by steak, salmon, beer, and booze. Anyway, he had suggested we head to this place called Noraneko, and on the way there, we should hotbox my car and stuff ourselves on ramen and karaage. Dave was, and still is, full of these extremely intelligent and well crafted ideas. A man of culture as they would say—and if you know my friend Dave personally, you are likely questioning how I define the word culture. Nevertheless, we did just as Dave had suggested. Rolled a joint, blasted Run the Jewels and found ourselves parked out front of Noraneko sucking down the last bits of roach before heading inside. Little did we realize, the windows inside the restaurant, where patrons sat, looked directly out to where we had parked my car. The only thing separating us from the restaurant was about a 20 foot distance and glass window pane. So when we opened my hotboxed car doors, everyone in the restaurant could clearly see plooms of smoke expelling from my car. When we walked into the restaurant, nearly everyone stared at us. It felt like that one scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when all the reptile people stop what they are doing and stare at Johnny Depp during an acid trip after he yells at Dr. Gonzo, “Please! Tell me about the fucking golf shoes!” (Refer to time stamp 1:06)
Dave didn’t care. He was ready for his Ramen, and Japanese fried chicken. I was nearly having a panic attack after realizing the entire restaurant just witnessed two college bozos getting out of a hot boxed 1999 Saab 9-5 absolutely stankin’ of weed. Oh well. You make those kind of decisions when you are 19 or 20.
Noraneko went out of business during the pandemic, and I was very disappointed by this, considering it was, in my opinion, the best ramen spot in town. Now, one thing I want you to understand—reader—is that I am not Japanese. If you have read my previous newsletters, you can likely guess that I am white mutt that just happens to love food, so therefore, I want to inform you that even though my opinions do not have the cultural background and understanding of what deems Japanese food good, I want you to keep in mind my perspective is only one in a plethora of many others. I am not saying that my opinion is correct, or even parallels with what would be right—it is simply just that—an opinion, and therefore, I would like to divulge into what our experience was like on Thursday (12/1/2022), when dining at Afuri Izakaya Ramen + Dumpling
Afuri Izakaya Ramen + Dumpling Review
Upon entering the open industrial style restaurant, the first thing I noticed was a back lit bar with many different varieties of liquors to choose from. I love whiskey, and as of late, there seems to be a renaissance of Japanese whiskeys circulating throughout the states that are truly exceptional. If you want to get your feet wet with something that will really make you say wow, I would recommend looking into the Nikka Coffey Single Malt from Suntory. Extremely smooth and balanced. Full of robust flavors, and notes of oak. I noticed Afuri carried this bottle, but I knew it had to have been marked up. Considering the bottle is about $80.00 retail, I could imagine a glass would go for about $25.00 at the restaurant. Either way, still a nice feature to have if you are into sipping whiskey with your freshly prepared ramen.
The next thing you come to realize is one of my favorite things to see in a restaurant. That’s right, you guessed it. An open kitchen. This open kitchen was buzzing with movement, excitement, fire, food, and communication. Watching a high tiered kitchen function on a busy night is poetry in motion. It resembles what you can only describe as a calm chaos. Each individual seems to be scrambling, but each one is deliberate with their motions, action, and purpose. It is truly mesmerizing. One instance you have someone slicing sashimi yelling “heard!”, and in the next, you see someone firing up a blowtorch to help sear whatever piece of fish is going into the next dish they are working on. Like most Japanese restaurant, there is a sushi bar where you get a first row seat to all the action. Considering this place was packed on a Thursday night, you know we had absolutely no qualms with perching ourselves there for some entertainment with our meal.
Appetizer
Because my buddy Dave introduced me to karaage, it is now something I look for at every ramen restaurant and make sure to order. I am still chasing that dragon from the first time I had ever tried it. Something about the tenderness of the chicken, and the lightly battered crust that gives this chicken a twist in comparison to your standard fried chicken. This, in a sense, is a testament to show how Japanese culture curates its cuisine. Most everything that is made comes from a deliberate decision and no stone is left unturned. Unlike western culture, we are accustomed to making decisions without the forethought of what that decision might result and hope for the best. It would seem that Japanese cuisine and culture is quite the opposite. It reminds me of writing. When earning my English degree and writing minor at Portland State, I had one professor drill into us that every word you write should be purposeful. That too can be said for how the Japanese approach their culinary decisions and endeavors, which seems to be interwoven into their culture and way of life as well.
Our karaage came first, and its initial sight, I was already excited. This dish was made with yuzu kosha egg salad, and a lemon wedge. The egg salad was more of a dipping sauce in comparison to what traditional egg salad looks like. The citrus in tandem with the yuzu flavors were bright, creamy and had somewhat of a zing to it. The chicken was extremely tender, and immediately brought me back to Noraneko. Had I finally found the dragon? One thing stood out by comparison and that was how lite the crust was on the outside of the chicken. It wasn’t so lite that it was unnoticeable, but still present enough to consider this a fried styled chicken. Quite honestly, the perfect mix. Afuri had wowed me here, and made me question if Noraneko was still going to be deemed my favorite after this meal.
When dining out, I can sometimes get a little too ahead of myself, and as you are well aware, I will be overly ambitious when it comes to the items I order. Because of the nature of who I am, I want to try almost everything that appeals to me. I have to be mindful of my wallet, but sometimes you have treat yourself, and if it comes in the form of delicious food, you are only going to experience that meal for the first time once in your life. Which is why I am a firm believer that it is best to get the things you desire on the menu—no matter the price—if you are able to of course; which is why we also ordered a second item as a starter.
If I could have/afford nigiri for every meal, I would. There is nothing quite like fresh fish, soy sauce, rice, and wasabi. The crazy thing to me is the complexity that comes along with each individual piece you plop in your mouth. Only one ingredient changes, but the experience from one piece to the next is wildly different. I cannot remember specifically the pieces we were given, but what I can tell you is that on the far left was blue fin tuna, which is the highest regarded piece of tuna on the market around the world. It is tender, rich, simple, and slightly salty. This fish almost melts in your mouth. A real treat. I forgot to mention I was splitting this with Bella so I didn’t get to try the ones she had. Here is her in depth critique when I asked her what she thought of the pieces she had: “They were good.” Thanks, B.
The second piece was a cut of salmon I couldn’t remember the name of, but just like the blue fin, it too was a treat. The winner of the plate in my opinion was the scallop on the far right. My lord. This piece evaporated in your mouth. The profile of creaminess in tandem with the salt and wasabi was like letting a jazz trio whisp you into a different head space. You could have no teeth in your head and still enjoy this as it was seriously that tender to the bite. To consciously try and pin point what was going on with this piece of nigiri was almost too overwhelming because the sensation of texture against flavor was so entertaining, I had to let myself submit and just accept the fact this place may have just taken the crown as one my new favorite places to eat nigiri.
Entrée
Since we were looking for that warm, borthy, goodness—we had to get ramen, of course! Afuri has multiple options to choose from, and all seemed suitable, but the one we had both landed on was the Tonkotsu Tantanmen. This bowl of ramen consisted of spicy sesame miso tare, pork broth, bok choy, leeks, white soy shitake mushrooms, sesame chili oil, garlic, and ginger pork crumbles. Now, if you read that, and for one second you thought that didn’t sound appetizing, I am not sure if I would like you following my newsletter any further. If you are entertained by my writing nonetheless—that’s fair. Here, keep reading.
Ramen is such a fun meal. You get a variety of different flavors, textures, and things to chomp into when going throughout your bowl. I, of course, had to add an egg because what’s a bowl of ramen without one? The first thing you might scratch your head over is the brown bits in the middle. Those would be the ginger pork crumbles. At first glance, I was somewhat concerned about the decision I had made, but after the first couple of nibbles, I could see I was safe with the bowl I ordered. The peppery aspect of the pork in lieu of the ginger complimented each other well. Both of these elements are very effervescent, which is exactly I like when slurping on some ramen. The broth was spicy, which I am usually not all too fond of, but the flavor of the broth seemed to outshine its heat, which is something I can learn to appreciate. When working with a symphony of other textures, and flavors, the broth plays a good base when culminating such aspects into this meal. The soft yakasoba noodles against the crunchy bok choy makes for almost a playful aspect—allowing ones senses to take a trip to both ends of the spectrum when it comes to texture. All the while, the broth coats everything you eat. Like in the hit Disney movie, The Lion King, the light is the broth. “Everything the light touches... is our kingdom.” And my kingdom is this bowl of ramen. Thanks, Mufasa.
The thing you come to realize at the end of hearty meal, such as this one, is how satiated and satisfied you are. This isn’t a meal that leaves you bloated and feeling like a fat piece of shit. It really did what we were after, which was to fill our bellies with something warm. At then end of the day, I would say Afuri does a great job at what they do. The only thing I think I would enjoy next time is a different cadence. It would seem these rather trendy, younger restaurants throughout the city are all about sitting you down, taking your order, and getting your food out to you as fast as possible. The thing that they cease to realize is that this is all an experience to the customer. For some people, dining out is the thing they look forward to in their week, and to have customers come in, spend money, and have them out in 48 minutes almost makes the customer feel like a dollar sign at the end of the day. Restaurants are historically places where we meet and enjoy each others company, and to be rushed is the last thing I want during my time of leisure. Don’t be afraid to tell your waiter or waitress to slow down. Sit back and enjoy your company and the space you are in. There is a reason you are there in the first place: the experience.
Evan’s Eats Report Card: Afuri Izakaya Ramen + Dumpling
Ambiance…………………………B+
Wait staff………………………….A-
Drinks……………………………… B+
Appetizers………………………. A
Main course……………………..B+
Expense……………………………. B
Overall Experience………… B+
I took a date there once and it went bad but the ramen was good.