Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

BY MARIE DOEZEMA, STAFF WRITER

Izakaya are popping up in tony neighborhoods around the world, replacing sushi bars as the latest cool food fad from Japan. Inspired by this global trend--as well as by a devotion to his favorite Tokyo drinking spots--Mark Robinson spent months collecting tantalizing recipes and personal narratives to create "Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook."

photoMark Robinson, at Maru, one of the eight restaurants featured in his book, says "izakaya" pubs have become trendy dining venues overseas.(Yuko Yamada/ Staff photographer)

Robinson, 46, can still recall his first izakaya pub experience. Born in Tokyo and raised in Sydney, he returned to Japan in his late 20s.

"My first solo trip to an izakaya was to Tengu, a chain izakaya in Shinjuku, just after I arrived in the beginning of 1989. It was snowing, and I had buri teriyaki (yellowtail teriyaki) and it was fantastic. I didn't know any other places. I didn't really know that it was what you called an izakaya--it was just a place I stumbled onto, and it had a picture menu," he says. "It wasn't until much later that I realized this was actually a cultural entity called izakaya, and that there are many with real individuality, they're not only franchises or chains."

It's these types of izakaya--ones with real individuality--that have made it into Robinson's book, released in January by Kodansha International. The eight restaurants featured range from traditional to experimental, casual to chic, but all have a few fundamental things in common: an emphasis on fresh ingredients, quality libations and a jolly atmosphere.

"The timing is great because small-plate dining--izakaya-type dining--is really everywhere," Robinson says, noting the growing popularity of izakaya in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Sydney and London.

"It's healthy, it's fun to share, it makes sense, it's creative and interactive on the part of the diner. You design your meal as the evening progresses--you can actually take part in constructing the meal, rather than just ordering a single plate or a combination that's predetermined."

A description like this is enough to make conventional Western dining seem downright boring, even selfish. Why hoard the same hunk of steak all night when you could share, and have little tastes and nibbles of a dozen smaller dishes?

"The more you think about it, the more different, special and fun it is," Robinson says. "Everyone is going to have their own tastes, and people will be ordering things that you wouldn't necessarily want to order, and it doesn't matter if you eat them or not. You might eat them and discover something new, or you might not eat it and you just split the cost. Everyone's happy. It's brilliant like that."

Creating a book about izakaya that contains personal stories as well as recipes seemed to make sense, Robinson says, describing Japanese pubs as "a repository of memories." They're watering holes where you go after work, but they're also places where birthdays, graduations, and weddings are celebrated.

Though Robinson now makes his living as a writer and editor, he describes journalism as something he fell into. Growing up with parents who were both journalists, he was certain he wanted to do something different. After graduating from school, he worked in theater lighting in both Sydney and London before coming to Japan, where he eventually landed in journalism.

The life of a thespian and that of yakitori master begin to seem more similar than they initially appear. Both rely on the art of performance.

"You get that tension building up before you open, and then once the customers come in it's a brand new show that's never going to be repeated. It's different, it's more energetic, than a normal restaurant, because of the nature of the way you eat, the way you share, and the way drink comes into it," he says. "More jokes are told and more honest things are said. The dishes change, and you'll notice things that you didn't notice at first that are on the menu that you haven't tried before. There's a sense of adventure that comes through."

Though most people appreciate izakaya for their casual, chattering atmospheres, the work that goes on behind the scenes is immense. Just as a figure skater can nail a triple salchow with a grace that makes it look almost easy, an izakaya master performs his wizardry behind the counter while maintaining a relatively nonplussed air.

"I learned how the people who create these places think about them a lot more deeply than I expected. They know that the beauty of what they're doing is that it's a place where the customer is close to the action, where the drink is equally important as the food, and the atmosphere is dependent on an atmosphere of regular customers and new customers," Robinson says. "It's all pretty obvious stuff, but that was another part that I took for granted, and maybe most people take for granted."

Izakaya are such a part of the quotidian rhythm in Japan that it's natural to underestimate their cultural impact, Robinson says.

"Some Japanese have said to me that they've thought about izakaya in a new way, from actually seeing it presented as this entity, a cultural form," he says. "It (this project) was not so much about food itself but food as a cultural force; about the personalities of the people who make it and produce it and what we do to get food, and how different cultures eat. It was a cultural curiosity--food as reflecting culture--that interested me, not so much from a gourmet point of food, or judging food."

Overseas, where izakaya are fewer and farther between, prices and an exaggerated emphasis on style can give people the wrong idea about the true nature of izakaya, Robinson says, adding that this was one of the reasons he wanted to write the book.

"Most non-Japanese have an image of Japanese food as being very stiff and esoteric and difficult and expensive, and a lot of Japanese restaurants overseas play on that and charge a lot for not very much."

Pomp and circumstance don't have much of a place in genuine izakaya fare, which is treasured for its unadulterated flavors. "Japanese cooking is so much about stripping away flavors rather than adding flavors--revealing the actual taste of ingredients."

The 60 izakaya recipes included in Robinson's book range from the traditional--sweet miso-marinated fish, fried chicken gizzards and pork cutlets--to nouveau--fried tofu stuffed with raclette cheese, scrambled eggs with sea urchin and lobster sauce, and shark fin aspic.

Trying all of these recipes repeatedly, a crucial part of the book's research, was a culinary adventure, but the constant indulging was also hard work. "I got a bit ragged toward the end, but I'm better now. I always enjoyed it, but maybe too much."

As for parting words of izakaya wisdom, Robinson's advice is simple: Go forth, eat, drink and be merry.

"You've got to take the plunge with izakaya--you've got to find the ones you like, and you've got to just step through that noren and try it. Some places might be daunting, but they're daunting to Japanese as well. I think if you go respectfully, you'll be assured of having a good time."