Product Description

Izakaya are attracting growing attention both in Japan and overseas. While Japan has many guidebooks and cookbooks, and an izakaya boom is underway among Japan's youth, this is the first publication in English to delve deeply into this unique and vital cornerstone of Japanese food culture. The timing is perfect--as The New York Times suggested last year: "In a city [LA] where small plate restaurants have been the rage for several years now, the Japanese izakaya--a pub featuring savory snacks downed with sake or cold beer--is starting to shove the sushi bar off its pedestal."

A mainstay of the nation's food culture, the izakaya is a vital venue for socializing and an increasingly innovative culinary influence. Readers of this book will be guided through many different styles of establishments and recipes. At the same time, they will learn how to cook many delicious standards and specialties and discover how to "design" a meal as the evening progresses.

Eight different Tokyo pubs are introduced, ranging from those that serve traditional Japanese "comfort food," such as yakitori (barbequed chicken), to those offering highly innovative creations. Some of them have long histories; some are more recent players on the scene. All are deeply familiar to the author, who has chosen them for the variety they represent. The book includes knowledgeable text on the social and cultural etiquette of visiting izakaya, so it can be used as a guide to enter the potentially daunting world of pubs. Besides the detailed recipes, it also offers a variety of information including detailed profiles of Japanese ingredients and spices, a guide to the wide varieties of sake and other alcoholic drinks that are served, "how-to" advice on menu ordering, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43460 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

The Japan Times Friday, March 7, 2008
'Izakaya' are more than just plain pubs

By YOICHI KOSUKEGAWA
Kyodo News

Upscale Tokyo eateries may be garnering Michelin stars of late, but they are hardly a mainstay of the nation's food culture. The average Japanese is more likely to be found in a traditional "izakaya" (pub) than in a high-end sushi bar or "kaiseki" (haute cuisine) restaurant.

News photo
Mark Robinson, the author of "Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook," enjoys some beer and yakitori at Morimoto, one of eight Tokyo pubs detailed in the book, on Feb 27. KYODO PHOTO

Izakaya are friendly pubs that serve a wide range of inexpensive, small-plate dishes along with a variety of drinks, and are a frequent gathering place for colleagues after work or friends looking to spend a pleasant evening together.

Mark Robinson, a 46-year-old Tokyo-based editor and journalist who has contributed articles on Japanese culture to newspapers and other publications, is one of those enchanted by izakaya.

Robinson, born in Tokyo and raised mostly in Sydney, recently wrote a book that evokes the appeal of izakaya.

"Most people abroad think Japanese food is always very formal, expensive and difficult, but it doesn't have to be those things. It can be cheap and fun and simple," he said in an interview.

"Of course, izakaya masters are very serious about their food, but the atmosphere is really to be enjoyed," he said. "I didn't feel that there was any other book that explains this phenomenon to Westerners or to English-speaking (audiences)."

Robinson said izakaya are more interesting than mere restaurants and bars because of the choice of dishes and the way customers design their meals as the evening progresses.

"You just order one or two things at the beginning. And then as your mood changes, you see new dishes," he said. "The evening is like a journey."

His book, "Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook," released in Japan in January from Kodansha International Ltd., introduces eight Tokyo izakaya well known to the author, ranging from a traditional eatery with a long history to a modern one with a chic interior.

As one of the common criteria for what he thinks makes a good izakaya, Robinson cites "the closeness of the master to his customers."

At the eight izakaya, making food is part of the evening's entertainment, as customers can see over the counter and watch chefs prepare the dishes. "It's not just about sitting down at the dining table and having food that appears from behind closed doors," he said.

The book, with color photos taken by Masashi Kuma, also features recipes for 60 quintessential izakaya dishes that Robinson was taught by the chefs of the eight pubs. These tasty treats include "hiyayakko" (chilled tofu) and "motsu" (a stew made from beef intestines).

In addition, it provides a wide range of information, including the history of izakaya, notes on Japanese ingredients and spices, a guide to sake, "shochu" distilled spirits and other izakaya drinks, and advice on how to order.

Robinson said he wanted to describe izakaya culture to give people an appreciation of how deeply the pubs are rooted in daily life and a sense of their "community role."

Although Japanese have a reputation for being circumspect, a visit to an izakaya helps dispel such notions. As the evening progresses and the food and drinks flow, people speak with less inhibition and utter truths that might not otherwise be spoken.

"They are much more than just places to eat and drink," Robinson said.

The book will be released in March in Europe, in April in Southeast Asia and in May in the United States and Australia.

Robinson believes izakaya may become one of the biggest Japanese cuisine trends internationally since the sushi bar.

"There is a big trend toward small-plate dining," he said. "Izakaya are on the verge of becoming a significant Japanese culinary export."

Robinson said foreigners may find it a "challenge" to visit an izakaya for the first time, especially if there is no English menu and no English-speaking staff.

But he noted, "Even Japanese people are sometimes a bit nervous about entering a new izakaya."

The book advises first-time izakaya-goers to stick their head inside the "noren" (split half-curtain) hanging over the entrance and hold up a few fingers to indicate the number in their party. Once seated, a good way to start the evening is by saying, "Toriaezu biiru wo kudasai" (Beer for now, please).

After that, it is time to peruse the izakaya's food offerings, and it will not be long before "you will be getting something to eat and having a good time," Robinson said.

International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, 03/08/2008
Weekend Beat/ Writer: Take the 'izakaya' plunge

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."

About the Author
About the Author
Mark Robinson is an editor and journalist based in Tokyo and has contributed articles on the arts, food, and lifestyle to publications such as Nest (US), the Financial Times, The Times (UK), the Australian Financial Review Magazine and others. He was the deputy editor of Tokyo Journal magazine and editor of culinary magazine Eat. Photographer Masashi Kuma was nominated for a James Beard Award for Photography for his work in the Kodansha book, Kaiseki, published in 2006. His work also appears regularly in a number of periodicals, including Voce and GQ.

Customer Reviews

unusual angle
Interesting departure from the usual Japanese cookbook but some of the recipes are somewhat effete: scrambled eggs with sea urchin and lobster, omelet with semi-dried baby sardines (what?), marinated daikon peels, littleneck clam broth, shark fin aspic, beef intestine stew, salad with dried baby sardines, fried chicken gizzards. There are a lot of deep fried dishes too.

However, a lot of the other recipes don't require anything out-of-the-way. There are many recipes using just standard Japanese cooking ingredients like soy sauce, miso, dashi, mirin, pickled ginger.

Many are tapas-style, which is not a surprise given this is about Japanese "pub" food rather than the more usual restaurant or home cooking recipe books. If you know Izakayas and like their typical foods, you will enjoy this book. I have given it just 2 stars because - even though I have lived in Japan - it wasn't really to my taste; I found myself interested in very few of the recipes.