My fave izakaya dishes

By Mari Taketa
Nonstop

Top 5 reasons why I love izakaya:

No. 5. Sake rules — but your beer-, wine- and liquor-loving buds won’t be left in the cold.
No. 4. Cozy, dimly lit spaces make you feel cocooned.
No. 3. They yell at you when you walk in. In a good way.
No. 2. Tapas-style dishes let you chase your taste whims all evening.
No. 1. When you know where to go and what to eat, the food rocks.

I’m a creature of habit, I totally own it, so when a break from food-hunting steers me toward something light and casual, I often end up at one of five izakaya. They’re all hugely different, which makes me love them more.

The only problem I see with my list of fave izakaya dishes is that they represent only a fraction of what’s out there. Which brings up a proposition I’ll save until the end. Meanwhile, click on to see my lineup of tried-and-true dishes at these spots around town.