Farm-bounty izakaya offers fresh concept

The idea of “farm-to-table” dining has been around for so long now that it’s losing its cachet as a selling point for restaurants. We are coming upon a day when use of fresh, locally sourced produce will be regarded as a baseline, because that’s what educated diners will demand. Restaurateurs will have to find a new point of differentiation.

The opening of Japan-based Tsukada Nojo shows there’s still plenty of unexplored territory. The restaurant, behind Micronesia Mart near the corner of Kala­kaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, is a first for Hawaii, a farm-to-table izakaya. (Call it Nojo Hawaii if that makes the name easier to remember.) The restaurant distinguishes itself by integrating produce from a dozen farms on Oahu, Maui and Kauai, as well as local chicken from Punachicks. The result is dishes more creative than the standard Japanese bar format.

“Nojo” translates as farm, and the warm, wood interior with upstairs loft reinforces the wabi-sabi beauty of a farmhouse crafted from natural materials. A mix of communal tables and banquette-style seating provides the option dining in the open or in semi-privacy.

Settle in with drinks ranging from sweet kale beer ($10) or beet beer ($10.50), to shochu, sake, wines by the glass and such signature cocktails as a Miyazaki mango mojito ($13.50) or lemon shochu ($10.50).

The restaurant recently launched a lunch menu that I have yet to try. In the evening you can expect to start with such light appetizers as chicken veggie tacos ($12), a prime example of the restaurant’s philosophy. The tacos start with “shells” of thin-sliced radish that wrap around a delicious mix of yellow curry chicken morsels, tomatoes, onions and cilantro.

Continuing on the veggie track, avocado lovers will swoon over options of savory sliced nori avocado ($8) topped with seaweed paste, horseradish and shredded nori, or a sweet version marinated in white saikyo miso ($12). Even tsukune ($7.50) gets a green component. The chicken meatball, four per order, is served in crunchy cups of sliced bell pepper, topped with a mild curry sauce.

Hamachi jalapeno ($15) is one of the few fish dishes on the menu. The fish is served in a sweet chili ponzu sauce with plenty of green onion, but I didn’t detect any heat. The pepper’s presence needs to be amped up to be true to the menu description.

If debating over Nojo french fries ($8.50) drizzled with takoyaki sauce, or deep-fried enoki mushrooms ($7.50), go for the spindly mushrooms that are sprinkled with salt, nori powder and shichimi, ending up with a flavor and texture reminiscent of shrimp legs or crispy calamari.

Meals can be built around a centerpiece of bijin nabes big enough to feed four when enjoyed with three or four other dishes. “Bijin” translates as “beautiful people,” a reference to the chicken-based collagen broth said to work wonders on the complexion from the inside.

Choose from among five nabes. The most elaborate is the bijin sukiyaki nabe ($90) that features thin-sliced rib-eye steak and comes with an eye-catching box stocked with greens, watermelon radish, enoki mushrooms, aburaage, tofu and tsukune to add to your pot.

One of my favorites is the spicy bijin nabe ($35) that arrives as a tower of tofu, burdock and thin-sliced pork layered with a tall stack of chives dusted with the red of gochugaru, Korean red pepper. You may require a server’s help to contain it all in the pot when the broth starts roiling and it all begins to tumble.

Luckily — and this is such a bright spot in a sea of islandwide poor service — Tsukada is the rare company that puts an emphasis on service and called upon a trainer to work with its staff prior to opening. The servers were most gracious, and I started calling some of the men “mom,” because they’re quick to help slice and portion out helpings of solid foods, ladle soup and otherwise baby you — stopping short of spooning food into your mouth, ’cause that would just be weird.

If you like the bright flavor of lemon, a lemon-cilan­tro nabe comes with chicken and a choice of pork or salmon. The fish works well with the lemon. The downside is the boiled on-the-bone chicken that is supposed to be a specialty but doesn’t work for a Western audience that wants its chicken more flavorful and doesn’t like to work that hard at getting to the meat.

Where the chicken shines is in dishes of deep-fried umami shichimi chicken wings ($10), which often inspire repeat orders, and Nojo chicken nanban ($12), tender chicken fritters in the style of Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture, layered with tartar sauce. I prefer the spicy version ($12.50) with the same tartar sauce spiked with Korean red chili pepper that adds to the flavor without burning the tongue. Experience with heat is relative, though, and you should be warned that I can tolerate a lot.

And if you don’t mind carbs, toripan ($5) offers chicken in a way we don’t see in the West: curried ground chicken spread on slices of baguette, spiced with black pepper, baked and painted with a sweet soy sauce glaze.

Comfort items include a kale, bacon and cheese omelet ($13); another Miyazaki-region specialty of nikumaki, or pork belly-wrapped rice ball ($3.50); and you’ll feel better about your diet when gobbling a “steak” roll ($16) that is actually grilled pork wrapped around a tight bundle of healthful kale and cabbage.

Among dessert options are a cute surprise of Polar Bear Shave Ice ($9) with the ice packed over a mix of fruit, fruity boba, mochi and black beans. Vanilla ice cream forms the bear’s snout, and milk syrup contributes to its snow-white appearance. Yellow Bear Shave Ice ($9) derives its color from a thick mango sauce.

Overall, Tsukada Nojo offers many fun ways for diners to get their daily greens without any feeling of sacrificing flavor or protein.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser.

Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.