I Think I'm Turning Japonessa

Japonessa Sushi Cocina in Seattle, Washington is one of the cool kids. A hip urban Japanese fusion restaurant in the heart of downtown that looks like it was outfitted by the Z Gallerie and has one of the best late night happy hours in town. Directly after arriving on the Cascade Starlight Train from Portland we bolted for the late night hot spot and it not only started off our food-tastic tour of Seattle, but was one of the most memorable meals we had in our too short visit to the Emerald City!

We started off with yummy takoyaki. The bonito flakes didn't "dance" like we've seen on other takoyaki we've had, but the light, not-doughy-at-all octopus balls were a hit and good start.

We ordered 2 sushi rolls and ikura with a quail egg. Being a sushi cocina the Barcelona Sunset Roll (top roll pictured below) was the standout of the sushi rolls - spicy yellowtail, avocado, cucumber, topped with yellowtail, tobiko and habanero allioli.

We also ordered the caliente ginger chicken and the garlic short ribs. We like to keep all our meal proteins well balanced. We were hoping the caliente ginger chicken would be like karage, but was a spicy sauce slathered chicken served with taro chips, but the short ribs were exactly what we were hoping - tangy little rib bites.

The highlight of the night was the Ankimo - monkfish liver! Pate of the sea! Deliciously creamy, individual bites of the sea! Delicious!

This was just the beginning of our epic Seattle Food Tour and it was off to a stellar start!