Media Night for the Grand Opening of Izakaya by Yanaga

It feels good to attend Media nights again. From the crowds (which are significantly capped), food, and the fun.  For this media night, Izakaya is definitely the Sushi Whisperer of Philadelphia. Izakaya by Yanaga is located at 1832 Frankford Avenue. It’s nestled in a quiet neighborhood but the food and drinks definitely brings the noise.

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Sushi Lovers

So if you are a sushi lover you are going to want to come in and experience the offerings for yourself. They have 8 offerings that appeases to many different palettes. I personally had the Cucumber and Avocado. It was good. The seaweed was thick giving me that fish taste without the actual fish included. I thought that worked. Like many vegans miss certain tastes and this keeps it in. I loved the soy sauce. It wasn’t that extra salty taste. I usually stay away from soy sauce in my personal life. I must say how much I enjoyed my dish.

Whenever I am at these events and there are other foods I don’t order, I collaborate with another blogger, Brenda of Brenda on Broad. Make sure you not only follow but sign up to her blog as well. She enjoyed various dishes and I will be showcasing some other offerings that she enjoyed so you see the full perspective of the meals. She had the Shrimp Tempura, Snow Crab sushi as well as the Duck!

Holy Grail Must Have: Mushroom Gyoza

This is a must try. I don’t know what it is about this dish but it’s absolutely hands down a must have. It’s crispy, and the flavor is everything! I’ve had nothing like this before but I want it now all the time. I would do a honest pick up just to grab it. So if I never put you onto anything else, this is it.

Wild mushroom, eggplant, sundried tomato, truffle vinaigrette

Honorable Mention: Curry Short Rib Bao

I personally didn’t have this. I asked around for other peoples favorites and this dish was mentioned a handful of times.

Picture courtesy of Brenda from Brenda on Broad

Drinks Matter Too

Nothing is better to me than checking out my drinks for meals too. If you’re not a drinker they do have plenty of non alcoholic drinks as well. For those who drink they have 8 cocktails, 7 Saki (s), 3 Sochi, and choices of beers and ciders too. It makes for a great date night or time to catch up with friends.

Tea Time cocktail: hojicha tea-infused gin, ginger and honey syrup, chamomile, fresh lemon

When East meets West: Junmai sake, Blanca tequila, St. Germaine, Yuzu, Shisho

Tea Time and Meet me off the L: Japanese whiskey, Alo-E Sibona, Montenegro, torched orange courtesy of Brenda from Brenda on Broad

Izakaya on Ramen

Ramen is an art. I love eating it. It’s a great comfort food. So when it gets colder I love a great adult Ramen. I say adult Ramen because long gone are the days when we eat prepackaged Ramen like we did in college. This Ramen is sophisticated. I had the Vegetable Tantan Mazeman. It had soupless noodles, spicy tofu, mushroom sauce, soft boiled egg, and peanuts. So if you have a peanut allergy ask for this to be taken out because the peanut taste is strong. I like my Ramen with a little more broth so my leftovers I added it in and it still was really good.

Tantan Mazeman: soupless noodles spicy meat sauce, soft boiled eggs, peanut

Space is limited. There is a lot of seating in the back which I was pleasantly surprised. So if you’re interested and you should be, get there as early as you can. The weekends tend to get packed especially around dinner time. They are open from Wednesday-Sunday from 5-10pm. Its a great treat to enjoy.

Izakaya is a great vibe with an amazing bar spacing. So grab your friends and have an intimate dinner. Thanks to Izakaya and Aversa PR for having me. I enjoyed them. To stay up to date follow them on Instagram. To check out my recap of the night, go to my reels.

I will be back this week with one more media event so check that out on Friday’s recap. A hint, it’s a spooky time.