Miho Izakaya, Portland, Oregon

I went to Miho Izakaya for dinner my first night in Portland, OR. Even though it's called an izakaya, they admit freely that they are not a strictly Japanese restaurant. Chef Michael Miho hails from Hawaii so there are some items on the fun menu inspired from his home. We were lucky to share some drinks with bar manager Michael Carothers this evening, sampling some shochu as well as several beers from the local Bridgeport Brewing. I quite liked the Hop Czar Imperial I.P.A.
We started with a tasty salad made with warm kimchee and a generous amount of gochuchang. We ordered the 'Ika' calamari salad, a wonderful and tangy salad made with tender squid, and an order of the kabocha squash.

On the menu, my eyes were right away drawn to the beef 'loko-moko' burger. I'm a fan of the original Hawaiian grinds version, so I ordered the iteration at Miho. In place of gravy, they used a Bull Dog sauce, used in "katsu" dishes in Japan. The result is a sweeter and smokier taste that was perfect with the rice, burger, and egg.

Next up was an order of crab and potato croquettes. They arrived with three sauces: hot mustard, horseradish, and a tomato sauce.
The dish of pork belly with sweet egg followed. The pork belly was wonderfully braised and very tender and fatty. The sweet egg was a split hard boiled egg that was topped with sugar and flamed like a creme brulee. It was really good, but I imagine how it would have been had it been a deviled egg.
Our last item was the sesame pork meatballs, a simple but satisfying dish.
By the end of the evening, the great food combined with great local drinks really hit the spot.




4057 N Interstate Ave
Portland, OR
(503)719-6152