A few beers with the guys

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I planned a gathering with a few ex-colleagues who haven't seen each other in a while. Since we just wanted to spend time shooting the breeze while having a few beers, an izakaya seemed to be the perfect venue. I found myself back at Irori for the second time in 2 weeks.

We started with stir-fried julienned burdock (金平牛蒡焼き) and deep-fried sweet potato chips (薩摩芋ﾁｯﾌﾟ). Both are excellent accompaniments to mugs of draft beer.

The grated yam and spicy cod fish roe (とろろ明太子) was meant to balance out the "heaty" deep-fried chicken cartilage (軟骨唐揚げ), my perennial favorite. Somehow the tororo didn't taste quite as good as 2 weeks ago. Maybe I suck at mixing it up...

Grilled ox tongue with spring onions (牛タン葱焼き) is another favorite, with the chewy, tender pieces buried in a pile of diced spring onions.

Seared wagyu (和牛炙り) had the great charred flavor on top of the black pepper, served over a pile of thin onion slices to neutralize the effects of searing.

Mochi pizza (もちﾋﾟｯｻﾞ) is a house special, with bits of bacon and pizza sauce on top of small pieces of mochi. I like it.

Finally we had the deep-fried Kurobuta pork chop (黒豚とんかつ), which was pretty damn yummy with just a bit of fat.

It was a good evening. Just good, simple food washed down with plenty of beer. And the guys hanging out and bonding. I'm sure I'll be back soon.