Bareru
Have you ever considered all the different places you can eat sushi? Much like green eggs and ham…. you can eat it in a boat and you could eat it with a goat. You could eat a California roll in the rain, and in the dark, and on a train. Or a spicy tuna roll in the car, and in a tree, sushi is so good, so good you see! In Okinawa you can eat them here or there or anywhere. But can you eat them in a cask?
Welcome to Tonneau! Our Friday night dinner plans took us to a new restaurant where we ate dinner in a cask-a restaurant shaped like a cask. Tonneau is the largest “izakaya”, standing four stories tall, with two stories of seating. Izakaya means bar, but unlike in the United States, most bars here are more like restaurants with a bar on the side; similar to Applebee’s or Chili’s bars. We went for the food-specifically sushi and something labeled as “potato pizza”.
When you first enter Tonneau you remove your shoes and place them in cubbies. This is not done in all Japanese restaurants although many do observe this tradition. From there you’re lead to your table which is close to the ground with a hole under it to place your feet. Below is our table with Tyler and our friends Jay and Anna.
Between the appetizer they give everyone, consisting of a sour plum, pickles, and pork tempura with a dipping sauce and the horse sashimi (yes, horse) the night was interesting. In the end, good sushi and times were had in, of all places, a cask-just a typically unexpected night in Okinawa!
On a side note: My husband is either a crazy person or really loves food-he had all his wisdom teeth taken out yesterday and today was out to dinner like a champ, a chipmunk-like champ, but still out none the less. What a guy!
