Nodoguro Twin Peaks Dinner 2

I still go to Nodoguro every couple months, but I don’t always post recaps anymore since I know it is difficult to get into some of the dinners if you don’t follow Nodoguro’s mailing list and social media so you know the exact night tickets for the next month get released (most ticket/reservations sell out within 24 hours). One tip is if you are lucky and are able to be flexible, look for Cancellation Tickets from those who purchased that month by checking their website daily – they will put them back up for sale. I’ve written about Nodoguro so many times it almost felt a little unfair to other dining establishments, but I decided to make an exception for this recent theme for July up to August 4 – which is a return to Twin Peaks!

This Twin Peaks dinner is a revisit to the cult favorite show that made TV Guide’s 50 Greatest Shows of All Time list. Nodoguro previously did a Twin Peaks theme in 2015 which I also recapped. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the new third season on Showtime yet: neither have I (I don’t have Showtime) and this dinner still seemed more based on the initial two seasons.

This dinner was especially fun because there were several regulars – some of us who have been Nodoguro patrons since they first were a pop up a couple years ago like Fireman Mike and the Hungry Broads and myself with A – all attended this dinner and turned it into a bit of a extra jovial atmosphere as we casually talked to each other across several people, got up and visited around the room and chatted with other diners who happened to also share the U shaped bar.

It’s one of the unique pluses of being at a pop up with a shared counter space or communal dining: because you are all having the same food at the same time rather then ordering off a menu with different food and different timing, everyone is going through the same experience and we can all cheers using the same sake flight pairing or nod and roll our eyes back at the same dish’s fantastic comfort. Even if you come alone (which I have several times), you can have conversations and meet new friends over your shared meal. The doors open an hour before the 7 PM dinner time, so you can enjoy drinks a la carte in the lounge and mix with other dinner guests before being seated.

As always, Nodoguro’s sousaku dinner consists of 13 courses. Here’s the Nodoguro Twin Peaks 2 food journey:

Funeral Waldorf

Daikon soaked in rice water toped with aged miso, walnuts toasted in walnut oil, cherries, mizuno lovage, and wakame

Ryan makes the best daikon I’ve ever had.

Trout with Cherry

Trout with cherry blossom soy sauce (Ryan salt cured cherry blossoms from last year into vinegar before adding it to aged soy sauce) topped with a bit of fresh wasabi

Fig Forest

Fig forest, inspired by the forests of the Northwest starring figs, mushroom, soy cream and pine nuts.

I always love when Ryan makes a soy cream because it adds a velvety rich texture without tasting heavy.

Tuna Salad

Albacore dipped in smoky olive oil, tomatoes in dashi, pickled coriander berry, egg yolk emulsion and topped with a little seaweed

Loved the contrast of flavors and textures in this dish, from the burst from the tomato and cool smokiness of the fish and mmm that rich egg emulsion gold sauce.

Tofu, Crab, and Eel

A seasonal dish with oceanic summer eel poached inn soy sauce over a tofu mousse with local Dungeness Crab

Smoked Cheese Pig

Onion, tofu, fresh ginger, fresh mozzarella in olive oil and bit of sesame oil, Katsuobushi (dried tuna flake) plus spritz of Japanese spiced curry vinegar cut with a lil sweet vinegar

Just one of so man examples over the many meals of how a dish may look simple but Ryan puts so much thought into components you may not even see

A Bowl of Uni Porridge with Coffee

A bowl of hot, creamy Hokkaido uni rice porridge with espresso sprinkle

My favorite dish of the night!

Cod in the Percolator

A take on nitsuke, a Japanese fish and vegetables simmered dish, with black cod, broccoli leaves, Japanese eggplant in the classic simmering sauce topped with a matcha parsley chip.

Pickles

Creamed Corn

Cup of soup

The next three were served together –
Pickles of fennel and cucumber with pickled yuzu skin and cucumber and radish
A rice dish with toasted corn mixed in the rice rice with sea Urchin and mushroom and salmon and some salmon roe cured with sea salt and dashi
Miso soup

RR Omelet

A subtly sweet multilayered rolled omelet signifies a transition for us towards dessert

Damn Fine Cherries

Tea

Soy cheesecake topped with cherry jam, cherries poached in Whiskey, alongside chocolate crumbles and sprinkled with a little buckwheat. Served with Iced Hōjicha Tea, a roasted green tea

And that’s the whole Nodoguro Twin Peaks themed dinner! Which course do you think is the one you want to try the most? Have you watched Twin Peaks – either the original seasons or the new 2017 season, what do you think of the show?