I think this has been my favorite tablescape yet, with September’s Nodoguro theme Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro, a film by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Seriously, at nine courses for $85, these Nodoguro PDX dinners are such an amazing value. Now that Evoe has closed and the space next to Pastaworks on Hawthorne is theirs, I expect Nodoguro to start settling in now that it’s not a hobo that needs to pop up at different locations.

So far, the main noticeable change is the expansion of when they can have their dinners: the one I attended was on a Saturday evening, instead of being limited to Tuesday and Wednesday nights like before. The chalkboards that used to list the Evoe menu have been wiped clean, and I hope that Ryan and Elena will display all the various paintings that have been created for each of the past pop-up dinner themes, sort of like a Nodoguro Art Exhibit. Although I loved Totoro, and of course the food and my dining companions, one of the highlights this past dinner was meeting Elena’s father, who paints an art piece each month reflecting the latest Nodoguro theme. I would be proud to hang any one of his work on my walls at home!

A new addition to the menu is that Nodoguro also debuted a pairing menu for their courses that was suggested by a very knowledgeable guest and locally known drinks connossieur Paul Willenberg. At $50 for six beverage pairings, and at least at my seating everything but the beer was a full pour (and the beer was still at a generous 10 ounces), it’s another bargain value and all together makes for a very filling meal indeed. There were several bottles that I jotted down the name on my phone to seek out later as they were great unique finds, and I loved being introduced to them. I would definitely recommend the pairing menu.

If you are going to explore and be taken on a culinary adventure, might as well go all in right?  So eat light the day you are coming to your dinner!

I knew I was going to have a fabulous time when I saw the new Nodoguro host standing there to greet us as we arrived. I hope they continue to employ him because he was so welcoming and warm and I immediately felt comfortable.

Meanwhile, on the side of the wall that is usually the latest Nodoguro theme painting, a projector instead showed the Totoro movie while just below the screen seemed to be a little shrine…

The tablescape also included Totoro on the menus for food and drink, and peeking at guests as they dined from the terrariums. A dragon also was a callback to another Hayao Miyazaki film, Spirited Away.

First Course: Phantom Rabbit Melon slice

I can’t get over Totoro with his little “o” on his mouth watching me eat this melon with the champagne pairing, as you can see in the last photo in the background. I can never complain with starting a meal with a pairing that includes sparkling, in this case the Lamiable Champagne Brut Grand Cru.

Also in the background, as a little dinner party group we also decided to bring some corn as a little joke to Nodoguro – the youngest daughter bringing a fresh sweet corn to her mother is an important plot point in the Totoro movie.

Second Course: Poached Octopus with Wasabi and Citrus

A glimpse of Chef Ryan Roadhouse slicing the Poached Octopus like a ninja.

Don’t be afraid of the little suckers of these tentacles- eating these was so soft, reminiscent of the texture of a poached lobster, this was so tender.

Third Course: Tomato Oden with Ham and Eggs

Teamwork in plating the course between Ryan Roadhouse and Mark Wooten!

And the beautiful result of two tomatoes, 3 year aged ham, and egg yolk cream…

Not pictured is the beautiful glass of the next beverage pairing, a 2013 Fossil and Fawn Rosé  of Pinot Gris, Crowley Station which was just lovely. I thought I took a photo of it to show the colors of that beautiful rose color (in fact it bordered more on strawberry red than a light pink!) of this Pinot Gris with the tomato, but apparently I got excited and just ate this dish.

Fourth Course: Dungeness Crab and Fennel Sunomono

Time for a little palate cleanser with the “salad” course of sunomono, which as Ryan wryly explained, is “stuff in vinegar”.

What is this tubular vegetable thing? Oh says Ryan offhandedly, just Uni wrapped in Kelp. No big deal.

Fifth Course: Monkfish Liver Torchon with Ground Cherry Miso

I don’t know why I’ve been so lucky to get to eat delicious rich fatty liver for 3 weeks now!

This is where I had my very favorite pairing, which was the Fuku Chitose “Happy Owl” Yamahai Junmai sake that had a very mushroom quality to the flavor that really complimented the melt in your mouth liver torchon here.

Sixth Course: Smoked Salmon and Nanban Carrots

As soon as they opened the oven the room practically fell into silence as we breathed in heavily the incredibly smoky aromas of this dish.

This time Ryan went with smoked alder on sashimi grade salmon, and the beautiful colors of the corn and carrot flowers adding some delicacy to this big hunk of fish that just tenderly flaked off with our chopsticks. I almost wished I had a whiskey to enjoy with this, but the sake also went well in emphasizing the grand earthiness of this dish.

Seventh Course: Chiashu with Turnip, Miso, and Walnut

This chiashu is a call back to Spirited Away, which is one of the foodiest movies Hayao Miyazaki has made. In the movie, the heroine’s parents are turned into pigs as they eat like pigs at an empty restaurant stall on food probably much like this luscious pork belly. I imagine if I saw an empty foodstand with the dish lined up like this, it would indeed be a mighty strong temptation…

The mustard greens and the beverage pairing, a 2012 Johan Vineyards Blaufränkisch (a grape I had never heard of until I was introduced at this meal, and was very pleased to make the acquaintance and look forward to being friends) were a great contrast to the richness of the meat. Yet, at the same time the Blaufränkisch was contrasting it with a hint of spice, the wine was also wonderfully complimenting the meat with its round fruit that is silky and rich without heavy tannins.

The miso was providing extra umami along with a bit of salt highlight, and the turnip here being a nod to the use of radish.

Can you tell I was excited by this slow roasted pork dish?

Eighth Course: Satsuki’s Bento

This is the Nodoguro interpretation of the bento box that the older sister character puts together for her family in the My Neighbor Totoro movie. This was the only pairing that I didn’t like, as at least for me the Upright Six dark rye saison beer had caramel notes that I didn’t understand with the mackerel fish and Italian plum flavors of this rice bowl.

Ninth Course: Tamago Sushi

On the other hand, I did like the Rye Saison beer with the rice stuffed sweet rolled egg!

Tenth Course: Acorn, Figs, and Honey

Acorns play a big part in Totoro, so I was not surprised to see them in the decorative elements of the restaurant this month as well as in a dish. This was paired with a 2001 Jos. Christoffel Jr Orziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese, a terrific riesling that offered both sweetness that blossomed into spiciness that was so incredibly I preferred drinking it alone to eating it with the food so I could enjoy its complexity.

In this dish, the acorns are in gel form and paired with popped soba and figs right from the chef’s personal family garden and some Bee Local Honey (no surprise as besides having amazing honey, I saw these two dark haired curly gentlemen Ryan at the  and Damian of Bee Local right next to each other at the Feast Oregon County tables on Saturday.

Tea Service: Moon Manju with Peppermint Tea

And then all too soon, it was the end, with the traditional Japanese tea service of a manju with a rabbit on it (a popular folklore in Asian cultures is that a rabbit lives on the moon) and the peppermint tea which started as green tea and then added the peppermint layer.

It was a pretty delicious dinner, as always… interestingly enough, there is a LOT of food in the Hayao Miyazaki films, particularly Spirited Away which had tons of food including a street full of food stalls inspired by the town of Jiufen in Taiwan. Maybe some day in the future… a repeat with dishes inspired by more films?

The October theme for the Nodoguro Dinners is “A Tribute to Water”. Check the website often as they will sometimes announce new dates! Buy your seats and experience what I think is the best Japanese cuisine in Portland!

Some of the draft courses (dependent on what is best and fresh at the time of the dinner, they even change it out during the month sometimes as needed) include dishes like

• Charred Hakurei Tofu with ikura, and Matsutake 
• Hirame Usuzukuri (a thinly sliced Halibut sashimi served with Ponzu sauce)
• Orca beans, scallop, Uni, and water pepper
• Air dried Sanma with citrus, and grated karaine
• Duck, Soba, and Chrysanthemum
• Chocolate and Filbert Beer Float

Get your tickets at the Nodoguro website!