Pono Farm Soul Kitchen, Bringing Japanese Comfort to NE

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[Avila, 7/3/14]

Here now, a look inside Pono Farm Soul Kitchen, Hollywood's new "Japanese soul food" restaurant by the same folks behind Bend butcher shop (and ranch) Pono Farm. As promised, co-owners Shin and Ted Nakato have delivered a menu fusing Japanese and American influences, and unsurprisingly for a restaurant with a retail butcher counter next door, it's divided into sections depending on protein (all beef is either Wagyu or Red Angus; pork either Berkshire or red wattle).

Pono's "soul" emerges in home-cooking classics like bacon fried rice (topped with a thin layer of egg), pork gyoza served atop a garlic tomato sauce, simmered pork kakuni and congee, and braised pork meatballs accompanied by mashed potatoes (and a hint of miso). Other dishes more forcefully highlight the meat in Pono's butcher case: raw preparations like steak tartare and flatiron carpaccio are both served with ponzu, while the grill offers ribeye and NY strip steaks (served with an optional black truffle demi-glace), plus spare ribs and loin chops.

There's also a sizable section for seafood (clam miso soup, Dungeness crab croquettes) and a separate sushi menu offering five varieties of maki and sashimi. Pono Farm Soul Kitchen is open now for both lunch (from 11:30a.m. to 2:30p.m.( and dinner (5:30p.m. to 10p.m.), Tuesday through Saturday. Its retail shop is open from noon to 6p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
· Pono Farm Soul Kitchen [Official site]
· All Previous PFSK Coverage [Eater PDX]