"At Izakaya Minato the first thing you may notice is owner Elaine Alden's megawatt smile as you line up to put your name on the waitlist. Just a few steps beyond is a small open kitchen where Alden's husband, chef Thomas Takashi Cooke, and his merry band of cooks welcome you with the traditional Japanese greeting: "Irasshaimase!" A half step to your left is a snug, lively bar, and to the right, a large communal table. The denlike front room connects to a quieter, more spacious dining room with table seating, where you can post up for a reliably delicious menu with favorites like okonomiyaki (cabbage pancake) studded with chunks of bacon or local wild mushrooms; crab sunomono (a cold salad of crab, cucumber, and wakame seaweed tossed with Minato ranch dressing); gindara kasuzuke (broiled black cod marinated in sake lees); and mochi bacon (bacon-wrapped mochi with sweet soy)." - Alexandra Hall
