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| Mural at Tanuki |
Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary experience at Tanuki. All opinions are my own.
Aspen born House of the Rising Tanuki San moved their Asian-Fusion restaurant to downtown Austin, TX. Chefs Jonathan Leichliter and Adam Norwig describe Tanuki serve up fun dishes with \”Asian flavors with Southern soul\”. I found the dishes creative and was most drawn in by the intriguing appetizers. The restaurant beginnings were as pop-ups in Aspen which quickly built popularity to include visitors from Austin.
The vibrant restaurant is a mix of an izakaya feel with pop-culture inspired murals. The dining room ceiling is decorated with an army of upside down parasols and a red glow fills the space under the bar. I dined in recently with fellow bloggers and found some new favorite dishes.
Here is a look at our culinary experience:
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| Poke at Tanuki |
Did You Get Poke of the Day is chef’s choice fish (our was hamachi), sticky rice, fresh veggies, sweet soy plated with wonton chips & nori crisps. This is a delightful dish and I enjoyed the crunchy nori crisps with the fresh poke.
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| Appetizers at Tanuki |
Harajuku Girls Fried Wontons are a must try! The crispy wontons are stuffed with spicy bison tonkatsu served with a sweet tamari, scallions & sesame seed and a brightly flavored wasabi cream.
Me So Smoking Duck Empanadas is a savory dish of hickory smoked hoisin, ancho chile Japanese brown curry, salt roasted carrots, basil oil.
Shogunate Smoked Brisket Springroll was a crowd pleaser. This dish has cabbage, rhubarb bbq, carrot, fresh herbs, spicy mustard, persimmon sweet & sour.
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| Double Double Korean Trouble Burger at Tanuki |
I thoroughly enjoyed the stacked Double Double Korean Trouble Burger! It has two pork & beef patties topped with spicy kimchi, intriguing secret sauce, American cheese, shiitake mushrooms and romaine.
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| Lost in Translation Chinese Chicken and Waffles at Tanuki |
Lost in Translation Chinese Chicken & Waffles was a fun dish of crispy fried chicken thighs, sweet potato-scallion bubble waffle, bourbon maple syrup, charred peach hot sauce, charred scallions
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| Udon, Asparagus and Cucumbers at Tanuki |
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| Udon, Asparagus and Cucumbers at Tanuki |
Tanuki knows noodles ya\’ll! Their Udon-even-Know Cashew Noodles has perfectly cooked udon noodles, shrimp, a lovly smoked cashew butter, fresh asparagus, bamboo, scallion, sprouts, sesame, ginger and garlic. I love what the ginger and garlic lends to the dish.
Yo Mama so Charred Asparagus will have you gleefully eating your veggies. The dish has tamari, marinated egg, togarashi.
The Geisha Warrior Marinated Cucumbers is a refreshing mix of english cucumber, pickled onion, basil, ginger, chiles.
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| Kanpai Y\’all! |
Princess Mononoke Miso Braised Clams (not pictured) is the perfect winter dish! The aromatic broth has jalapeno, bok choy and is incredibly addicting.
No Money No Honey Shrimp and Grits (not pictured) is a fun twist on a Southern staple . They use TX gulf shrimp, a flavorful Thai tamarind & coconut curry, savory andouille sausage, bok choy, peppers & onions, oh so cheesy grits, basil, cilantro.
Happy hour is weekdays 4pm-6pm and they are currently closed on Sundays.
coming soon: normal hours…
lunch monday- friday 11am-3pm
happy hour monday- friday 4-6pm dinner monday- friday 5-10pm
Saturday 5-10pm
lunch monday- friday 11am-3pm
happy hour monday- friday 4-6pm dinner monday- friday 5-10pm
Saturday 5-10pm
Telephone Number:
512.394.7391
Address:
120 West 5th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Between Colorado & Congress
120 West 5th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Between Colorado & Congress
Sushi ATX 