Ah, a throwback to the iterations of this here blog … like me, a restaurant from Aspen has returned nay, come home to, Austin.
Because Aspen and Austin are inextricably yet inexplicably linked, perhaps the first restaurant to move from Aspen to Austin rather than vice versa (hi Clark’s), is House of the Rising Tanuki-San, or Tanuki for normal people, a new badass Asian fusion restaurant on 5th between Congress & Colorado.
Helmed by a chef (Jonathan Leichliter) who created the burger I used to eat at least three times on every Aspen trip before it was replaced by the only chicken sandwich I’ve ever craved at the restaurant I took literally everyone who came to visit to eat at, obviously I’m gonna love Tanuki.
And when said chef seats you at the Chef’s Table bar with a window into his world and sends out all the new hotness he’s working on? Yeah, okay.
Don’t worry, he’ll do that for you too because they have a whole Omakase experience like a sushi restaurant (“I’ll leave it up to you”) and like I wish more restaurants did where you just trust the chef and they make amazing things happen for you.
It’s hard to pick my favorite of the six dishes we tried: first I think it’s the fresh wild-caught gulf shrimp on crunchy-chewy rice reminiscent of a fancy poke that really let the shrimp shine; but then I’d be remiss if I didn’t name the duck with crispy skinny mushrooms, succulent and rich, as one of my faves. But the seasoning on the steak! I’d put that blend and the accompanying wasabi cream on literally anything.
Other reviewers have mentioned the funky Southern take on Asian food, but since we didn’t order off the menu I can’t speak to the deliciousness of the possibly-twee named dishes.
Did I forget to mention the vibe? The decor is funky, fun, a bit Asian without being over the top—let me correct myself, it is over the top but intentionally and not in a theme-y way. The staff is friendly, the service well done, and wine list tightly edited but delicious. I didn’t dip into the cocktail list, but it too looks as creative and fun as the rest of the restaurant.
Check it out for lunch, happy hour, or dinner Monday-Saturday. House of the Rising Tanuki-San.
*I didn’t intend to write about this resto but can’t really resist letting you know about a friend’s business so sorry for the lack of photos … better to know and see for yourself than see mine 😉