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		Koji Osakaya 1502 NE Weidler, Portland, Oregon, (503) 280-0992 Koji opens branch in Lloyd District for sushi and more....

		Raw fish. Those two words keep a lot of people out of Japanese restaurants, and that’s too bad. Sushi (the word actually refers to the rice preparation, sticky and slightly sweet from mild rice vinegar, used in a variety of combinations, many with no fish at all; raw fish by itself is called sashimi) is an important element of Japanese cuisine, but not the only one. Assuming you’ll eat uncooked seafood at a Japanese restaraunt is akin to a belief that every Italian meal includes spaghetti. Koji is one the newest restaurants in the Lloyd district, but it’s been packed since it opened. The northeast incarnation is a casual storefront, more akin to the downtown branch than the expansive layouts of the Koji outposts on Macadam or in Beaverton. Exposed ductwork and concrete paired with simple woodwork and fabric panels create a comfortably neutral atmosphere that focuses your attention on the clean, vivid flavors of the food. There are plenty of choices if your dining companion makes a face when you say, “sushi.” The predictable avocado-filled California roll, a blatant but successful marketing ploy by restauranteurs, is a good start for the novice. More adventurous choices include inari, deep-fried tofu filled with sushi rice, unagi, made with grilled eel flavored with teriyaki, and baked yellowtail roll. Called yaki negihama, it wraps the paper-thin, crisp seaweed called nori around green onions and tender fish. The majority of Koji’s extensive menu listings have nothing to do with sushi. The list of appetizers offers plenty of options, starting with a small bowl of cool, creamy tofu marinated in ginger-spiked soy and sprinkled with green onions and salty dried bonito flakes. Warm soy beans are perfect for munching with a cold Sapporo beer; bright green and salted on the outside, they pop open and yield a tender pea-like morsel. Thin slices of beef rolled around green onion, skewered, and grilled are called nagimaki—dip them into the bowl of togarashi (a blend of hot red pepper, sesame seed, seaweed, and other Japanese spices) for extra crunch and flavor. If you’ve ever wondered where all of the skin from those denuded low-fat chicken breasts goes, the answer is kawa yakitori, skewers of chicken skin crackling with crispiness and wickedly rich. Another dimension of crunch comes from tempura and katsu. Tempura everybody knows— shrimp, squid, and vegetables are coated with a simple flour batter kept icy cold, then flash-fried in hot oil. Katsu dishes, also called furai in the appetizer section, get a different crunch—more textured and hearty than the ethereal tempura—from the superfine bread crumbs called panko. Ebi (prawns) and ika (squid) furai are good, but panko-coated fried oysters are amazing. The initial resistance and earthy flavor of the crisp panko contrasts delightfully with the meltingly tender bivalve. The fried medalions of pork tenderloin called tonkatsu may be the most well-known panko dish, and they’re available as an entree or in a donburi, a deep bowl filled with lightly seasoned rice and topped with the finely shredded seaweed called wakame. Most dinner entrees include grilled or broiled chicken, thinly sliced ribeye steak, or tempura and katsu renditions of seafood or vegetables. They’re available with miso and salad either on their own with a simple side of steamed rice or in donburi. Or try Japanese curry, dark reddish-brown and tasting more of red pepper than the coriander and turmeric flavors in Indian-style curries. The thick sauce, in either hot or mild versions, tops a generous mound of rice and your choice of vegetables, meat, or seafood. An array of noodle dishes offers even more non-sushi choices. Wheat flour udon or buckwheat soba noodles come with anything from raw egg or grated mountain potato to chicken or beef, and the soba is available cold with the sharp bite of green wasabi paste. Most of us think of ramen as cheap, quick-cooking noodles flavored with a mysterious powder, but Koji gives the popular Japanese snack food proper respect. The fresh, homemade noodles are served with either a simple soy broth or pork stock and topped with barbecued pork or wakame. Lovers of raw fish won’t be disappointed. Master fish cutters called itamae preside over the sushi bar, slicing impeccably fresh yellowtail, tuna, and other briny delights.Experienced sushi eaters will find their favorites, from maguro to hamachi, along with a few little surpises, like the crispy deep-fried shrimp heads that come with an order of the sweet shrimp called amaebi. Check the whiteboard for daily specials, such as wasabi tobiko, a nigiri sushi that tops a ball of rice with bright orange flying fish roe mixed with the fiery green horseradish. The tiny fish eggs pop and crackle, the wasabi rushes up your sinuses, and the vinegared rice tempers the experience so you’ll want to do it again.
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