Early adopters embrace beverage program at Taneko concept

Nation's Restaurant News, March 19, 2007 by James Scarpa

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Four months into the opening run of Taneko Japanese Tavern, customers are "blown away" by the restaurant, according to Scottsdale-based P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc., which unveiled Taneko here last fall as the prototype for a planned chain of casual, Japanese "izakaya" pubs.

"Guests who try the restaurant really enjoy it," said development partner Rich Sullivan, who is joined in that role by chef Paul Muller. "They love the quality of the food, and they're really embracing the entire beverage program," which includes exotic Japanese craft beers, varieties of sake, shochu cocktails and a big-name, California-dominated wine list.

Sullivan is one of the creators of the P.F. Chang's concept, while Muller is the former culinary operations director of both that chain and its lower-priced fast-casual sister brand, Pei Wei Asian Diner.

Taneko's food-to-beverage ratio is 73-27. The sales contribution of Taneko's four types of alcoholic beverages is 12 percent from wine and 5 percent each from sake, liquor and beer.

The role model for Taneko is the Japanese izakaya, a homey, pub-style eatery that serves simple, traditional foods with beer and sake. A revival of that concept in Japan in the 1980s was likened then to the nostalgia-driven '50s-diner trend in the United States. Taneko sports a characteristic exhibition kitchen and a wood-burning stone hearth oven. The latter turns out signature dishes like wood-roasted yellowtail with sansho pepper and sake, $20, and roasted duck breast with Japanese plum and "wok'd" greens, $18. Other mainstays are tempsura, sashimi, noodles, rice and braised dishes.

When it comes to beer, an izakaya staple, Taneko has a deeper and more esoteric selection than the typical Japanese restaurant. The headliner of the 17-item brew list is Hitachino Nest, a limited-availability, craft brew from Japan. There are seven kinds: Hitachino Nest White Ale, Ginger, Weizen, Classic Ale, Sweet Stout and Red Rice--each in bottles, for $7 to $8. There's also a seasonally changing draft beer for $7. Other selections include the mass-market Japanese brands that are widely distributed in the United States.

Customers are reacting "very favorably" to Hitachino Nest, Sullivan said.

"They're blown away when they try it," he said. The favorite is the classic ale, which he described as "full-bodied and very approachable" in character.

For guidance in selecting sakes, Taneko arranges 16 brands of the fermented-rice beverage into three categories based on rice milling percentage. Higher-quality sakes are brewed from more highly milled grain.

The three quality levels are junmai sake, made with rice milled to 70 percent of its original size; junmai ginjo, with rice milled to 60 percent; and junmai dai ginjo, milled to 35 percent. A fourth group, specialty sake, includes brands that are unfiltered, cedar-aged or unusual in some other way.

Billed as "light, fruity" in the sake list is Kurahibiki Kiuchi, $40 for a half-bottle and $80 for a bottle. "Medium intensity, fruity" describes Wandering Poet Rihaku, $15 per glass, $30 per half bottle and $60 per bottle. Sakes range from $40 to $180 per bottle. Half-bottles are $24 to $60, and by-the-glass pours run $6 to $15.

Serving the sakes chilled in wine glasses rather than in traditional ceramic cups "makes a huge difference in the aroma, flavor and subtleties," Sullivan said. "People say they didn't know that sake could be so fragrant, so winelike."

In addition, Taneko has a full bar that offers familiar American cocktails as well as house specialty drinks made with shochu, a Japanese spirit distilled from fermented sweet potatoes, rice or other starches. Shochu, a clear spirit that resembles vodka but is less potent, is a key ingredient in such drinks as Ropponngi Fizz, $8, which also includes lychee, yuzu and fresh citrus, and the Hibiya-tini, $9, containing Japanese cucumber and fresh lime. Shochu typically has an alcohol content of 25 percent, while vodka is usually 40 percent or higher.

"The adventurous diners are jumping on it and embracing it," Sullivan said. "Other people just want their Scotch on the rocks or Stoli with soda. We don't try to drive them in any particular direction."

Taneko's wine list also departs from the izakaya model in quantity and quality. The main list numbers 56 selections, more than half from California, drawn from well-known vineyards and production zones. "We have a Brancott [New Zealand] Pinot Noir, we have Washington Merlot and Central Coast Chardonnay," Sullivan said. "Even within Napa and Sonoma, we went specifically to Russian River, Carneros and Stag's Leap for wines we appreciate."

Wine selections include big-name domestics ranging in price from about $9 a glass to $125 a bottle, counting options on a 19variety Tavern List of reserve-level choices.

"In Japan, or in Japanese places in New York or L.A., wine selections are truly limited," Sullivan said. "They want to push you into beer or sake. But we believe that the consumer wants nicer wines with the dining experience."