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It is always cherry blossom season at Janken, the slick new corner spot in the Pearl District where Bluehour used to host the cool kid crowd. Janken’s dining room is anchored by a tall, faux cherry tree in full bloom made even more dramatic by bright underlighting. It is very pretty and prominent.
At this stage of Portland’s evolution as a food-loving small city, Janken may be just the right tonic. Whether intended or not, the symbolism of the tree as a harbinger of spring works in multiple dimensions. It suggests renewal and an emergence from our extended COVID winter. Indeed, the 140-seat dining room and bar have been tightly packed with a mostly young, well-dressed crowd each time I have visited. Face masks, the unmistakable mark of caution for three excruciating years, are as notably absent as the tree is impossible to miss.
This distinctive decorative touch also mirrors the real cherry trees that have long lined downtown Portland’s waterfront. As tempting as it might be to look at Janken as an anomaly that is not really “Portland,” this would be provincial bullshit. For one, its predecessor was also a stylish spot that looked nothing like its low-budget, open-ceilinged, cement-floored, 40-seat contemporaries. For another, a range of styles is as essential to a vibrant dining landscape as choices in cuisine. Restaurant lovers should not have to shlep all the way to McMinnville—home of ōkta—to sup in elegant, upscale surroundings.
The menu at Janken focuses on Japanese food, including much from the raw fish domain, with Korean influences dotted throughout. There is also an effort to provide a little something for everyone, so those with restricted diets will not be stuck sucking down drinks alone, though there is an ample array of those, too. This includes the Pineapple Express ($21), a pineapple-infused mezcal amalgam that arrives with pomp and circumstance under a smoke-filled cloche.
Ordering strategy at Janken should be dictated by taste and budget, though not necessarily in that order. It may provide some solace to know that while prices range from high to silly, the portions tend to be generous. Indulging in an expense account fantasy, one is best off beginning with one or more of the nontraditional maki (rolled fish and rice). The soft-shell crab roll ($18) is a credible effort, the crustacean pinwheeled with lettuce and the roll topped with kimchi remoulade and a substantial measure of tobiko that pops in the mouth. The Dynamite roll ($38) showcases local favorites, salmon and Dungeness crab, both in bounteous quantities tucked into eight thick pieces.
Diners can also select from an adequate selection of nigiri—sliced fish over rice—mostly priced in the mid- to high teens for two pieces, but there is nothing on this portion of the menu that is uncommon or particularly compelling. One exception: a combination of sea urchin and scallop ($35) was a rather messy affair that didn’t do either delicacy any favors. The pinnacle of the fancy pants, big-promotion-and-raise specialty list is the caviar set, starting at $99 for an ounce of your baseline osetra and topping out at $229 for Imperial Gold—premium osetra roe with a golden hue.
Not into raw fish or upmarket sturgeon eggs? Not to worry. A solid filler less apt to destroy more limited budgets is kimchi fried rice ($20), mixed tableside in a red hot stone bowl, with or without added protein ($6) or egg ($2). This is an easy one to split, as is the sweet and sticky KFC, or Korean fried chicken ($21). The first time I ordered the chicken, it arrived as a half-dozen chunks of dried-out boneless white meat. The second time, it was much more palatable, though don’t expect much in the way of a spicy kick.
If still unsatiated after a series of small courses, dive into the meat of the menu. Of course, top-grade A5 wagyu is offered two ways (each $89), either as a cook-it-yourself on a hot stone setup or in a katsu sando, which seems a profound waste of very expensive beef. My go-to entree choice is the miso black cod ($42), a flavorful chunk of juicy fish served under a haystack of frizzled leeks. Additional choices abound, from both land and sea.
There is a dessert list, too, for sugar fiends like me. Top choices include the mochi-wrapped ice cream in a variety of flavors ($14) and a luxe chocolate-and-caramel bar cake ($18) upscaled with a scrap of gold leaf on top.
Janken is definitely not for everyone in our rebounding burg, but it is not for nobody either, as its popularity among the sexy set attests.
EAT: Janken, 250 NW 13th Ave., 503-841-6406, jankenrestaurant.com. 5-11 pm Tuesday-Thursday, 5 pm-midnight Friday, 4 pm-midnight Saturday, 4-10 pm Sunday.
