It is officially summer in Seattle (according to zero scientific sources other than the completely inaccurate and undependable Sampson-ometer) and everything around here is amazing! The weather is warm, travel is in full swing, and I can walk to meet the girls for dinner pretty much anywhere in town.

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

Once a month or so, I meet up with two of my BOD (Board Of Directors – by which of course I mean all the incredibly intelligent, powerful, selfless, beautiful inside and out women I surround myself with, whose opinions I value highly). These two women are, in addition to all of the above, stunning and hilarious – your basic total package. (Sorry guys, they’re taken).

Last time we got together, we had dinner at Miller’s Guild, which was completely amazing, although the lighting lent itself more to being romanced by all the incredible food and surroundings rather than taking pictures of all the food.

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

This time around, we headed up to The Hill to Shibumi Izakaya. One of the BOD knows the chef/owner and we decided to give it a whirl with her. Here’s what we had….

• Spicy pork gyoza
• Green beans with sesame dressing
• Burdock and carrot kinpira
• Pork croquettes (which I think was a special?)
• All three wagyu zabuton options: sliced, seared and chopped….. AHHHHHHHHHHH MAZING (holy cow I love wagyu)
• Pork belly kushiyaki
• Marinated black cod
• Tonkatsu ramen
• Dessert: I believe chef said it was a green tea (matcha) mousse ice cream and it had black and white sesame seeds with a vanilla shortbread cookie

Sooooooooo, yeah, basically we ate almost the entire menu, but that’s what I love both about a small plates restaurant and the BOD – they’re always down to share, stories and dishes!

Of course I really tried not to take pictures and just enjoy the dinner because we don’t have them often enough, but after the seared wagyu, I just couldn’t help myself….

Shaved Wagyu:

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

Pork gyoza:

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

Pork Belly Tonkotsu Ramen:

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2014 Siiri Sampson. All rights reserved.

There were definitely some things I couldn’t eat (but had a bite of anyway) with my limitations carried over from the Whole30 (still steering clear of legumes, dairy and wheat), but there were some really good bites here. I’ve heard polarized opinions, but my recommendation is to go check it out and form your own opinion! Try everything with pork belly (the worlds single greatest invention and meat product), and get the seared wagyu, you won’t be sorry.