Forgot this in my news roundup. Anju, the Korean “izakaya”, which went into the old Nutshell space has closed. I’ve heard lots of rumors about this one, but I will just point out four things.
- Lousy food.
- Underfunded.
- Out of town owners.
- NO BAR – This is drinking food for god’s sake!
Also, word on the street is that the owner of Junior Ambassadors, the ice cream/panwiches place on north Albina, has decided he will not reopen. Yes, it was only a cart, but it was popular, so I mention it here.
Had a meal at Anju the other night.. they had about 30 people dining (2 giant groups) and only once waitress. It took forever to get menus, drinks, food, etc. We were wondering how they were going to stay afloat, as nothing we had was really worth returning for.
I am sure that Jr Ambassadors was great, but the flavors are tried weren’t. As in weren’t flavored and weren’t great. Too bad, though. It was a cheery little spot.
Beg to differ, Dude. Actually, Anju did have a bar. I’ve eaten at it. Secondly, the food was not horrible; actually, it was decent-to-good [e.g., kimchi pancakes, grilled halibut, & cold spinach & sesame were my faves], and the items were well priced [i.e., low]. I thought it was poorly designed and the service sucked, but they made a stab at something. Could be that space is cursed.
I don’t think the space is cursed. It seems to me the restaurants that have gone in there are just not right for the neighborhood, and have been overcapitalized.
FD–I realize that you are trying to report news and speculate on causes, but the tone of this report on Anju is callous. Would you want the place of work of yourself, your spouse or someone you cared about dismissed so cavalierly?
The closing of a restaurant is like a death in the family. As hosts and patrons we need to maintain honor, community respect, and a little “do unto others.” Explaining how much a place sucked in bullet points after they are closed does little to contribute to a dialogue about Portland food.
Point taken on the callousness of the report. But, on the other hand, coddling anyone who decides to go open a restaurant just because they opened a restaurant doesn’t make sense. I think pointing out why a particular place failed does actually contribute to a dialogue about our food scene. Should we not discuss the good AND the bad? This place did have lousy food. For example, a kimchi pancake may be novel to some and therefore something to take delight in, but if you compare theirs to any kimchi pancake at any decent korean restaurant, Anju’s was dry and tasteless (which is tough to do, considering the namesake ingredient). Trust me, there is no one who wanted this place to succeed more than me. But their food really was lousy. Their pork for the wraps was dry but covered in oil (but not sesame oil like meat is often served with in korean restaurants, but bad, greasy oil like from the old, uncleaned grill oil), their noodle dishes and fried rice lacked flavor and seasoning. It seemed like they just thought with the recent success of asian-drinking establishments around the country, that if they just opened a place in “up and coming Portland”, that they would be successful, without putting forth too much effort.
I hate to say it, but life is tough. Lots of businesses are closing, but, in general, the ones with good business plans and owners that really care are making a go of it. It seems to me, if the owners at Anju cared, at least one of them would live in Portland, and they would make sure there was enough food in the restaurant to cover the meals for at least one night. The restaurant just doesn’t seem to have been a priority for them.
I have said many times I feel bad for the employees, but if I wrote an ode to everyone who has lost their job, I’d have time for nothing else.
Look, dude, all I am saying is that if you can wax nostalgic with 10,000 words of chosen prose about fond childhood food memories, you can also take the time to be more thoughtful when describing someone else’s loss. The owners may have been from out of town, but the chef who drove the place was a hometown boy. And if he was my husband, son or brother I’d be pretty offended at a blogger’s offhand dismissal. We have Yelp for off the cuff snark, this site always seemed like something more. Life is tough, and it’s up to us as a microcosm that cares about food and the people who make it to exercise tact and civility to our fellows sweating away in the kitchen and clearing our filthy plates.
I hate to fall back on a cliche, but…..if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I would rather the Dude not dedicate more time and energy making bad food sound better or making excuses for why a restaurant failed.
So…. if you lost your job you would want a bunch of anonymous strangers speculating on why you failed in an above it all manner and pointing out your every flaw.. real or imagined?
Don’t even try to play the “if you open a restaurant you’re asking to be under a microscope” card.
Many, MANY of us started down this career path before food tv, before blogging, before the celebrity chef. Should we all have just switched careers late in life because a bunch of cold-hearted people with no insight into what it means to be sensitive to another person’s loss have decided our lives are public property?
Would you like to provide us with your personal information so that on the day of your live’s greatest misfortune we can all bullet point how you had it coming to you?
To the owners and staff of Anju, if you are reading this.. I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. Best of luck in all your future projects. Thanks for trying knowing full well how many people who peddle uplift would relish your downfall.
As to those food bloggers who will be offended by my post.. yes, I am a restaurant owner. I am also a restaurant customer. I own Tanuki. If your sensibilities are offended by my appeal for a bit of sensitivity towards people who are experiencing misfortune in the worst economy in generations.. well.. I guess you will boycott my place now won’t you.
And then you can say hurtful things about me and forget about how hollow your own lives are for awhile. Heck.. you can even put this post as one of the bullet points of why I failed.
Best Regards,
Janis Martin
Owner/cook
Tanuki izakaya
Janis,
Thank you for your insight and your passion. I hope I enjoy my meal at your restaurant on Friday as much as I enjoyed your comments.
Mark
Customer
Don’t think that’s what melissa was talking about….not even close really.
I think it is true that Anju had a bar top, but I was there twice, and I never saw a place to sit at the bar, no stools or chairs, or anyplace to stand near it. There were tables set in that area. An odd use of space, and not one conducive to what I believe Anju set out to do.
I think Melissa has a point, well said and very mature. I admire that. Very true, closing of a Restaurant is really like a death in a family.
Nancy – Anju had a bar, with stools. I sat at it, and I ate at it. Yes, a very poorly designed space, but the food was not bad, regardless of flavorcountry’s bad taste
Anju may have had bar seating at one time, I don’t know. I do know however, that I walked in alone one night to check it out (I live just a few blocks away). There were no stools at the bar. A (very friendly) bar tender asked if she could help me. I said, “I was hoping to sit at the bar, don’t really want to sit at a table by myself.” She said, “yeah, I know, we keep telling the owner to get stools. When I’m out alone I always want to sit at the bar.” I checked out the menu and left. There were maybe two occupied tables in the joint at 7:00 on a friday night.
I love all the opinions here…”The food was bad!”, “No, no, you are mistaken, the food was good!”…..”NO, YOU ARE WAY OUT OF LINE, THE FOOD REALLY WAS BAD!” I believe that everyone truly believes they are telling the truth when defending or damning Anju. The fact is: The people who felt the food, service, space etc was sub par are in the majority because it is closed. I feel bad (as I’m sure most detractors of the restaurant do) for those that lost their jobs, but what Food Dude has written is his (albeit self-proclaimed) job. Reviewers are people with opinions. Good successful reviewers are people whose opinions are fair, balanced and trusted by the majority. This is someone who’s opinion is trusted by a lot of people in this town. Someone who’s finger is on the pulse of the Portland dining scene. Restaurateurs and patrons alike flock to this site to be kept in the loop as to who is doing what where and how well they are doing it.
The fact is that this site is a service to many people. The dining public get to do homework as to where to eat. Restaurateurs use this site to teach their staff the workings of the mind of the dining public (at least I do). The comments about Anju’s failure aren’t callous jabs at unfortunate employees who have lost their jobs, they are educated and experiential opinions of one man for the reasons of the restaurants failure. They are very valid and should serve as a warning to any and all prospective restaurant owners. The first things I would have in order before even considering opening a restaurant:
1) Be here.
2) Have enough money
3) Serve good food
Check, check, check! As far as I’m concerned there was no callous derision in this entry, just solid reasoning and sage advice.
Hate to use your own logic against you, but it’s the same thing here. Melissa thought the post was too callous and dismissive, you disagree. You both reviewed the review. (“Reviewers are people with opnions”) It’s all subjective and I’m quite sure FD has dealt and will deal with worse criticism. Melissa made her point and it’s as valid as anyone else’s.
< < rushing out the door to my shrink >>
Anyone who would like to write a full obit for Anju is welcome to do so – that’s what the comments are for. However, I think you should also write a full obit for Jr. Ambassadors, as I’m sure their business is just as important to them as Anju is to the folks working there. As a matter of fact, I’m happy to give you a list of all the restaurants that have closed over the last 365 days, and you can write something for all of them. A follow up piece would be good too: Where the owners are now, the employees lives, subsequent divorces, drug-fueled spirals into petty burglary, maybe even some close up shots of the dishwasher with tears running down his face. It all makes good copy. :)
Ok, now that is callous.
ps. Hunter, I’ve no beef to pick with Melissa. I don’t agree with the old adage, “If you have nothing good to say don’t say anything”. If this mentality was taken by reviewers we could never trust them and certainly couldn’t learn from them. FD’s bullet points is very basic advice. Any person looking to open a restaurant would do well to heed such advice. If you have a solid business plan, good food and good management you will succeed. If you don’t, there could well be trouble. It is not easy out there (most especially now) but it is a case of survival of the fittest.
Unfortunately, the places that I’d like to write an obituary for are still open.
Snort. Snicker. Giggle.
Janis,
I always have wanted to eat at Tanuki, but now I will definatly go. Very well said.
I’ll miss Anju. The ginger fried rice with a perfectly cooked egg on top and the chili chicken wings were amazing.
I’m going to miss Jr Ambassadors. Smoked salmon cream cheese ice cream was one of the best ice creams I’ve had.
“Anyone who would like to write a full obit for Anju is welcome to do so – that’s what the comments are for. However, I think you should also write a full obit for Jr. Ambassadors, as I’m sure their business is just as important to them as Anju is to the folks working there. As a matter of fact, I’m happy to give you a list of all the restaurants that have closed over the last 365 days, and you can write something for all of them.”
I for one would love to have such a list. Post it, please!