| rev:text
| - The main problem with Imadake is that it will always be compared to Kazu. And while both Kazu and Imadake are Japanese isakayas, they are actually quite different. Kazu is the homey, cozy, authentic older brother, while Imadake is the trendy yet eager kid sis.
Being greeted by a chorus of "Irasshaimase!!!" by the employees immediately reminds you of Kazu, however, being greeted so enthusiastically is cute and kind of works at Kazu because the place is so small, it's almost like walking into someone's home. Imadake however is a much larger space, so that kind of yelling seems... kind of crazy? The staff isn't all Japanese either, which makes it seem inauthentic and a tad contrived.
Okay, I'm obviously moderately fond of Kazu, but I'm going to stop comparing them now. Publicly anyway.
So the evening began when my friend and I both ordered Sapporos. Sapporos that turned out to be so large that we could have filled a small swimming pool with what arrived at our table. Hey, I'm not complaining! There's no such thing as too much beer. Except that time in 1999, but that's another story.
We decided to order a few small dishes because it's always more fun that way. First came the Japanese style fried chicken, which was actually a freebie because the kitchen had made it by mistake. I wouldn't have ordered this on my own because it just doesn't sound that interesting to me, but it was pretty good.
The dishes we actually ordered came after. Grilled beef tongue, pork belly brochette, octopus balls (takoyaki), some kind of whitefish carpaccio, black cod, and jellyfish salad. The tongue was fantastic, as was the jellyfish salad and carpaccio. The takoyaki is the type of dish for me that is died-and-gone-to-heaven upon the first bite, and as you continue, your body slowly begins to tell you that you can take no more. Maybe it's all that mayo sauce or something, but by the end of it I was kind of glad it was over. Am I alone on this?
The biggest disappointment was the pork belly. When I think of pork belly, I think "bursting with juicy flavour" and "layers of sweet heavenly pork fat". What we got was a plate of skimpy, dry and flavourless skewers. Not impressed.
Dessert was green tea cheesecake. I'm not sure why we ordered this, since my companion isn't a cheesecake fan. But who cares. More for me!
So... I lied when I said I was going to stop comparing this place to Kazu. Sort of. What I want to get across is that if Kazu didn't exist, or I had never been, Imadake would be The Spot. It generally has all the qualities I like about a restaurant. Cool, casual vibe, fun small portions, nice space, good food, simple yet creative (at least creative in the sense that we don't have many isakayas in Montreal, so we don't see these types of dishes often), etc. However, Kazu DOES exist, and while only one of Imadake's dishes was a real disappointment, none of Kazu's are.
I'll definitely be back to Imadake... on days where I don't feel like waiting forever for a table at Kazu, or on a day when I want to be able to relax over drinks with a bunch of friends without feeling cramped or rushed. But for any other day, Kazu has my heart.
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