If Pubs had continued in a straight line from Inns as places where you could eat and drink rather than drink and then grab a souvlaki, then we may have ended up with something resembling Japanese izakaya . Working on the simple principle that many small dishes are better than several big dishes and that people enjoy drinking frosty cold beer out of large mugs before trying a couple of tokkuri of sake , they have created a dining experience without equal.
Now I'm getting all rheumy-eyed with nostalgia so you'd best go and read Chika of she who eats excellent capture of it all with a typical place to eat atypical Japanese food .
Traditionalists wishing to recreate the experience at home could start with a couple of neck-ties, chopsticks, and some recipes .
