I think it would be a crime not to spread the good word about Chef Gordon Naccarato's takoyaki, one of the Japanese street foods on Pacific Grill's Noodle Bar menu. These balls are chunks of heaven and they're currently my favorite dish in the South Sound area. Given the fact the takoyaki ("tako" means octopus and "yaki" means grilled) are perfectly round crispy little balls of goodness, it's easy to assume they're fried (like fritters or beignets) octopus balls. Not so fast, tentacle breath. The reality is that these popular Japanese street snacks are griddled, using a custom cast-iron pan with indentations that allows the Pacific Grill chefs to crank out sets of ping pong-ball-size savory bites. They're much airier than you might expect.

"The batter is essentially a fritter or dumpling batter, to which we add sparkling water to make the batter light - like a beer batter does to onion rings," explains Naccarato.

Also, Pacific Grill substitutes shrimp for octopus. Wet, dry, crackle, puff - four textures collapse on my tongue and a tender shrimp emerges as a fifth. Beside the shrimp, Pacific grill's takoyaki includes bonito, scallion, ginger syrup and sweet takoyaki sauce. Each flavor bursts wide open in unison. 

[1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3535]