Food in the Far East

Fall has arrived in Japan.....

Consistent with my last post on Japanese food, and most with times that I'm invited for a meal in Japan, there is no ordering, no consulting a menu, we sit and food arrives.  Small portions, many courses, endless procession of food.  But as I said, the portions are usually pretty small, so you don't really get too full, or OVER full.  But there ends up being a lot of food.  And some is quite interesting....

Uhmmm, yeah.

So that shit was sea snails.  The meat part was kind of OK, or at least not bad.  The brownish poop part at the end, from WAYYYYYY inside the snail tasted like POOP!  But it must have been brains or something cause the poop is probably somewhere near the exit...  

But I digress..  The location of the restaurant is the Prefecture of Niigata, west coast of Japan.  Niigata is known as the producer of the best rice in Japan.  And the best rice makes the best sake, or so I've been told.  Later many bottles were consumed.  But lets start with a little food first, and maybe a beer

You've already seen the appetizer, ha!  The next course was sashimi.  A mix of different fish and a shrimp.

Next was a sort of hot pot.  Everyone had their own individual pot.  Inside was....

The pale-ish grey stuff on top was bacon.  Under the bacon was a mix of veggies and tofu.  It was actually very good.

SAKE PLEASE!!!!   Along with the hot pot the first round of sakes were delivered.  A few I am familiar with, but not many.  

This on is my favorite.  Junmai Daiginjo

And then these too

Next was the fish course, cooked.  I think it was a red snapper, or something similar.  Very good.  A small mound of Daikon Radish accompanies the fish.  You pour a bit of soy sauce on the Daikon and eat alternating with bites of fish.

And then we had these....

This was a cold dish with mainly Lotus Root.  Also very good.

And then we drank this one...

And finally desert.  It was a grapefruit gelatin.  Presented in the rind of the grapefruit.  Perfectly molded and sectioned.  It looked amazing and it tasted great.  A great way to end the meal.  

I think I might have missed a few courses of food, but that happens after the sake rolls out.

I hope you enjoyed.

DVA

Ivan Ramen - Tokyo - Japan

Mmmmmmm Ramen

The inspiration to seek out this shop came from the debut issue of Lucky Peach, the food/cooking/life mag by David Chang and others.  The debut issue was 100% about ramen.  EVERYTHING about ramen, where to eat it, how to make it, what types there are, etc......   And there was an article about this place, Ivan Ramen.  An American (Ivan Orkin) making Ramen in Tokyo.  And really making it, noodles and all.  So, lovin me some Ramen long time, I just had to find this place on my next trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Ivan Ramen is located approximately 5 minutes walking from the Rokakoen Station on the Keio JR Line leaving Shinjuku.  Not too difficult to find, especially with this sign hanging over the doorway.

Here is a poster outside the ship showing Mr. Orkin.  And alas, there was no Ivan present during my visit, which made for an interesting time trying to order, take photos, etc...  So I just went for it in typical DVA fashion.

Ramen crafting workstation

Slurpers

As with most fast food or casual dining establishments in Japan, there is a machine just outside the door where you make your food and drink selections, put money in, and a ticket comes out which you take to the counter and then take a seat.  Soon after you sit your food arrives in front of you.  Often this is much faster than any fastfood restaurant in the US and A.  I'm sorry that I don't have a photo of the machine to show you because it would have made explaining how I selected the wrong Ramen easier.   There are normally about 8 or 10 rows of buttons along the top that have lights in them that eluminate when the selection is made.  And then the rows go down about 20 rows each.  The top rows have a photo and the lower ones do not.  I think that the standard option is on top and the modifiers are below, maybe.  So, I looked across the top and ordered a Tonkotsumen Ramen, and the photo showed a bowl of ramen.  Tonkotsu is pork broth so I thought I was safe.  To me I believed that this must have been a variation on this type.  

No - Wrong

The Ramen I picked was great though.  You eat it like Soba, picking a few strands up, dipping in the broth, slurp into your mouth.  Over and over till you're done.  Egg was perfect, broth was Shio (salt) and was light but nice.  The noodles were handmade and thicker than normal Ramen but had a bite to them, al dente if you will.  All in all  very yummy.  

And then a super nice american couple, from LA or OC, sat down next to me with the Ramen I wanted, or intended to order.  I asked the cook what it was, and he answered with something that I simply could not comprehend.  I shook my head in confusion.   The guy next to me interpreted a bit and then the cook came around from the counter, walked me to the machine, and showed me the selection.  We both smiled and spoke som gibberish and nodded a lot.  Then, I went for it, BAM!  

I never know when, or if, I'll be back in Japan, so I live every trip like it's the last.  

Bowl #2 coming right up.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, it tasted very similar to the other one.  More porky maybe, and you can see the layer of fat (flavor) floating on top.  It was good and I cleaned the bowl. 

Best bowl of Ramen I've had in Japan, no.  Good Ramen, yes.  Fun and exciting finding my way there, eating, meeting people, for sure.

Ivan Ramen, you gotta try it.

DVA

Pizza - Tokyo - Neapolitan -

Yes, I'm back in Japan.  And this time, knowing that there was good pizza, I came armed with a list of places, must try place.  The first one out was Seirinkan in Nakameguro, near Shibuya, sort of.

Here's the dude.  His name I think is Susumu Kakinuma.  I say I think because I don't speak much Japanese and he spoke less English.  We exchanged cards (yes I have Yourpiemymouth cards.  Suck it monkeys!!!!!)  Anyway, he gave me his and we stared at each other till I bowed and walked away, kinda awkward, but that's my life at times.  Back to the place.

Super cool looking industrial, almost gothic oven.  Looks like it could have come from the middle ages or Lord Of The Rings or something, pretty different.  Most places have the plastered dome shaped oven so I thought this kinda set him apart.

Here's his work area, fairly standard setup for Neapolitan pizza.  

Now the pie.  On my first glance I was like "Holy shit that's a lot of oil!!!!"  WTF happened dude?  Did you look away when you were pouring and because it was going to a Gaijin it's OK?  Looked kinda shocking, so I ordered a beer.....

and then I ate.  And actually it didn't taste or feel all that greasy.  If my eyes were closed I don't think I would have guessed there to be more oil than normal.  And, just so that we are clear, it is quite normal, even required, to pour oil on a margherita pizza, this just looked like a lot, but wasn't, and I already said that I know......

the crust was fluffier and lighter than others I've had but still a pretty standard Neapolitan Pizza. 

        

About a 1/4 of the way into the pizza I took a closer look around and WTF did I see???

This!

A photo, actual photo on the wall, just taped up of Adolf Fricken Hitler!  Right in front of where I was sitting.  WOW!  I don't know what it means or what the purpose was, if there was any.  But it felt like the owner had this photo and thought it would be cool to tape it up, and it was, and super duper random.  I think I even laughed out loud.  Crazy shit.  I got a few weird looks so I went back to eating.

And eating, and eating, and my stomach started to hurt.  And then later the next day when I had to dress for my meetings, my pants seemed a little tight, and it hit me, all this damn pizza is really, maybe, possibly, getting to me.  I don't feel all that well, kinda sluggish, and my pants not fitting is a NO-NO!  So you may see a few less pie posts and more of other food here in the near future, just to kind of get a handle on things a little over here.  I even dumped the rest of the pizza places in I had planned to check out.  And there are MILLIONS in Tokyo.  Seems like Neapolitan pizza is the latest big thing.  EVERYONE is a pizza chef.  A little too out of control if you ask me.   And, as the season continues to change maybe it's time for more ramen, etc...  Yes, ramen, I love ramen.  And Soba.  And Udon.  And Pho.  Whoa, I could maybe even rename this blog to 

"Your noodle my mouth"

Whoa!  Me thinks that that might imply something TOTALLY different!  I think we'll just keep it in the pie and dabble around as need be, what do you think?

DVA

Hillcrest Brewery, Take 2! San Diego, USA

Alrighty then!  I think I have a handle on this place a bit more now.

So, as the name states, this is a brewery, and their brew is good.  I like it enough to come here just for that, sans the pie.  As with my last visit they had at least a half dozen of their own beers on tap, and could have been 10 or 12, I wasn't counting obviously, and they were good.  Oh, I already said that.  And I mention the number of beers because some douche on Yelp, and most are douches on Yelp, was bitching that when he/she was at HBC they only had 2 or so of their own beers available.  Every time I've been there, twice now, they have a full offering.  Good stuff.  Seems that Yelpers bitch about stupid shit, or obvious things, just to get the owner or manager to give them freebees.  Or the're just stupid.  As an example, there's a Yelp review on Corepower Yoga, which I enjoy just about every day.  Good stuff.  Anyway, the reviewer took a C-1, beginner class, no heat (might be some residual from the previous class, but not much), and the C-1's have a standard set of poses so that the student can get used to the flow and how CPY does things.  No customizations, basic, beginning.  So the douche is bitching that the C-1 are so boring and he/she has taken them from a number of instructors and they are all the same, no creativity, blah.  IDIOT!!!!!!!!  Know where you are and what you are doing.  Don't take a beginner yoga class and complain that it's easy/boring!  You picked that class!!  Don't go to a pizza place and order a grilled cheese or a burger and expect it to be amazing if their main thing is pizza.  YOU ARE IN A PIZZA PLACE, or wherever.  Know where you are and get whats good, or shut up!

Stupid people.  

Sorry, pisses me off sometimes.

 OK, more about the beer...

 I think this is the Heffe and the red, or something.  Ehh, I'm a pizza guy, not a beer guy, at least not yet.  But this shit was good!!

And remember the name, Hillcrest Brewery.  Naturally there are a few gay men working in the place and a lot of the clientele are gay, etc... and all are welcome of course.  But my point is/was, that the place is fun and lighthearted and so are the beers.  One is named Pearl Necklace and when one orders this you are "tossed" a pearl necklace......

They also have a "Banana Hammock" and "Long and Stout" and "Happy Endings"  to name a few.

This is Jason's chin and arms.  He was our bartender/waiter and a super cool guy.  Made the night fun and easy.

There is another character named Johnnie (not his real name tho, but that's what I call him cause he reminds me of a Johnnie.  And for some reason I want to spell it that way, so I will.  When you name something I think it comes with the power of using your own spelling if you want.  Sounds good to me.  I think his real name is Matt tho, in case you happen to go in).  So Jason was great and the place was great.  Really cool inside.

The location used to be a Chinese restaurant that I had been to many a time.  It was shitty food but it was cheap and good, if that makes sense.  Well, it makes sense to me.  And being Chinese they were open on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so another big plus for when those days suck or you just want something other than the standard fare, Chinese is what works well.  So I'm sorry to see that place go but this is a nice swap.

Beer

Now to the food.  Like I said in the beginning, I think I have this place figured out now.  I'll explain all of the elements first then I'll bring it all home.

First - Wings

REALLY GOOD!

Jason stated that they are cooked in their pizza oven, and only in the pizza oven.  I had a hard time believing this as the meat was just falling off the bone.  It almost had a feel like it was steamed after cooking, like in a chaffing dish.  Like if you cook ribs and at the end wrap them in foil for the last 30/45 mins the meat just steams so that they fall off the bone?  That's how this felt.  Jason swore that they came from the oven, and only the oven, straight to us.  So I believe it, sort of....  Them shits were good tho, YUMMMMM.  Sauce was perfect too, nice and buffalowie.

I had a specialty pizza (clams, pancetta, fresh mozz, etc.) and a pepperoni.

OK, so this is the second specialty pizza I've had here and both looked great, smelled amazing.  The problems, and there are a couple, are:

1:  There was no flavor.  I know, how can that be???  Looks so killer and believe me, smelled amazing!    But honestly I could not taste a clam nor pancetta, nor anything but crust and maybe cheese.  Super disappointing. Like the last time I had a pesto and chicken something.  Bland.

2.  The crust is not the type of crust that gets crispy on the bottom.  Like I explained in my past review, seems like they are using a bread dough and forcing it to be pizza.  Which, if you have minimal toppings it can work.  Too many toppings, it's a floppy mess.  And too many bland toppings, it's just filler at that point.  The specialty pizzas are a pass, big time.

Looks great.

Wish it tasted great

This is the one.  Only pizza I'll ever order there again, just pepperoni.  But it's really that good.  Just look at the huge pepperoni slices, greasy, cheesy, but the right balance of toppings to crust thickness.  They don't overdo it.  Just enough, balance, yummmmmmm!

Could have been so good, if only they had added the flavor

And now, to something that I really love.  And I'm not even sure why, at least not completely sure why.  

Cornmeal

Again, not exactly sure of the appeal.  But when it's under there, bottom of the pie, and I gets its on mys fingers, and it's greasy, it just feels like I'm eating something ancient, from some time long ago where there was a hearth and giant dogs laying on stone floors and a cast iron pot over the wood fire, snow could be falling outside, the house made of wood, pine trees near, a whole forest of them.  It says to me that someone used their hands to make what I'm eating.  It's real food.  No doubt that using cornmeal means more work.  More work to apply, more to clean up, etc...  Maybe that's also why I think it's so great.  It's not the easy way out.  Sure, there are other methods of making sure the pie doesn't stick to the peal, and that is really the whole point of the cornmeal.  Because pizza dough, real dough designed for pizza, is wet, very wet, and very floppy, almost as if it can or could be poured.  So the cornmeal allows you to get the pie off of the peal and into the oven. Other methods are flour, which works but then you have flour flavor on the bottom, and I don't think that's good flavor at all.  There are also metal pans and gratings as well, but there's no flavor enhancing component there either.

So when I see the cornmeal, a little part inside me cracks a smile, cause I know that this will not suck.  The crust may not be the best, the toppings may be too excessive or not enough or even no flavor.  But somewhere, somehow, someone is actually cooking my food.  Me like.

So, in the final analysis, Hillcrest brewery is good, I'll be back, and hopefully soon.

Avoid the specialty pies, not worth the time, or stomach space.  

I want to try a salad next time, they looked really good coming out of the kitchen.

My perfect HCB meal is

Beer!

Wings!

Salad!

Pepperoni pie!

Get it!

Eat it!

Enjoy it!

DVA