Free domestic shipping on orders over ¥10,000

Gourmet News, No. 37: Lunchtime Treat "Eel" -- A Luxurious Time to Eat Quickly --

This Gourmet Newsletter is now in its fourth year. We would like to ask Mr. Shimada of The Cloakroom , the editor-in-chief, and all our readers for their continued patronage.

Well, just like last year, at the beginning of December I went to meet Ms. M, my senior from graduate school, who lives in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture. Last year we had lunch at "Restaurant Querrey" in Nasu, but this year, at Ms. M's request, we ate eel at "Chojiya" in Ashino Town. It's just under an hour's drive from Otawara, and now it's part of Nasu Town, but the Nasu Highlands, famous for their villas in the same town, are on the other side of the Shinkansen line, and "Chojiya" is located along the old Ou Highway, which is in the same mountains but has a more rustic feel. When Ms. M was a child, her father was the director of the notary public office directly opposite "Chojiya" and she lived in company housing behind the office. It's now a vacant lot and a free town-run parking lot. We parked the car there and headed to "Chojiya". It's a famous restaurant that requires reservations on weekends.

The menu only included eel rice, kabayaki, and shirayaki, and there were almost no snacks to go with the sake, which was very simple. The author chose a simple choice of one cup of cold sake of unknown brand, kabayaki, and hiyayakko. The kabayaki was lightly steamed and firm, making it a satisfying meal.

Still, it's surprising to find an eel restaurant in the middle of the mountains. Apparently it originally operated as an inn with over 300 years of history dating back to the Edo period, and the eels are said to be because the Nara River is nearby. Speaking of which, the eels in the Shimanto River in Kochi are famous. The Kanto region also has many rivers, including the Bando Taro and Tone Rivers, so eels are a local specialty all over. In Saitama, Urawa and Kawagoe. In Chiba, Narita and Sawara, for example. In Narita, eel restaurants line the approach to Shinshoji Temple, with famous restaurants such as Kawatoyo and Surugaya.

Sawara is on the banks of the Tone River, so it's customary to eat eel after a stroll through the old streets around the former residence of Ino Tadataka. In addition to day trips, I have stayed at "Nipponia," a renovated old house, several times, and had French dinner at the attached restaurant, but the next day I also had eel for lunch. "Yamada" seems to be famous, but my recommendation is "Asouya Honten," which is located right on the banks of the Tone River, and is a little far from the townscape. It's a factory-like building with no charm, but you can eat eel in a tatami room on the first floor. It's relatively quiet because it's away from the tourist spots, and in addition to kabayaki and shirayaki, they also serve "shioyaki," which is delicious. It looks similar to shirayaki, but this is a rather rustic dish in which the eel is simply salt-grilled. Since it's not steamed, the eel is covered in oil and is quite satisfying to eat.

When I think back, when I was a child, eel was a delicacy. More than half a century ago, from kindergarten to the fourth grade of elementary school, I lived in Kami-Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. At that time, when I went out to eat with my family, we went to Sushikin, which was right next to the bank where my father worked, or to Obikawa, an eel restaurant a short walk away by the lake. At Sushikin, the children ate rolls, shrimp, conger eel, and eggs at best, but my favorite was mantis shrimp, the original form of which I had never heard of. It was cooked like shrimp and had a sweet sauce like conger eel. In comparison, at Obikawa, both adults and children ate the same eel rice bowl in a tatami room on the second floor, so even as a child, I felt more like I was being taken to Obikawa, which made me happy. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Suwa for the first time in about 40 years. It had been a visit there since I had gone there once with my father when I was in junior high school. Both "Sushikin" and "Obikawa" are still going strong. "Obikawa" has the same appearance as it did in the past, and at the end of the trip, I had eel for lunch and went home. It was well-grilled and had a strong flavor, and I was moved to think that this was the kind of eel I ate as a child.

I moved from Suwa to Kobe, but I don't remember eating eel there. I did try pressed sushi with conger eel and conger eel, though. The pressed conger eel sushi that my father brought back as a souvenir from somewhere was delicious. When I went out to eat in Kobe, I mostly ate steak. One place that left an impression was Ikariya, where my father took me when he had guests over, saying that it was delicious when he went there with a big shot from Kaminomoto. It was the first time I had eaten bite-sized pieces of meat with ponzu sauce, instead of steak sauce, and I remember being surprised at how delicious it was, even as a child. This restaurant seems to still be going strong, and I was impressed that it is a long-established restaurant. The only time I went out to eat Japanese food was for udon suki. I was taken to Mimiu in the Port Tower, which was delicious, so I requested it, but it was expensive, so I didn't go to Mimiu very often, and I often went to another restaurant near Shin-Kobe Station, the name of which I forgot.

As expected, Kanto-style eel and sushi would have been better. However, thinking back, both my late parents were born in Shizuoka City, but they had never eaten eel in Shizuoka. Well, Hamamatsu is famous for eel, and even though Shizuoka and Hamamatsu are in the same Shizuoka Prefecture, historically they were in different feudal domains and cultural spheres. Suruga Bay is rich in seafood, and when I was a child, my maternal grandmother was a good cook, and a traveling merchant lady came to our house every day, and my grandmother would choose and cook for her, and we also made our own sushi at home, so there was no need for eel. Since we had Japanese food at night, my lunch with my maternal grandfather as a child was mostly Western food at "Grill Nakajimaya".

Since my parents passed away and I never lived in Shizuoka, I feel a certain nostalgia and visit my parents' house a few times a year. In my case, we eat French food in the evening, so when I wondered what to eat for lunch, I thought how about eel, and after some searching, I found a wonderful restaurant.

Located in Shimizu, which is now part of Shizuoka City, along the old Tokaido road, heading towards Shizuoka from the main store of my favorite "Oiwake Yokan" also along the road, is a long-established Japanese restaurant called "Yoshikawa". The restaurant is said to have been visited by Jirocho of Shimizu and Takamori Saigo, and they are famous for their eel, but they also have a variety of other dishes. What's great about it is that the eel you eat in a private Japanese-style room while looking out at the lovely courtyard is elegant and refined. And the price is the same as a regular eel restaurant. Nowadays, the going rate in Tochigi and Sawara is just under 5,000 yen, so honestly, it's cheap for the same price in that space.

Normally, eel takes a while to cook, but once the food is served, you gobble down the whole box. At Chojiya, the customers in the other room also left within 30 minutes of the box being served. I sipped on sake with the kabayaki as a side dish, but it took about an hour for the people eating the box to finish, including the time it took to cook it. It's a different story if you're eating an eel course at Chikuyotei or Nodaiwa, but it's not a dish that will keep you warm for hours at dinner. When you want to spend a little trip or a luxurious weekend afternoon, eel is the perfect treat. I always look forward to when and where I'll eat eel next.

This month's recommended wine "Celebrate the new year -- toast with champagne --"

"Chloe AC Champagne Domaine Vincent Couche" 12,000 yen (excluding tax)

 "Gourmet News" is now in its fourth year. For the past three years, the "Recommended Wine of the Month" column has been systematically outlining French and Italian wines, comparing and inferring between them. We believe that we have now covered most of the major wines from both countries.

So this year, I would like to introduce the wines I would like to try in rotation, limited to three groups: Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Italy.

I became a fan of French cuisine almost half a century ago, as soon as I entered university, but my love for wine came about about ten years later, when I went to Paris for overseas research in the mid-1990s and began to specialize in Bordeaux wine. The results of this are currently being introduced on Facebook in the form of "Etiquette Speaks."

Over the past ten years, as I have gotten older and met Chef Nakata of Chanterelle in Motoyoyogicho, my interest has shifted to Burgundy wine. I have also become friendly with President Akake of Abiko, an importer specializing in Italian wines, who cooperates with this column, and have had many valuable experiences with Italian wine.

So this year, I would like to follow my heart and introduce some truly "recommended" wines.

Having said that, I'm sorry to be an exception from the start, but for the first episode, we're not going to feature Burgundy, but Champagne instead. As you know, the grapes grown in the Champagne region, located north of Burgundy, overlap with those grown in Burgundy, and as such, the region could not compete with Burgundy, so the monk Dom Pérignon invented Champagne.

I think Champagne is the best when it comes to sparkling wine. The only thing comparable to it is Franciacorta from Italy, which uses the same grape variety. Or maybe there's a Cremant from Burgundy or Alsace that could do something about it.

Champagne is a perfect choice for the start of the new year. The one I chose this time is Chloe from Vincent Couche, a famous producer of natural champagne whose domaine is located in Buxeuil, in the Côte des Bar region near Burgundy, at the southernmost tip of AC Champagne.

The varietal composition is 66 % Pinot Noir and 34 % Chardonnay. As it is located in the southern part of Champagne, Pinot Noir is the main variety. However, Couche also owns vineyards suitable for Chardonnay and produces Blanc de Blancs. "Chloe" is a confident work by a master of natural champagne with no added sulfites, which is a well-balanced blend of Montgueux Chardonnay.

So, I hope this year will be a great one. I wish all my readers good health and success. Cheers!

Biography
Osamu Seki Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions.
He specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory, and is a director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
Seki Osamu FACE BOOK
Seki Osamu Official Website

Cart

All available stock is in the cart

Your cart is currently empty.