I'm a so-called "side dish eater" and I don't eat staple grains at meals. I eat little and I always have dessert after meals (and it's quite substantial), so I want to limit carbohydrates until then. I eat rice once a week, and I eat a thick roll with plenty of ingredients for lunch. I only eat curry with the roux. My least favorite food is noodles. Just looking at them makes me full, so I rarely eat them. When I go out to an Italian restaurant with a few friends, I only have a little. Personally, I like carbonara and pasta sauce, so I buy them in a retort pouch and try just eating the sauce, but it's too rich and I can't enjoy it. Among them, bread is still better, and when I have to eat lunch at university, donuts and other compact breads that are high in calories and aren't dry are a godsend. I don't like dry bread, so I wish red bean paste bread only had the red bean paste inside. The exception is French bread such as baguettes, which I rarely eat when I go out to a French restaurant, but sometimes, when I have too much food or wine left in my mouth, washing it down with water makes me feel full, so I feel like biting into a baguette. Sometimes I eat it as is, and sometimes I want to put a lot of butter on it, depending on the occasion.

Even though I am a writer, there is one type of bread that I sometimes just can't help but crave: croissants.

However, it's not like any croissant will do. It has to be one that uses an abundance of butter. The outside is well-baked, but when you hold it, butter gets on your hands. Furthermore, when you bite into it, the inside has to feel sticky, and the butter oozes out, so that the area around your mouth is shiny. So, every time I see mini croissants at a hotel breakfast buffet that skimp on the butter, I think I'll just have it as a side dish and not have bread, but I always end up taking one, regretting it after one bite, and then I bring the butter from my school lunch and eat it with all the butter, but the margarine imitation makes it even more strange.

For me, the standard of what a croissant should be was first established when I went to Paris alone for my first overseas study trip in 1994. It was a croissant from Lenôtre, which was available in the food specialty floor (similar to the basement food floor in Japan) of the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette Gourmet. At the time, Lenôtre had a partnership with Seibu Department Store in Japan, and every Seibu department store had a Lenôtre store attached. Lenôtre was a brand started by pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre ( 1920-2009 ), who had a tremendous influence on the French culinary world, including founding the first professional cooking school in France ( 1971 ). There was also a time when he ran a star-ranked restaurant called Le Pavillon Elysées on the Champs-Élysées, with his nephew Patrick as the chef. So I already knew about "Lenotre" and I mainly ate cakes in Japan, but the croissants at "Lenotre" in "Lafayette Gourmet" were spectacular. They are baked at a set time, and when that time comes, they are put on the table in a huge pile. As if they have been waiting for this, customers gather around and buy a lot of them to take home. They are gone in an instant, so I went out to buy one or two croissants as if I was getting a handful. At that time, I rented a register on Ponthieu Street, one block behind the Champs-Élysées, so I walked there as a stroll. It is certainly quite high-class, but not pretentious, and I think it is a bread that is just a little luxury for everyday life.

Shortly after the 21st century, Nagoya's Blancpain croissants were featured on the TV show Docchi no Ryori Show, billed as "Japan's most delicious croissants." I really wanted to try them, so I had an old student of mine who worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya at the time, so I went on a pilgrimage to Nagoya with some friends, and we went to Blancpain near Nagoya University, away from the downtown area, in a Lamborghini driven by my student, to eat croissants. The croissants made by the French owner were not bad, but they were not "Japan's best," so I was disappointed. I remember that we couldn't wait to take them home, so we all ate them in a nearby park. The prepared foods and prepared breads I bought for drinking wine at the hotel that night were more French and delicious.

The most croissant I have ever eaten in my life was in 2005, when I was hospitalized for two months for a respiratory disease that was on the brink of death. The first time I was hospitalized, my condition was so severe that I was not allowed to have visitors, and I panicked mentally, and my weight dropped to the 30kg range. I was hospitalized in a private room for a long time, but it worked out well for me, and the hospital was flexible with the food. I was thought to be a very picky eater, but I ate the side dishes without complaining, so when I said I didn't want rice, they told me to just eat carbohydrates, whatever they wanted. Since I have a respiratory disease, there are no restrictions on my food, and the doctors just want me to gain weight by getting nutrients. Also, the hospital said that I should eat noodles for lunch, and when I said I didn't want that either, they made the side dishes and served them to me. So I asked my family to buy me some croissants. Of course, I ate croissants three times a day, so I ate the mass-produced ones that came in a bag of several croissants from the supermarket. With plenty of tube-shaped butter and chocolate cream, I managed to survive. I owe it all to the croissants.

Since then, I occasionally try croissants from famous shops, but they are generally no good. They have an unnecessary taste. They often taste sweet, probably because they contain sugar. I wonder if it's the image of a sweet bread. The other day, I heard that a croissant shop famous in France has reopened in Minami-Aoyama, so I tried it, but it was similar to a sweet bread, and although it had a good aroma, it didn't have an oily buttery taste and was disappointing because it had a clear, condescending taste. Meanwhile, the best croissant I have eaten recently was the croissant from Alps Bakery, which was served at breakfast at Matsumoto Jujo, where I stayed last September when I went to Asama Onsen. It was apparently freshly baked at a bakery on the second floor of the neighboring Koyanagi, but my hands were sticky when I held it, the butter oozed out in large quantities, and my mouth was oily, so it was difficult to eat it properly, but this is the real pleasure of eating a croissant. It had been a while since I had a delicious croissant. However, the breakfast at Shinshu Gastronomy was a full-course meal with the menu on the table. By the time I got to the croissant, I, a small eater, was on the verge of giving up. I had never felt so strongly that the breakfast in Paris was "continental" (fresh juice, assorted bread, and drink only).

This month's recommended wine: "Montepulciano, the affordable classic Italian red wine"

"Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Le Morgez 2020 DOC Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Terre d'Abruzzo" 1,900 yen (excluding tax)

 For us, Italian food is more familiar and suitable for everyday use than French food, making it a rare Western food. Of course, eating at a high-class restaurant is nice, but satisfying your hunger at a pizzeria or dining with friends at a lively trattoria is also a happy time. When it comes to affordable and delicious Italian red wines that are indispensable for such casual meals, "Chianti" and "Montepulciano d'Abruzzo" are the two best. If you want to enjoy the sharp acidity and tight tannins, think of "Chianti", and if you want to enjoy a straight, rich fruitiness, think of "Montepulciano d'Abruzzo". "Montepulciano d'Abruzzo" is a wine made from Montepulciano grapes in the Abruzzo region, located exactly in the center of the boot of the Italian peninsula. Unlike other regions, Abruzzo is dominated by two types of wine: red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and white Trebbiano d'Abruzzo. There are almost no other wines. However, Abruzzo is unique in that "Montepulciano d'Abruzzo" is one of the most representative red wines in Italy.

And just as there is a wide range of grades of Chianti, from convenience store wines that cost less than 1,000 yen to high-end vintage wines, there are also a few famous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wines, such as Emidio Pepe, that are made for long-term aging and cost tens of thousands of yen. However, most are affordable and for early consumption. They have a deep ruby ​​color, berry aromas, and a rich fruitiness, but no peculiar taste, making them easy to drink without a lingering aftertaste, with a lingering herbal aftertaste that is a bit like licorice. If you serve it at a slightly lower temperature, it goes well with food, and you may find yourself drinking too much.

This time we will introduce "Terre d'Abruzzo", a new cantina (winery) established in 1999. It is a modern winery with strict quality control and a policy of providing high quality, yet affordable wines. This is a perfect bottle for any situation when you want a little Italian food. Please give it a try.

For inquiries about the wines featured,
To AVICO Co., Ltd.

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