Breakfast at Grandmas

I went to Denver this week for a meeting. It is rare that I go there. And in fact, I think I've only been there on business twice in the last 8 years. But, I visited my parents and my wife's grandmother.

My wife's grandmother is a real good cook. She can do just about anything with a cast iron skillet. I had breakfast at her house and was full until dinner.

Dinner Adventures

While I was in Matsuyama, I had a variation of the "boil an egg in a paper cup" trick I learned in Boy Scouts. In this version, the paper was folded nicely with some broth in the bottom. The waitress came by and lit the burner. She told us to put the sliced meat in first and then the vegetables. In a few minutes, we had a nice soup. And, the paper never caught on fire.


Of course, what would dinner be without a fish to look at. Unfortunately, this one was looking back at me.

Bento

I arrived in Tokyo last night and went over to Queen's Isaten, a local super market. The store is located inside the Shinagawa train station and has a great selection of "Bento" lunch boxes.

I wandered around and decided on the one above. It was great.

Sushi in Seattle

Last night, I went to a great sushi place in Bellevue, WA. I Love Sushi is a very authentic sushi restaurant. We tried oysters (see above) and a variety of sashimi.

I like most kinds of raw fish, but I draw the line at fish eggs and sea urchin. The funny thing is that sea urchin is a very expensive sushi, so there is always someone who is willing to eat mine.

Prime Italian Steakhouse

We arrived in Lenox and only had a short time before we needed to be at Tanglewood. I hadn't done any research on places to eat, so we decided to ask at the hotel. My wife found a listing of several places in the lobby and picked one out. The person at the front desk said that they send a lot of people there.

Prime Italian Restaurant is located in historic Lenox and is only a few miles away from Tanglewood. The atmosphere inside seemed more like a place you would find in a major city instead of western Mass. But, our waitress was friendly and helpful. And the food was excellent. I had pasta that was perfectly cooked with a fantastic sauce.

Tai Meshi in Tamachi

Last night, I went to dinner with some people from work. We went to a place that gets fish flown in from Matsuyama every day. The sashimi was quite good.

But, the highlight of the evening was a dish called Tai Meshi. The dish is pieces of Tai (sea bream) placed over uncooked rice and steamed with seasonings. This is the pot they used to steam the rice.


And, here is a picture when the rice was done. The rice had a nice mild flavor and the fish was perfectly cooked. It was the first time I've had this dish. And it was a winner.

Birthday Dinner at Durgin-Park

We made our annual trek into Boston to celebrate our daughter's birthday.

She went back and forth on where to go to eat. At first, she thought she wanted to go to Faneuil Hall. Then, she mentioned going to the North End for Italian food.

But, in the end, she decided to stick with tradition and go to Durgin-Park. She got her lobster, and I got to help her finish it.

Singapore Chicken

While in Japan last week, I had Singapore Chicken for the first time. The restaurant was located down the street from the Azabu-Juban Subway station.

My college buddy picked out the place. He has been to Singapore before and thought this place does a good Singapore Chicken. When we sat down, we noticed the helpful place mat with instructions.


A) With a spoon, dab some sauce on top of steamed chicken - you could sauce it individually or mix all sauces together.

B) Using a spoon like a knife, cut the steamed chicken into desired portion.

C) Using a fork, shove the cut chicken and fragant rice together onto a spoon.

D) In one shot, EAT! Just focus on myriad of bursting flavors.

E) Have a sip of chicken soup to cleanse your palate.

F) Ahh!! Give yourself a root canal. (OK it doesn't really say that. But, it sure looks like a root canal)

F) Ahh!! The perfect balance of juicy chicken and heavenly flavors of fragrant rice, complimented by complexity of the sauces. Yum!!

Moyashi-kun (Mr. Bean Sprouts)

I tried a new dish in Matsuyama. It is called Moyashi-kun or Mr. Bean Sprouts. It was cooked at our table in a pot on a portable burner.

They put a miso based broth in the pot, added thinly sliced meat, and placed a huge mountain of bean sprouts on the top.

As we talked and ate other dishes, the bean sprouts cooked down. It was very tasty.

North Beach Pizza

I found a great place for pizza in San Francisco. North Beach Pizza is on the corner of Union and Grant in the middle of North Beach. Even though it was hot outside, I ventured in and tried the pizza.

I picked out a personal sized pie and loaded it up with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms. The crust was crusty with just the right amount of chewiness. It was fantastic.

Try the fish

I'm waiting in Narita airport for my flight to go back to Boston and thought I post something.

Last night, I joined some colleagues and went to a traditional Japanese restaurant in Tamachi. After we sat down, the waitress came by with a cart of fish. I have seen fish in a tank that you pick out. But, it was a first to have the selection come to the table.

I always just let others order for me at these places. They picked some great things including the sashimi (see below) that was served at the beginning of the meal.

Tonkatsu

I met up with my college buddy last night. We decided to have dinner at a small tonkatsu restaurant near his office in Nishi Azabu. I am always amazed at the number of restaurants in this city. It seems like there are interesting places around every corner.

We were seated in an upstairs area that had 3 or 4 tables. The service was quite good and the tonkatsu was very tender.

Vending machine breakfast

During my trip, I discovered a place where you could get "lunch/dinner" type items for breakfast. The only catch is that you have to use those vending machines.

These always make me nervous, even though I can read some Japanese. I'm afraid someone will come in after me and will stand patiently as I struggle to find the right button.

This day, I found something I wanted and a red arrow to the correct button. I put in my 460 yen, got my ticket, grabbed a table, and ate.

Pass the fish?

I went to Matsuyama this week. When I arrived, I met up with some people for dinner at a local restaurant.

Things started off fine with lots of small dishes with vegetables or raw fish (like the silvery stuff above). I'm a fan of sushi and even like raw fish by itself.

But I wasn't prepared for the fish bowl.

The waitress brought out a bowl that had fish, fresh fish, so fresh they were swimming. Yes, you read that right, they were swimming.



Each of us were given a small bowl with a vinegar based sauce. We were supposed to scoop up some fishies and put them in our bowl. They "drink" up the sauce, and then you eat them.

I was willing to try one. Here is a picture of my fish - sorry it is blurry. My hands were not very steady at this point of the evening.


I picked up the little guy and downed him in a gulp.

By the time they brought out the seashell filled with mystery meat, I didn't blink an eye.

Gyoza Part 2

I met up with my old college buddy last night in Roppongi Hills, a high end shopping area in Tokyo. We drove over to an area called Omotesando and found a small gyoza place.

The restaurant only serves gyoza with a couple of vegetable side dishes. We picked out some garlic and leek gyoza and tried them boiled and fried. Both were tasty, but I think I prefer the fried ones.

After two nights in a row of downing gyoza, I think I'm ready to move on to another food group.

Gyoza Part 1

After work, I went with a couple of guys to Osaka Ohsho. I am a real gyoza fan and can't resist an opportunity to chow down on these dumplings whenever I can.

I have plans to meet my college roommate tomorrow night for dinner, and I think we'll be going to a different gyoza place. So, I considered tonight my warm-up.

Hobee's Breakfast

I was in San Francisco Monday and Tuesday for some meetings.

Yesterday, I got a chance to go to Hobee's for breakfast. It is a popular place in the Bay Area and after eating there, I can see why. The food was amazing.

I decided to get Huevos Rancheros which, as you can imagine, is not frequently on the menu in New England. The dish is a made by putting black beans, cheese, eggs, sour cream, and chorizo in a tortilla. After I finished, I was full until dinner-time.

BBQ in Nashville

We are visiting my brother in Nashville for the Thanksgiving holiday.

When everyone arrived, we took a quick drive into Nashville to get some ribs. As we walked down the street, I passed this great store with cowboy boots and had to take a picture of the blue boot.

We made our way to Jacks Barb-B-Que, a local rib place in downtown Nashville.


My brothers, cousin, and I talked each other into ordering a rack of ribs each.

None of us finished our plates...

Misc Japanese Food

I got back from Tokyo on Saturday and am only now starting to get over the jet lag. During the week, I had some great meals with people from work. The picture above is some sashimi (raw fish) at a dinner. It tasted quite good, but I wasn't interested in the raw scallops.

At a different dinner, we sat cross legged on tatami mats in an enclosed room. By the end of the dinner, by legs were feeling a little numb. I'm not as flexible as I used to be. The seafood pot was cooked at the table - kind of like a Japanese "fondue".


And finally, some friends took me to a great ramen place. We tried to get there before there was a line, but by 11:30am, the line stretched out of the door.

They put a spoonful of hot sauce in the bottom of the bowl before they fill it. The combination of spicy and ramen noodles was great.

The "Formal Dinner"

Tuesday night, I joined several colleagues for a formal dinner at Tofuya Ukai, a great restaurant located near Tokyo Tower. The picture above is the entrance and the one below is just inside the restaurant.


This was the kind of dinner where you are seated on opposite sides of a long rectangular table. The seating arrangement is quite important. The most senior (important) people are seated across from each other at the center point. And, there is always some quiet discussion about where to seat everyone else.

The food was exquisite. Each of the eight courses was created with both taste and visual interest in mind.

Eight courses and three hours later, I was definitely ready for a good night's sleep. Here is the menu and a couple of pictures:

• Boiled tender abalone & eggplant

• Deep fried Tofu with sweet miso sauce & egg custard

• Assorted sashimi

• Boiled crown daisy dressed with walnut sauce, Fried chestnuts,

dishes dressed with mushroom & grilled barracuda sushi

• Bean soup with Tofu

• Shiba braised pork belly

• Rice cooked with mushroom

• Wine-simmered pear