Cafe Takatori: It's considered to be comfort food for the Japanese

Area:  about a 5min walk northeast of Nagoya station
Restaurant:  Cafe Takatori カフェ　タカトリ
Map and Info:  http://nagoya.xtone.jp/archives/cafe-takatori.html

Hours:  7:30am-6pm


I try not to visit and post about the kissatens, or Japanese-style coffee houses (usually older establishments) because they are often filled with chain-smoking businessmen which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the main reason is because they all serve up the same food, with a standard flavor.  The menu almost always includes curry rice, kara-age, hamburger patties, pork katsu, mix sandwiches, omelette rice, etc.  However, upon searching for a place to enjoy my next lunch on the internet, I came across Cafe Takatori.  It was described as a modern decor, but old-fashioned taste kissaten.  It did have an old-fashioned flare with the 40's or 50's piano music running in the background.  Apparently it's been around for quite sometime, and they are known for their Italian Spaghetti dish (750円, includes a salad).

I'm still intrigued by what makes this Japanese take on Italian pasta so popular.  I tried it at another cafe, but wasn't too impressed, so I ventured here to get a taste of perhaps the “real thing”. Napolitan is usually what it's called.  This one, served on a hot plate with egg poured around the noodles, was not any different than other Napolitans I've tried.  Perhaps I've figured out why the Japanese love it so much.  The plain ketchup flavoring avoids all the herbs in Italian cooking that are never used in Japanese dishes.  In addition, the noodles are soft and actually reminiscent of yaki soba. Like yaki soba, they even had delicious burnt parts where the noodles have sat on the grill for a bit.  So while it's called Italian, I would call it ketchup flavored yaki soba.  When I think of it this way, it tastes better in my mind.  The butter used to oil the hot plate is a nice touch to the egg and ketchup combo.  

Coffee is 380円, but if ordered after a meal, it's 80円 cheaper.  And since it was ‘oyatsu’ time (snack time), it came with a light-as-air mini cake and Japanese rice crackers (arare).