Brown Basket: you'll need more than a basket if you want to try it all

Area:  One block north of Marunouchi station, Exit 8 丸の内駅
Shop:  Brown Basket ブラウンバスケット
Website:   http://brownbasket.net/
Map: http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230102/23032391/

Hours:  7:30am-7:30pm (3pm on Sat), Closed Sundays and Holidays



I've found a nice quiet place to be able to sit and enjoy a take-out lunch during my break, so I've been trying some take-out only places lately.  This time, it was a sandwich specialty shop.  Each half sized sandwich is anywhere from 170 yen to about 240 yen.  There are different types of bread such as brown bread (which I think is black sugar), sesame, plain white, etc.  it seems they make their bread in-store.  It's a great that they sell by the half size; it allows you to try a variety.

I tried the chicken and tomato sandwich (200 yen).  The chicken breast meat was not cooked with a lot of seasoning so the natural taste of chicken was the highlight.  The tomato was a first for me; I'm not sure how it was made but it seems the juices were taken out, and only the meat of the tomato was mashed into a fine purée.  The acidity that a tomato usually has was not there, and it had a mild sweetness to it.  The texture was mysteriously something like mashed potatoes.  Because of the mildness, it went well with the slight sweetness of the bread and the chicken's natural taste.  

The spinach sandwich (170 yen) had a ball of boiled spinach seasoned in a Japanese style (probably dashi was included).  There were tiny pieces of ume mixed into it, but was not sour or overpowering.  Sesame is often included in spinach ohidashi, so the sesame bread went well as the base for this sandwich.  

I don't know why they shape the fillings into a ball and then stuff their sandwiches leaving the outer edges just two layers of bread; perhaps it makes the sandwich look bigger, but it's also kind of difficult to eat when you bite into the filling and it oozes out because biting into it squishes it.  On the bright side, this does allow just the bread alone to be enjoyed in the last bites.  

I'm not used to seeing dessert sandwiches, sweet cream fillings between regular bread, but in Japan it seems to be normal.  I tried the maple sandwich (190 yen) which was whipped cream topped with shavings of white chocolate and I think the bread was drizzled with a few drops of maple syrup (the flavor of maple was barely evident).  I must say that this type of sandwich dessert is nice if you want something that is not too sweet.  The bread and pinch of salt added to the dough compliments the sweetness of the cream.  I can understand why this is a staple in convenience and grocery stores. 

I normally like my sandwiches with toasted bread, or with bread that's not so flimsy and holds up better, but the reason I'd come back here is for the huge variety of standard and non-standard flavors to choose from.  

Vintae: Tapas...so many choices....so hard to decide

Area:  Crosscourt Tower Chikamachi クロスコートタワ　チカマチ　B1 (about 200m east of Nagoya Station)

Restaurant:  Vintae ビンタエ　スペインバル

Map and Info:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23046033/dtlmap/

Website:  http://chikamachi.com/floorguide/vintae/

Hours:  11am-12pm

This restaurant is open after regular lunch hours so it's perfect for my late lunch breaks.  It's a Spanish Tapas bar, so their menu is extensive with many different small plates to choose from; cheese, cured meats, salads, grilled meats and seafoods, oven baked dishes, fried stuff, etc.  They automatically bring bread (all you can eat) for 300 yen, but you can decline it if you don't want it. 

I tried the Flamenka egg, which was a half cooked egg in a tomato-based simmer with peas, white asparagus, bits of chorizo and cured ham.  The chorizo was not spicey but had a nice jerky like texture and meaty flavour.  The sauce was mild, but that balanced the saltiness of the cured meats and also picked up the meaty flavors.

The mushroom gratin pinchos (200 yen) was nice, the creamy garlickey grilled mayonnaise topping went well with the shimeji and shiitake.  Almost like garlic mayo grilled sushi from kaiten zushi restaurants.  A bit salty though.

I was contemplating whether or not to order the carrot salad but I'm glad I did!.  The carrot salad (400yen) had volume, was drunken with a mild wine vinegar.  The sweetness of carrot and raisins was perfect and light.  I asked the cook what was in it and he gave me the secret; red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, a touch of mayo, and finely chopped rosemary.

The duck and foie gras bread was as good as I expected it to be.  The foie gras, perfectly grilled with a nice char,  went well with the nicely reduced balsamic glaze which had a good balance of sweet and only slight sourness to it.  The tomato sauce stewed veggies (zucchini, red peppers, onion, eggplant) was, although simple, not too salty and the mild garlic flavor added a nice touch.

The open concept of this basement “street” of restaurants makes it a nice place to sit a people watch, just as if sitting at a restaurant in Europe.

Tiger Cafe: Bonjour! Bonjour!

Area:  about 300m northeast of Fushimi station 伏見
Restaurant:  Tiger cafe タイガーカフェ
Website and Info:  http://tiger-cafe-fushimi.com/map_coupon/

Hours:  Mon.-Sat 11am-3am, Sun 11am-11pm, closed Thursdays

I've been to the Tiger cafe near Nagoya Station, but it seems like this one is a totally different shop. The menu, for one, is different, with hors d'oeuvres, sandwiches, salads, steak frites, etc.  After a quick internet search, it seems like it is the same chain, but all the Tiger Cafe's in Nagoya have different items on their menu.  This one in Fushimi prides itself on its authentic French cuisine.  Even though it's not exclusively French, and the music was Latino, it did have a European feel to it, like a brasserie.  Lunch ends at 2pm, but they still serve an omuraisu and a doria lunch after these hours.  There is also the option of ordering from the regular menu as well.

I had the smoked salmon sandwich (700円).  It's apparently house smoked, and comes on a choice of ciabatta or focaccia.  The waiter recommended the focaccia, so that's how I had it.  It normally comes with potato chips, but I asked for a salad substitution.  They had no problems with this!  The salad was just romaine lettuce dressed with a mild oil and vinegar.  The same salad was in the sandwich along with tomato wedges and sour cream.  I'm just guessing but there was tomato mixed into the bread dough giving it the red hue.  Rosemary and bits of black olives made it an authentic focaccia.  The crunch of the sea salt sprinkled on top was a nice addition.  It wasn't as oily as some focaccia can be, but inside was moist and had a nice balance of all those flavours together.  I usually like my sandwich bread toasted, but in this case I think it worked better as is.  The salmon was nice with a good level of salt curing and smokiness.

I came back to try the pate after a the disappointment of ordering so-called pate from a Miami Patio.  This is a French restaurant so I was expecting the pate here to be authentic.  The menu lists it as a charcuterie plate (¥950), although it only comes with one type of pate (I always thought charcuterie plates usually came with a variety of cured meats).  Volume wise it was larger than I thought it would be, so I was a little skeptical.  But when I cut into it, I could feel that it was indeed soft enough to be a spread (unlike Miami Patio's chunk).  The flavor of liver was also prominent.  It had a texture like soft cheese; but there was crunch from the cartilage of the meat.  The salt level was well controlled.  The accompanying pickles were house-made I believe, and not only included the cornichons, but there was also carrot, red and yellow peppers, cauliflower, pearl onion, and burdock root were also pickled. They had a mild vinegar accent, so the flavor of the vegetable could also be enjoyed.  

The accompanying bread, white French baguette had a nice crispy crust and was still soft in the middle and went well with a spread of pate.  The purple colored bread was a moist and soft walnut and caraway seed bread.  A nice texture, but the flavor of pate takes over so it's best eaten alone.  

Vege Pancake House: should stick to just pancakes

Area:  a 5 min. walk southeast of Fushimi Station, Exit 4 伏見駅
Restaurant:  Vege  ベジ
Website and Map:  http://www.vege-byvoivoi.com/4-1.html

Hours:  Mon-Fri 11am-10pm (LO 9pm),  Weekends & Holidays 10am-9pm (LO 8pm)

This pancake house is more adult than pancake Days at Passé which looks like it's a good place to take a small child.  Vege's white decor, wooden tables, and well-lit space, along with the instrumental music , makes this cafe a nice place to meet and catch up with your girlfriends.

There are two types of pancakes the regular classic milk pancake and then there's the rye, which is supposedly more chewy in texture.  There are a variety of savory pancakes to choose from such as teriyaki chicken (contrary to the name, they do serve meat), 4 cheese sauce, hamburger patty, chili, but the only one that came with rye was the salmon and avocado plate (1050 yen).

 The salad was nicely dressed with an non-vinegary, bacon flavored oil.  The pancake came warm and smelled buttery.  It was in fact mochi mochi ( the word used to describe a sticky soft and slightly chewy texture).  Just cutting into it with a knife, you can immediately feel this.  It has a nice rye flavour, but the accompanying wasabi mayo masks this. It's actually quite hot, despite being mixed with mayonnaise.  The combo of this sauce with the smoked salmon topped tofu, and buttery pancake is a bit odd, I'd suggest eating it separately.  

The tomatoes were not as fresh as I had hoped, with a gritty, mushy texture, and the avocado was soaked a bit too much in pre-squeezed lemon juice.  I was disappointed with the combo, but the pancake by itself was nice.  

K. Branch: a confused cafe/restaurant

Area:  about 2 blocks north of Fushimi Station, Exit 10 (伏見駅)
Restaurant:  K Branch  ケーブランチ
Map and Website:  http://aichi.main.jp/k_branch/index.html

Hours:  7:30am-11pm (LO 10:30), closed Sun



This was the second time I've visited this restaurant because I wanted to give it a second chance.  The first time, a quick look at their dinner menu seemed promising, with shrimp ajillo (garlic and olive oil), cheese fondue and bagna cauda. Inside seemed comfortable and nicely decorated.  However, upon entering, I was surprised to find that the lunch menu consisted of the typical Japanese curry lunch or tonkatsu lunch.  That's why I ordered a piccata (on the regular cafe food menu), which was basically an omelette rice but with butter rice.  I'm not sure why it's called a piccata since that usually consists of meat coated in egg and pan fried (perhaps this was a “rice piccata”?).  I had a Wafu, or Japanese flavour, so it didn't seem at all like their dinner menu.

Upon looking at the website, the lunches are posted (different everyday).  Today there was BLT on toasted sesame bread. I thought this might be a good choice to reflect the dinner menu, however it was sold out by the time I got there.  So instead my choices were a Chinese style teriyaki chicken or a pilaf (700円).  I went with the jambalaya style pilaf.  It was basically like chahan (Japanese fried rice) with a mild curry flavour.  There was possibly some ketchup added as well and it was topped with a sunny side up egg, wieners, green peppers.  I guess this was more authentic than the piccata, since a jambalaya is basically rice cooked with a spicey broth. The accompanying salad was dressed with a lemony vinegrette ( but tasted of that pre-squeezed, bottled lemon stuff).  The soup broth actually reminded me of Campbell's chicken noodle, but was filled with shimeji mushrooms, onion, carrot, and corn.  

What can I expect from a restaurant that calls itself Italian but serves Japanese flavours, jambalaya, Chinese food, and recommends a drinking wine with lots of ice in it! 

Afternoon Tea Tearoom; For a light, veggie packed meal

Area:  Meitetsu Department Store at Nagoya Station 5F
Restaurant:  Afternoon Tea Room 　アフタヌーンティー　ティールーム
Website:  http://www.afternoon-tea.net/pc/about/index.html

Hours:  10am-8pm (Lunch served until 5pm)


This cafe was filled with mostly women, but that can be expected when the color and furniture makes you feel as if you were taking a break from baking in your country home.  It's great that meals are served until 5pm; I don't have to rush to get there before lunch hours are over.

It seems all the lunch menu items contain plenty of vegetables (also something women would like), but I wanted some protein so I ordered the spanish omelette plate (1360 yen).   The salad was a mix of iceberg lettuce, parsley, a bit of dill, baby greens, a leaf of arugula and was topped with a yellow and red tomato, a slice of prosciutto, and a green bean and drizzled with a simple onion and olive oil vinaigrette.  Japanese salads often contain only of each vegetable, almost as if there just for decoration (I always feel like it needs more!).

The omelette, like a crustless quiche had a base layer of potato which was topped with soft broccoli, green beans (sora mame), onion and a hint of cheese was in there too. The potato's skin was left on making it more healthy.  It was only lightly seasoned, making the flavour of the vegetables pleasantly noticeable.  

The bread was lightly buttered and toasted over corn grits. It's great if they don't over toast it (2 of the 3 pieces were too crunchy and dry). 

There is a choice of different teas and coffees that come with the meal.  I chose the Afternoon Tea original blend.  It's a blend of different black tea flavours, but kind of just tasted like regular Lipton's black tea to me.  I tried both, and I would recommend adding milk over a lemon in this tea, or even drinking it straight.  Somehow the lemon's bitterness was brought out in this tea.  

Milano Wine Bar: Okinawan pork

Area:  3-min. walk NW of Nagoya station (BIC camera, fountain side)

Restaurant:  Milano wine bar  ミラノ三丁目

Map and Info:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23044409/dtlmap/

Hours:  open from 5pm, closed Mondays

It's not often that I visit wine bars, but I thought I'd get take out and try this restaurant's fare.  They always have a sign outside advertising the Agu pork, so I wanted to see what that was alll about.  Apparently it's an Okinawan pig that is higher in amino acids and lower in cholesterol than regular pork.  I chose to try the softer loin meat.  It was very peppery and not so different then other pork steaks. The accompanying cabbage was cooked and warm, but had the same peppery seasoning.

The other dish I tried were the rum soaked figs.  It wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, and tasted of just plain rum.  I took the advice of the waitress and ate it with vanilla ice cream as a dessert.  It matched well and made the figs eatable (too strong on it's own).

I probably wouldn't come back here for takeout, but it might be a nice place to come with friends on a summery night when it becomes an open concept restaurant.

So I did come back for take out and was more impressed this time.  I ordered the pate and the liver mousse.  The pate was laden with rosemary and had a good mix of meats, however it was a bit salty and definitely needed to be eaten with the soft toasted baguette.  The liver mousse was smooth and not so salty.  It definitely had the flavor of liver and went well with the baguette as well.  The carrot salad had cumin seeds, vinegar and olive oil.  The cabbage, was like a homemade sourkraut.

Rainbow; for wine lovers, or those looking for something different

Area:  A couple of blocks south of Kokusai Center (International Center) 国際センター駅
Restaurant:  Rainbow  レインボー
Map and Info:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23052254/dtlmap/

Hours:  10:30am - 8:30pm, closed Sundays



As I was walking towards a different cafe, I came across people handing out pamphlets for this new shop.  It's a take out store only, but their concept is to sell foods that are good with wine.  This caught my eye because I love wine, and because they had bento boxes that were different than the usual.

So on another occasion, I stopped by and bought a quiche box (500円).  I had a choice of salad; bagna cauda or strawberry and prosciutto.  I picked the bagna cauda and then had to choose between black garlic sauce or potato gratin.  The gratin doesn't seem so authentic somehow, so I went with the black garlic.  The anchovy flavor was strong so the garlic wasn't overpowering at all.  I liked the variety of vegetables; red carrot (although it was a bit dried out), red daikon, cooked zucchini, a french fry (yes, only one), turnip, cabbage and cooked onions.  The pink stuff which I thought was sugar for the dessert was actually Sakura salt, and also went well with the veggies. 

There were two types of half sized slices of quiche. One had layers of bacon and onion, while the other was a bit of a mystery, but deliciously sweet and creamy.  It definitely had squash and perhaps some al dente arborio rice (if it was, a tad undercooked and still hard).  The crust was flaky and buttery, slight soggy but what can you expect from a boxed quiche. 

The dessert was almost like a cherry bread pudding.  A bit to much vanilla extract and eggy flavor, I think they could have done better on the dessert.  The berries turned the what's supposed to be golden yellow dough to an ugly puke green colour.  

The menu in the store has a wine guide that tells you if white, red or rose will go with the dish, but in my opinion that's a little difficult to rank given the variety of wines out there.  However it's a good start. What's important for this store is that although I didn't have wine, I indeed could have enjoyed this box if I had a glass!

On a separate occasion, I made another visit because there was a sandwich I was dying try; a katsu (panko crusted and fried meat) sandwich.  This however was not just any katsu though.  It's bad enough that it's deep fried, but to add more unhealthiness to that, I ordered a...prepare yourself...a foie gras katsu sando! Now you can understand my need to come back I hope.  Here's the breakdown of the sandwich, which is kind of what I did.  I tried eating it as a sandwich but I thought I'd enjoy and savor it more if I separated it.  The bread was toasted nicely, but my pet peeve, the crust was cut off.  The store apparently uses bread from a nearby bakery, so it is fresh.  The bread is what is used as the slathering board for a slightly sweet Worcestershire sauce (commonly eaten with regular katsu).  On each slice were also a shiso leaf stuck to the sauce.  The flavor of shiso matches nicely with the sauce, giving it a more Japanese style to it.  The foie gras was coated in a crispy outer layer and was oozing oil from it's own fat and from the deep frying.  If you are not a fan of oily, this sandwich is not for you! The wonderful flavor of foie gras is preserved in the pocket of crispness, and is not overpowered by any sauce. There is a slice of tsukudani vegetable in this sandwich, but it more enhances the sauce more than anything else.

What makes this store interesting is the variety of different menu items to try, and if you can find a place to sit and eat, it's a nice lunch option.