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.