Cafe de Paris: Not much of Paris here (updated)

Area: Kamejima Station (Higashiyama line, one stop away from Nagoya Station)
Restaurant: Cafe de Paris
Map: see http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230113/23049092/

This lunch was a little bit disappointing, as it just reminded me of a bento you can buy at the grocery store.  I did like the chicken meat patty.  It had a slight yuzu flavour and with the grated radish that soaks up the sauce, it makes for a juicy patty.

I was more interested in trying the more western style lunch that I've seen other people order.  It comes with soup and french baguette.  However, as with Japan's lunch specials, you really don't get a choice.  The cafe's menu does have a western flair with pizza and pasta offered for dinner or a la carte for lunch.  I'll have to visit one day for dinner (they are a cafe, but is open until 10pm) for a bite and glass of red wine!

This cafe seems to have an extensive morning menu so I dropped by before a day of work.  I went for the most expensive set, that charged ¥300 extra on top of the price of coffee (¥380) or a drink.  It seemed the most interesting of the various available sets.  This one was the Croque Monsieur.  On the menu it prided itself on the housemade white sauce and said that this a typical French breakfast.  There was a choice between salad or yogurt, but because of the cream on the toast, I chose the salad.  It was dressed with a white French dressing, and was actually nicely seasoned with little salt and only slightly vinegary.  Just to be clear, this is the white version (a vinegar and oil creamy emulsion), as opposed to the north american ketchup variety. The Croque Monsieur was an open faced sandwich on a thick piece of toasted bread.  It was slathered with white sauce, then a slice of ham was placed on top, and then cheese, then put in an oven and baked to get a slight toasty color.  The white sauce was a simple classic flavor, but because of this simplicity it was overpowered by the salty sandwich cold cut and the processed melted cheese on top.

The jazz music playing in the background was barely audible, as the sound from the tv (a Japanese comedy variety show) was the only thing that could be heard, giving the typical old Japanese coffee shop feel.