Paul Bocuse: Somehow it needs something more

Area:  JR Towers 12th floor (Nagoya Station) 名古屋駅　JR　セントラルタワーズ
Restaurant: Brasserie Paul Bocuse   ブラッスリ　ポール　ボキューズ
Website and Info:  http://www.paulbocuse.jp/lamaison/menu.html


I decided to treat myself one day and went to Paul Bocuse, an upscale French restaurant on the 12th floor of the JR Towers.  It's actually reasonable for lunch (I ordered the \1800 plus tax meal).  What first comes out is the rillettes. Today was a chicken rillette. It was smooth and mousse-like with a curry aroma.  The bread was crusty and dense and was also nice for dipping in olive oil.

The kitchen allowed me to choose the Iberico pork belly (it was the main for a different course).   It was really soft, but not fatty (the fat may have been hidden and laced throughout).  The accompanying apple puree matched well and not too sweet.  The gravy was a bit on the salty side though, and I didn't get any sense of depth of flavours in it.  The pickled apples were at first sweet and then the sourness came out afterwards.  I'm not sure if it's a good compliment.  The pork had a slight rosemary fragrance.  The roasted endive was nicely grilled and the bitterness was good to offset the sweetness in the dish.

The signature creme brûlée was served in a shallow and wide dish,  and this increased the surface area of the crunchy-browned portion!  The custard had lots of vanilla beans scattered throughout.  It's too bad the coffee was quite off.  It's probably old worst I've ever had! It was so sour, it made me wince.

This restaurant does have a nice atmosphere; a sectioned off quiet place in the middle of a bustling area.

I recently decided to give this place another try.  However, from the first dish, I was a bit disappointed.  Even though rillettes was printed on the menu, I was served only bread and olive oil.  I was told that olive oil had replaced the rillettes (strange since looking at previous photo, bread and rillettes and olive oil were all brought to the table).

Next was the mashed potato and bread crumb crusted pork.  This dish also did not blow my mind.  The crust on the tenderloin pork had a bit of sourness that did not match well.  The consomme sauce was the only thing that brought this dish together.

Again, the coffee was not the tastiest of coffees.  The dessert, an apple pie was standard, with just the right amount of sweetness, but a bit small.  For the price of this meal, I don't think I'll be giving Paul Bocuse another try.

Tope: hits and misses in one meal

Area:  Shinsakae station, Exit 1  新栄駅
Restaurant:  Trattoria Tope   トラットリア　トぺ
Website and Map:  http://www.trattoria-tope.com/product/access/access.html

Hours:  Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm,  Dinner 5:30-9:30pm


On my day off, I decided to visit Mazak Yamazaki art museum for the first time.  On the B1 level, there was an Italian restaurant that caught my eye.  I decided to give it a try before steping into the gallery.   I chose the Tope lunch (\2000), which included two appetizers, pasta, bread, dessert and coffee or tea.  

In the first appetizer, an onion crustless quiche was soft and silky, with the natural sweetness of slow cooked onions.   Kampachi (sashimi) was buttery and refreshing with lemony sprouts.

The chilled juicy chicken breast was served with a cocktail sauce (ketchup and horseradish flavor).  The broccoli was seasoned well.    

Two types of bread were served;  one was a thick crust baguette, and the other was soft and more like Japanese bread  The dipping olive oil seemed of high quality.

The second appetizer was a squid, tomato and olive salad.  Here, the olive flavor was the most prominent.  The chicory was bitter, and the parsley somehow brought out this bitterness.  The squid only added texture and did not add much flavor.  Due to the simplicity of  this dish, it seemed like a salad adults would enjoy.   

For the pasta, I was recommended the rosemary and pecorino cheese spaghetti since I was looking for something a bit different than the usual.  There was a certain creaminess to this pepperoncino because of the french butter used.  Although it seems that I'm a huge fan of pasta since I eat it a lot, this is not the case.  I find a lot of restaurants in Japan serve pasta for lunch.  I eat pasta lunches just because I hope I will be blown away by a pasta dish someday.  Even though the pasta here was not fresh pasta, it was cooked al dente.  I was actually impressed with the sauce; it was light but big on flavors of rosemary, cheese and butter, which was a nice combination.  The beans didn't add much since they were slightly dry in texture, but provided volume.  

The coffee was a nice roast.  The desert was a sesame panna cotta with caramel sauce.  The almond cookie had a slightly burnt flavor.  The chocolate cake looked dense but was actually light and went well with the raspberry sauce, however was not outstanding.

This restaurant had an upscale fell with white table clothes, and waiters wearing suits.  All of the patrons were women.  

Pronto: not bad considering it's a big chain, also reasonable

Area:  Various locations　(visited location was Nagoya building 名古屋　ビルディングB1F）
Restaurant:  Pronto  プロント
Website and map:  http://www.pronto.co.jp/shop/detail?shopid=0525333857

This cafe is a big chain, but I wanted to try their morning service (price includes coffee or tea).  There are a variety to choose from such as the standard toast and egg (¥390), where you can sub the egg for yogurt.  The toast is actually quite thick and you get the whole slice (unlike a lot of places that give you half).  There is also a ham and cheese toast set (¥450).  I however wanted to have an english muffin, so I went for the most expensive (¥480).  It comes with scrambled egg and bacon.   All sets come with a salad (red onion, cabbage, lettuce, red pepper) dressed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing.  The english muffin was toasted and came with soft margarine.  I think I would have preferred butter, and if they brought the plate out sooner so the margarine could melt into the holes.  It was chewy in the centre and had a bit of sourdough-like flavor.  The scrambled egg had a nice gooey half cooked texture.  Pronto's coffee is actually a nice blend.  It's mild with little acidity.

The lunch menu, unlike a lot of other big chain cafes, specializes in pasta, instead of the usual soups and sandwiches.

The pasta set is great because it can be ordered anytime, even during non-lunch hours.  You can add a drink and salad for just \290.  What caught my eye is that there are a few dishes that are made with fresh tagliatelle.  Of course this is what I ordered. I went for the shrimp and avocado basil sauce pasta (\820).  The pasta was no doubt fresh, as it had a nice al dente chewiness to it.  The sauce was a whole lot of basil and the salt level was controlled nicely.  The accompanying salad was a mix of green and purple shredded cabbage, red pepper, red onion and lettuce.  It was lightly dressed, but this allows it to match well with any of the pastas.  

It has a modern cafe feel, and for those of you that are smokers, there is a smoking room available.  

Kawabun: paying for the experience, definitely not volume

Area:  a few blocks east of Marunouchi station
Restaurant:  The Kawabun ザ　カワブン　ナゴヤ
Website:  http://www.kawabun.jp/en/


This was a very different dining experience.  First of all, it seemed like a place where I'd have to take my shoes off upon entering, but I was instructed that there was no need to.  I was seated in a quiet waiting area with windows facing a garden.  The only sound was of trickling fountain water and the scent of incense filled the room.  Here, I was shown the menu to choose my preferred meal.  I went with the simplest, a vegetarian meal (\1500 plus tax).  I was then shown to a separate room with only counter seating.   I was the only patron there.  The wooden counter, bright lighting and simple decor gave a nature feel and made for a relaxing atmosphere.  .

The chef then began to open a package of tofu.  He carefully spooned it into a bowl and then topped it with something. He also started making miso soup, testing the taste twice.  The waitress, dressed in kimono, was very talkative and began a conversation with me and the chef.  The whole time she was talking with either me or the chef.  

The meal was the silkiest but dense tofu with a chilled mushroom dashi flavored ankake.  The steamed veggies were plain but were meant to be eaten with the miso beans.  Rice was a 5-grain rice. The miso soup was indeed a good balance of housemade (as opposed to the instant stuff)  dashi and miso.

Afterwards, the waitress offered to take me to the same waiting area to drink tea and relax.  Green tea and yuzu kuzumochi is what came, a very nice combo.  Even the shibori (wet hand towel) had a scent of yuzu.  As I was getting pretty sleep in this quiet space, I decided to begin my fairly long walk back to work. 

Auberge de L'ill: Fine dining needs to be a bit more refined

Area:  Midland Square 42F  ミッドランドスクエア
Restaurant:  L'Auberge de L'ill  オーベルジュドリル
Website and Map:  http://www.haeberlin.jp/eng/aubergedelill-nagoya/access.html

Hours:  Lunch 11am-3:30pm (LO 1:30pm), Dinner 5:30-11pm (LO 10pm)


This is an expensive fine dining restuarant but I decided to try the reasonably priced \2000 weekday lunch (plus tax and service charge).

First, the little amuse bouche;  the madeleine seemed a bit stale and dry.  The flaky pastry was a savory bacon and onion flavour.

The bread came warmed, had a nice and chewy crust and the flavour reminded me of soba.  The butter was plain and unsalted but its presentation on a marble slab and an emblem stamped on top, gave a fine dining feel.   

The appetizer was eggplant mousse with a sanma (sardine) puree.  It had a peppery finish, but was mainly salty, so it was good to eat with the bread.  Unfortunately the eggplant flavour was overpowered by the strong natural flavour of the sardine.  

The main was a ground beef and foie gras pie.  I think they burnt the crust a bit too much.  The ground beef absorbed the always wonderful flavour of foie gras on top.  The crust could have used something more, perhaps a more buttery aroma.  I found the pastry didn't add much to this dish, as it was airy.  The carrot cumin purée and a sweet aroma.  The berry red wine sauce had a bit of sourness to it, but somewhat matched with the dish (berry flavors are often combined with foie gras). 

The dessert jelly cube was a very concentrated raspberry.  The macaron was interesting with a slight mintiness to it.  The chocolate cookie was probably the best part of this plate, as it had a nice chewiness and the nuts gave it a toasty finish.  Unfortunately the coffee was sour.

Just by looking at the photos you could probably hear the piano music playing, again giving this place an upscale feel.  

Cafe du Ciel: My theory was correct, food is not the main

 

Area:  Nagoya Station JR Towers
Restaurant:  Cafe Du Ciel  カフェ　ド　シエル
Website and Info:  http://www.cafe-eikokuya.jp/store/ciel.html

Hours:  10am-10pm (LO 9:30pm)

This cafe is located on the 51st floor of the Nagoya station JR towers.  In my mind, it's not necessarily a restaurant you go to for the food.  It may be more of a place for coffee and cake and to enjoy the view.  However, I wanted to test this out.  The lunch set consisted of a choice of two dorias (baked rice dishes).  One was the monthly special, potato basil, and the other was a regular hamburger helper type.

The soup was a corn soup, or corn milk as I like to call it.  Almost like it was made from powder.  

The doria came with the immediate smell of butter.  Caution, it's baked so the heat is contained quite well and stays hot for a while, don't burn yourself!  The potato seemed fried and was actually quite dry.  This doria was topped with cream sauce (bechamel-like) and cheese.  The basil was disappointingly scarce, especially when compared to the menu photo in which the doria's color was a striking green.  The salad had a salty wafu (Japanese style) onion dressing, but the fried onion topping was nice.  The potato salad was on the other hand pretty sweet compared to the regular.  

There were two different types of sandwiches accompanying the doria.  The potato salad, cucumber and ham sandwich used regular, cheap ham and the same potato salad that topped the salad. The bread was a fuwafuwa (soft) type but went well with the crunch of the cucumbers.  The egg salad and tomato was wonderfully eggy, but really stood out in this corner of the plate.

The coffee was fresh, a nice mild blend.  It's free refills so I took advantage of this.  

Music was playing but the echoes from other patrons voices covered it, so I don't know what was playing.  It's an open ceiling space (the ceiling is shared with the outside, so it's quite high and the voices carry high and far.  It's a pretty loud space and not at all that relaxing.  There is only one washroom so you may end up waiting a lifetime, especially in Japan (this is a whole other story, and if you're a woman in Japan, you might know what I'm talking about).

The dessert was just yogurt and a mango sauce with pineapple and one piece of mango.  Again nothing stood out here.

I supposed for the \1500 lunch, you're paying for the free refills, the nice view and the ability to stay for a long period of time without being kicked out, so perhaps it's worth it.  Just don't wait until you urgently need to use the bathroom to line up for the washroom.

Atlantic cafe: Liking the big hunks of meat

Area:  about 500m Northeast of Osu Kannon station 大須観音駅
Restaurant:  Atlantic Cafe アトランティックカフェ
Website and Map:  http://atlanticcafe.jp/access/index.html

Hours:  11am-11pm, Sun and Holidays 11am-9:30pm, closed Mondays


Although lunch was over, this was was one of those restaurants where I could still order from the large a la carte menu.

The smoked salmon salad (¥580) was comprised of lettuce, mizuna, tomato and a rarity in Japan, black olives. Dry cured smoked salmon had a nice smokey flavor and was not too salty.   The dressing was a simple Italian dressing.

The spicey lamb chop (¥400 for 1 piece) was not all that spicey.  Maybe they wanted to say herbed lamb, because it tasted more like basil.  The accompanying sauce was like a BBQ sauce with perhaps red wine, but it was way too salty.  Especially on top of the salt seasoning the lamb, it didn't work too well.   Size wise, this was a large lamb chop and looks like it came with two pieces, but one piece only was a small bone-in chunk.  The red meat didn't have a strong lamb flavor but the fatty parts did.  Although grilled, it somehow seemed a bit steamed as well.  The fried potato wedges were a bit dry and were not seasoned, but like a Western restaurant, salt and pepper were on the table to adjust to one's own tastes.

It was written on the menu that you can choose 2 antipastos for the price of ¥555, but then I realized it's no better than the ¥278 each!  I chose the  homemade pickles as one.  They were vinegary and more on the salty side.  It kind of reminded me of namasu (usually daikon and carrots pickled with vinegar, salt and sugar).  

The caprese salad had a mozarella more on the dry side than creamy, but was still milky in flavor.  The tomatoes were juicy and fresh and matched well with the parmesan, salt and pepper seasoning. 

The spare rib 1piece (¥340) was gigantic.  I think the chef gave me a bit of a service (freebie), he said red meat was also included.  The sauce was a nice BBQ flavor, thinly applied to gave just enough smokey flavor.  The meat was juicy (even the lean part).  It was a bit tough to cut through the fat, but overall a thumbs up.   The accompanying salad included arugula carrots and a light vinaigrette.  The only problem here was that it was undercooked and it had to be grilled a second time.  It came back with a side of fries and salad.  In the Japanese way, the cook profusely apologized, bowing his head many times, so I forgave this small blunder.