I cite our recent trip to Hong Kong [photos forthcoming] as well as our gracious hostess, Jessie, as inspiration for several new initiatives here [cooking Chinese food, discovering our city, regular exercise, etc]. One inspired, though as yet rather vague, idea is to create a food guide for foreigners in Sapporo. The idea is particularly timely as today marks t-minus three weeks until my mother arrives in Japan. Out of this combination, a small challenge was born. We will try ten new restaurants in 21 days. Ten restaurants doesn't actually sound like such a large number. But as a newcomer to this city and speaking virtually no Japanese, finding and navigating ten good new establishments is no small feat. And so...on Saturday, we hit the books and the pavement and began our most deliberate culinary exploration of Sapporo to date:
No. 1: Barcom Sapporo [中央区北2条西2-15 STV北2条ビル 1F / Chuo-ku, North 2-West 2, STV Bldg, 1F] We first learned of Barcom back in October when we were perusing the selection of goodies at Sapporo's Autumn Fest, an annual Hokkaido-centric food fair at Odori Park. Several months later, Barcom opened its storefront, a tachinomiya, or standing bar, where no chairs or stools are offered and patrons often stop in for a quick drink or snack after work. [More about tachinomiya here] Barcom's owner lived in Granada for several years and the place specializes in European wines and tapas. We popped in on Saturday to see the new space. The owner recommended a nice French Pinot Noir and, despite being en route to dinner, we couldn't resist a fantastic selection of cheeses from La Fermier Fromagerie and a tiny cup of REAL, marinated olives. Our efforts to find legitimate olives in Japan have, until now, been almost entirely in vain. Though we can't yet vouch for the kitchen at the permanent location, the mobile kitchen at Autumn Fest was serving some incredibly savory, buttered shitake mushrooms and thick-cut salami. They are also on a short list of places to offer our absolute favorite Japanese beer, Yebisu Creamy Top. Barcom seems to still be getting comfortable in its own skin...the space could benefit from knocking the lighting down a couple of notches and the replacing the rotating scenes of Spain with shots of the restaurant's delicious menu items. Regardless, the interior is cozy and, contrary to my assumptions, standing as you eat is, well, pretty comfortable. The use of foreign coins to keep track of your bar tab is a charming touch. Back in Portland, places like Barcom are a dime a dozen, but here in Sapporo, it's quite unique. We'll definitely hit Barcom up again whenever the mood for wine and cheese strikes [read: often].
[Barcom Sapporo, at the Autumn Fest. Sadly, this is not what Sapporo looks like in April.]
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No. 2: Hanare [中央区南1条西5丁目13番地 日章ビルB1F / Chuo-ku, South 1-West 5, Nissho Bldg, B1]
Several months ago, we purchased our first issue of HO, an all-Hokkaido food magazine. Issue #26 appeared to be featuring Hokkaido izakaya, a Japanese-style pub, typically offering skewers of grilled meats and vegetables. We finally got around to trying one of the listings on Saturday night. Hanare, as depicted in HO, is an izakaya in style but specializing in nabe[Japanese soup prepared at your table]. We arrived at Hanare to an unusually friendly welcome and minimal stares: so far, so good. A small place, with private tatami booths and sunken tables, we chose a seat at the bar. As we perused the menu, an unsolicited appetizer of seared chicken sashimi was delivered to our table, a common service in Japan. We hesitated briefly before popping it into our mouths and finding that it was actually quite delicious. It tasted of, what else? Chicken. One lesson from Japan Japan is that meat, raw or cooked, usually tastes like meat - the only real difference being a question of texture.
Before making recommendations, our helpful server inquired whether we were tourists. This was a much appreciated question as he clearly understood that certain palettes require different recommendations [ours have changed drastically in 8 months]. We ordered a shio [salt] nabe we had seen in HO, a plate of fried chicken and a daikon [Japanese radish] salad. Our nabe pot full of meat, cabbage, scallion, bean sprouts, and fried garlic promptly arrived and we lit the flame and set the 15 minute timer. As we filled up on juicy, perfectly fried chicken and crunchy daikon salad [topped with wasabi dressing, dried shrimp, and pickled plum paste], we asked our waiter what type of meat was in the nabe? His answer, in perfect English: stomach. Stomach of what, we decided, was a detail we could live without.
It was at this point that it dawned on me that our "izakaya" issue was, in fact, devoted entirely to restaurants serving the edible oddities of the animal. Another bungle to add to our ever-expanding list. In any event, the nabe was rich and delicious and even the fatty stomach was tasty too, albeit too rubbery for our teeth. The highlight of the meal was actually a house-made yuzu liqueur [an Asian citrus fruit, akin to a sour mandarin orange], enjoyed over broken conversation with two Japanese salary men who actually offered us the food right off their plates.
[Daikon salad, stomach nabe, and new friends courtesy of Hanare.]
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No. 3: Maruyama DRiLL [中央区北1条西27丁目1-7 / Chuo-ku, North 1-West 27, 1-7, near Maruyama Park] We were trolling Maruyama, an upscale neighborhood in Sapporo, on Sunday with the expressed purpose of buying some cheese at a fancy fromagerie there. As we were checking out, I noticed a post-card, the entire front contents of which were a humongous bacon and fried egg burger with all the fixings. So despite already having a favorite burger joint in Sapporo [the wonderful Jacksonville Burgers, owned by our friend Sage, who was once an Oregonian], we embarked on a mission to find and eat one of these things we were looking at. After an hour of walking in circles, we found it: Maruyama DRiLL - a small, impeccably designed restaurant occupying the upper floor of what looks like a monochromatic rubix cube. I would happily spare you the details of this place and get to the main event if it just weren't so lovely: mid-century sofas, smooth wooden tables and chairs, giant succulents, jars of homemade pickles, govino stemless plastic glasses from MoMA. Everything here is done right, down to the self-lifting toilet seats. The space and charming staff at Maruyama DRiLL alone are a good enough reason to spend a long afternoon there reading over a pot of tea. But the burger is a reason to return again and again. Talk about truth in advertising, that gluttonous burger we had seen in the photo was identical to what arrived at our table. The burger was perfectly cooked, topped with gorgonzola, served on a fresh bun, and came with just the right amount of ketchup, lettuce and onion. After eight months in Asia, it was practiacally a revelation. Not only was it by far the best burger I have eaten in Japan, but one of the best burgers I've eaten, period. The tonkatsu [breaded and fried pork] curry, served in a cake pedestal-style bowl, looked equally delicious. If it weren't for this silly restaurant challenge, we would be back at Maruyama DRiLL for every meal in the foreseeable future.
[Before and after the amazing Maruyama DRiLL burger.]
