CoCo’s Curry カレーハウス CoCo壱番屋

Website:  http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/index.html

Address:  Numerous locations throughout Miyagi, but I often frequent the stores in Nishitaga, Nagamachi, and the one on the corner of Ichibancho and Minami-machi dori.

Open from 11 am till either midnight or later, depending on the location.

Not to be confused with the COCO’S chain of family restaurants, which uses a similar color scheme in its advertising.  Which came first: COCO’S or CoCo’s Ichibanya?  Who knows, but I wish one of them would change their colors.  

I don’t know how many of your acquaintances have tried a CoCo’s Ichibanya before, but upon taking an informal survey of the Japanese people I know, I soon found out that almost none of them had ever tried the curry here, including my wife.  It's a mystery as to why others have passed on CoCo’s, but I became a convert upon my first venture to the Ichibancho store over a decade ago.  In my opinion, CoCo’s Curry has always been a dependable choice for a meal out.  Sure, this is not gourmet dining at the pinnacle of elegance, but it’s always good and filling, and at a reasonable price.  You can’t go wrong with CoCo’s!

Last week, I wrote of my visit to Kanazawa 18 Curry.  Sorry Kanazawa, you may have the gimmicky pricing and the Challenge platter going for you, but for pure flavor CoCo’s is head and shoulders above you.

I always order the Chicken Katsu Curry for 680 yen, while my wife orders from either their seafood or vegetable curry selections.

チッキンカツカレー

And talk about selections!  CoCo’s offers a variety of seventeen meat curry platters, five seafood entrées, and thirty-seven topping options!  There are also vegetable curry and allergen-free alternatives listed on the menu.  But a word of warning to vegetarians:  I could be wrong but I believe the curry sauce is always meat based regardless of your selection.  You might want to stick to one of the four veggie salads listed on the menu.

やさいカレー

I forgot to mention that you can also order larger or smaller portions of rice on the curry, as well as the degree of spiciness.

On a side note, the Ichibancho locale will always hold a place in my heart.  A few days after the March 11^th disaster, my wife and I headed downtown in search of food and supplies.  We were astonished on the availability of resources on Chuo-dori and Ichibancho compared to where we lived.  But what really thrilled us was that the CoCo’s Curry was open for business.  It was our first hot meal in days and we were so grateful for it.

If you’ve never tried CoCo’s Curry House Ichibanya, I highly recommend it to you.  

UPDATE: Curry Shop Sakura カレーショップ桜蔵 022-307-6320

Website:  http://www.warashibesha.com/index.html

If you haven't read about Curry Shop Sakura before, please read my previous post:  Curry Shop Sakura.

Another first-rate chicken curry lunch!  Tasted just as great (and spicy) as the last time.  But last time I forgot to mention that the chicken is a chicken leg, bone included.  But the meat is so soft that it easily slips off the bone.  Again, I went with the regular-sized spicy curry (600円); not so spicy that it's uncomfortable to eat, but enough to cause sweat beads to start appearing on your head.

My wife went with the regular-sized sweet flavor vegetable curry (500円).  I tasted it and, though very tasty in its own right, is quite different from the spicy flavor.

やさいカレー

We ordered two sets of the cake/drink set (500円/each), one with banana pound cake and the other with spicy chiffon cake and decided to split the cakes so that we could try both of them equally.  The banana pound cake arrived first and the serving size was quite generous!  To be honest, we should have just ordered this and split it.  And like before, it was scrumptious!

Then came the even bigger piece of spicy chiffon cake.  Between the two cakes, I couldn't finish my portion (much to the delight of my wife who obliged).  I couldn't identify the actual spice in the chiffon cake but I think it was either ginger or nutmeg, or perhaps a combination of the two.  It tasted okay, but it wasn't in the same league as the banana pound cake.

スパイシーシフォンケーキ

When paying, I used a 500 円 coupon that I had received on my last visit for filling up my stamp card.  And because it's the New Year season they had a special drawing.  We walked away with a bag of cleanser (which they make) and two decorative coasters, which were made from recycled milk cartons.

Again, I'd like to remind you that this a very special restaurant in that it employs mentally challenged individuals and allows them to support themselves and achieve a sense of self-worth and accomplishment.  

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Update: Saint Marc Bakery / Restaurant サンマルク 022-307-4309

Website:  http://www.saint-marc-hd.com/saintmarc

Also look at the following website for coupons/map/info: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/t247400/

If you haven't read about Saint Marc's before, please read my previous post at: Saint Marc.

My wife and I revisited Saint Marc's yet again for another appetizing outing.  "Yet again" because, in all honesty, this was the second time this week that we've eaten there.  It's that good!

Today we used the ランチの女王 with パスタ campaign postcard that we received from St. Marc's because we are on their mailing list (this same campaign meal can be found at the above "gnavi" coupon website!). 

This bargain 1290 円 meal included a green salad (consisting mainly of mizuna), a small bowl of pasta (meat sauce or duck with tomato sauce), a main entrée, rice or bread, drink, and dessert.

Green (mizuna) Salad

Here are the choices available for the entrée:  

grilled chicken with honey mustard sauce (what I ordered), minced katsu, chicken katsu, hamburger steak, white fish w/eggplant, white fish w/vegetables, beef stroganoff, beef stew, or scallop & salmon combo.

Grilled Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce

The meat sauce pasta that I ate was good but not extraordinary, while the honey mustard chicken (with potatoes, string beans, and red bell pepper) was quite flavorful! 

Meat Sauce Pasta

Today, my wife ordered the white fish with vegetables and was quite satisfied with it, but she did say that she preferred the white fish with spinach that she had ordered just six days before.

White Fish with Vegetables

The bread rolls I devoured today were the following:

yomogi, sesame seed croissant, hotel pan (a regular dinner roll), garlic roll, spicy pepper stick (very good!), walnut roll, sesame seed roll, chocolate, chocolate croissant.

I passed on the following offerings:

milk roll, cheese croissant, cheese roll, and onion roll.

ゴマ Roll, Chocolate Roll, and Chocolate Croissant

For dessert, I opted for the mouthwatering chocolate mousse (which was 100 円 extra).  Once more, the coffee was grand and added a great finishing touch to tantalizing meal!

Chocolate Mousse

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Kazan Ramen 火山石焼らーめん 022-307-1560

Website:  http://www.gashuden.co.jp/kazan/

Address:  宮城県仙台市太白区西多賀1-1-45.   About a 12-minute walk from Nagamachi-minami Subway Station.   It’s on Akiu-dori across from a Pachinko Tiger.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open everyday from 11 am – 11 pm.

Although it’s known for its 石焼らーめん, that’s not what I like.  However, it is fun to see when they do bring the stone bowl of noodles and then pour the broth into the bowl, as the steam rises and you have to hold up a protective paper shield.

Cha-shu- Ramen with Extra Onion Topping

What I do like here is the チャーシューメン with extra ネギ topping.  Another thing going for this ramen-ya is the way the ramen is served.  I suffer from 猫舌, and can’t stand to burn my tongue off while eating or drinking.   Kazan serves their ramen at just the right temperature so that it’s edible as soon as they place the bowl on the table.  I don’t have to wait for five minutes before starting to eat.  Also, the pork slices are sometimes quite thick.

Gyoza

The gyoza is good, but nothing special.

There are four different locations in Sendai, including one on Kokubuncho.   

The others are in Izumi and Miyagino areas.  I’ve never eaten at any of the other locations so I can’t vouch for them.  The Kazan in Nishitaga has free parking and is almost completely non-smoking.  For the smokers out there, the available times to smoke in this restaurant are Monday thru Friday from 2 pm to 6 pm.  All other business hours are smoke-free times.

しょう油ラーメン

大きな地図で見る

Curry Shop Sakura カレーショップ桜蔵 022-307-6320

Website: http://www.warashibesha.com/index.html

Address:　宮城県仙台市太白区西多賀3-1-25.  On Akiu-dori in Nishitaga heading towards Akiu.  It's on the right-hand side next to Saint Marc's Restaurant and a コナカ men's clothing store.


Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Lunch only:  11:00 – 3: 00.  

Closed Mondays and holidays.

This restaurant was also recommended to me by my friends Laura and Stephanie.  Sakura has made my list mainly for the taste of the curry, but it’s the incidentals that also make me want to patronize this restaurant.

But first, the curry:  It comes in sweet or spicy and in small, regular, and big serving sizes.  I like the spicy versions of both the chicken curry and the naan with chicken curry.  And it is SPICY!

Chicken Curry

You also have to try the banana pound cake.  It’s scrumptious!

Banana Pound Cake

And now to the incidentals:  Curry Shop Sakura is staffed by mentally challenged individuals and the restaurant helps support them and where they live.  You may have seen their red curry truck at festivals throughout Sendai.  I’ll be honest, I eat here for the food, but it is nice to know that the money I’m spending is helping people.

Plus, they have a stamp card (who doesn’t?).

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