Kanauya 叶や 食堂 022-367-3317

Website:  There is none. 

Address:   多賀城市八幡4-3-42   

Located on Route 45 in Tagajo.  Going towards Matsushima, it will be on your right-hand side.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open: 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 8 pm.  Closed Sundays and the 8^th of every month.

I first noticed this restaurant last year on my journey home from work.  I would pass by every night and noticed that it was always busy.  One night, I decided to give Kanauya a try and I was glad I did.  It’s a small mom & pop operation.  Nothing fancy, not even decorated.  As for atmosphere, it did seem to have a “Cheers” (80’s sitcom) feel to it as the customers and staff seemed to know each other.

I remember telling the proprietress that I loved meat but I didn’t like seafood, and to just bring me what she thought I might like.  It was some type of spicy pork dish that was pretty good.

The people were really friendly, and the food good, so I thought to myself that I’d definitely be back from time to time.

Well, that was last year.  I would have loved to go back earlier this year, but unfortunately, the events of March 11^th made this impossible.  A 1.7 kilometer stretch of Route 45 in Tagajo was devastated by the tsunami.  This restaurant lies within this area.  After seeing the remnants of the building in April I was convinced that 叶や would never open again.

But not only to the delight of my taste buds, but also to my spirit, Kanauya came back from the ruins!  I found a blog with a story about the restaurant here:

http://genchi.tasukeaijapan.jp/blog/2011/06/post-98af.html

The restaurant reopened at the end of September and I thought it would be a good idea to support a local business that really needed support.   I asked a good friend of mine (a non-picky eater) to join me for dinner tonight so that I could get an unbiased opinion about Kanauya’s fare.

ショウガ焼き定食

I ordered the gingered pork set meal (680円) while my friend went with the fried breaded chicken set (650円).  It was a standard set of rice, miso soup, a small serving of cabbage salad, and two slices of pickled daikon.

から揚げ定食

The pork was plentiful and tasty!  I had a taste of the chicken and found that to be quite good, as well.  I’m usually hit and miss with restaurant miso soup, but I liked this one.  The tsukemono was just okay, though. 

Despite our differing levels of what we consider edible, my friend and I arrived at the same judgment on the chicken and pork.  With ten being best, we gave the chicken a seven to eight and the pork a definite eight.

We were quite surprised that the restaurant closed so early.  It’s quite small, as most mom & pop places are, but it does have about five free parking spaces.  And I know this is listed as a Sendai food blog, but this is pretty close.

All in all, my friend and I concluded that it was very good food at a very reasonable price.  For that alone I recommend this restaurant.  But because of what this area and these owners have gone through, I HIGHLY reccommend it.  Hopefully I’ll see you there!

大きな地図で見る

Trattoria Di Verde ディヴェルデ 022-716-2788

Website:  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/t005212/index.html

Address:  宮城県仙台市青葉区中央1-1-1.   Located in the 1^st floor basement of S-PAL in Sendai JR Station.

Map:  Click the "Location" link below.

Open 11 am – 11 pm everyday.

I walked in with high hopes, an open mind, and a hungry stomach.  I left with a full stomach.  That’s about it. 

When you say that a restaurant is “good,” there’s a certain expectation that the restaurant is actually beyond good; that it’s a place that you’d recommend to someone and that you would patronize again and again.

So in that same context I cannot say that my meal here was “good,” as it did not in any way come close to what I had hoped would be a “good dinner.”   

The food here is “not bad,” as in I can’t say any of the dishes I tried were disagreeable to my palate or that they were inedible.   They simply were not bad, but not exactly “good” in the restaurant review sense.

The restaurant was crowded, so perhaps my wife and I were faulty in our judgments.  Or perhaps it was crowded with travelers like us who just got off the shinkansen and didn’t want to wait in line at the other restaurants we would’ve preferred to eat at.

First, we ordered the half-size Caesar Salad.  One good thing was that it was a generous serving for just a half size.  The salad was good, but it really didn’t taste like a traditional Caesar Salad.

Caesar Salad

Next, we went with the Calaprese Pizza which consisted of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni (although we couldn’t find any evidence of any actual sausage), and black olives (about three in total).  Oh, and it came with a soft, limp crust that didn’t bring anything to the flavor party.

Calaprese Pizza

And for the finale we had the Bolognese Pasta, which was just so-so.  Nothing to write home about, so that’s why I’m not writing about this in My Favorites or Recommended Lists.

But … they do have a stamp card!  If anyone wants mine it’s up for grabs.  I don’t think I’ll be using it much.

Bolognese Pasta

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

Chuukaya Shokudou Chinese Restaurant 中嘉屋食堂 022-748-1215

Website:  http://www.minpantin.co.jp/

Address:  仙台市太白区長町7丁目20番15号.  Located in The Mall Part 2 in Nagamachi-minami.  It’s on the 3^rd floor next to the sushi restaurant and underneath MOVIX. 

Map:  Click the "Location" link below.

Open: Not sure, but I imagine anytime The Mall Part 2 is open, which is 10 am to 9 pm.

This restaurant has different locations including one on the 1^st floor of Sendai Station, however, the one in Sendai Station isn’t very good in my opinion.  


I like the fried breaded chicken (ユリンチ定食 ) and the sweet and sour pork with veggies platters.  They've recently introduced a new menu with lots of meat dishes that also look good.  The set menu comes with entrée, rice, egg flower soup, macaroni salad (usually), and some type of tsukemono (which I don’t like).  I also like the chocolate ice cream there.  My wife likes the ramen though on this day she had the かた揚げ五目焼そば.       

Yurinchi Set Meal                

If you happen to see a movie at Movix that day, show the waitress your ticket stub.  They sometimes have a free drink or half price ice cream campaign.

Yakisoba

We eat here quite often because it's always a safe bet that we'll be satisfied with our meal.  

TOKYO: Wolfgang Puck ウルフギャング・パック03-5775-5401

Website: http://www.wp-japan.jp/shop/cafe_roa.html

Address: 〒106-0032 東京都港区六本木5-5-1六本木ロアビル 1F.  Across from Don Quixote in Roppongi.   

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open:  Mondays thru Thursdays, Sundays, Holidays: 11:00 am – 10:30 pm. 

Fridays, Saturdays, and days before a holiday:  Open till 5 am. 

My wife and I were walking around Roppongi a couple of hours after having eaten an early lunch at Frijoles.  I had not planned nor particularly wanted to eat at Wolfgang Puck but we felt like having some dessert with some good coffee for a late afternoon snack, and we just happened to be in front of Wolfgang’s at the time.  We checked out their menu and we thought it would fulfill our needs. 

I had the apple crunch with vanilla ice cream.  It was very good but smaller than the image on the menu had indicated.  It reminded me of hot apple pie a la mode as the hot apples went well with the cold ice cream.  However, since it was labeled a “crunch” I expected it to be crunchy.  It wasn't.  The so-called crust was limp and didn't add any texture to the dessert.  Still, I did enjoy it.  Surprisingly, the coffee was nothing to write home about.  It was just so-so, so I guess it was disappointing.

Apple Crunch with Vanilla Ice Cream

By the way, that is not a regular-sized teaspoon in the photo above.  It's the kind of spoon restaurants give you to stir your coffee with.  Based on the average taste of the dessert and coffee, I don’t think I’d plan on ever coming back here.  I would only return if I just happen to be hungry, and in front of their restaurant, and all other nearby restaurants were closed.

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TOKYO: Frijoles (Mexican) フリホーレス03-6447-1433

Website: http://www.frijoles.jp

Address: 東京都港区六本木6-6-9ピラミデ１階.  

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Nondescript window of Frijoles in Roppongi

Open:  11 am to 10 pm.  Closed on the second Sunday of every month.

This was the first time I visited Frijoles in Roppongi, but I actually found this restaurant last year at their Azabu-Juban location.  At that time, I was thrilled with their interpretation of Mexican food, their all-English menu, and their delicious guacamole.  I recommended the Azabu-Juban site to anyone who told me they were going to Tokyo.  In retrospect, I think I was just a little too happy with finding something that was reminiscent of home.

This time, I wanted to be more judgmental rather than romanticizing this restaurant.

I ordered the three tacos:  two steak and one carnitas (pork).  I wanted to order the burrito, but I didn't like the fact that the rice inside was white rice with lime and cilantro.   White rice in Mexican food?   Adding cilantro makes it Mexican?  That’s like adding naan (pizza, bratwurst, etc.) to white rice and calling it Indian (Italian, German, etc.) cuisine. 

Also, the pinto beans had bacon bits!  Not my momma’s cooking.  That being said, my wife ate the vegetarian burrito and was quite pleased with it (BTW, my wife is not Mexican). 

The tacos were served on flour tortillas, breaking from the traditional corn tortillas, but since they were tasty I really didn’t have a problem with that (also, I prefer flour to corn tortillas).  

Guacamole, burrito, and tacos!

I requested the medium grade, green chili tomatillo salsa on two of my tacos.  This salsa was good with a bit of a kick to it.  On the third taco I went with the hot red arbol salsa.  I’ve never been much of a chili eater but I’ve noticed that many foods labeled “hot” or “spicy” in Japan don’t quite live up to their names.  Boy, was I proven wrong!  A true chili-eater won’t have a problem with this salsa.  I did.  It was hot!

All in all, the food was good!  Very good!  And I look forward to coming back here again, if I’m in the neighborhood.  If it were in Sendai I would probably be eating here quite often and it would make my “Recommended” list.  Will I take a special trip out of my way to eat here next time I’m in Tokyo?  Probably not.

***UPDATE OCT. 15, 2011:  Less than twenty-four hours after my original post of Frijoles I talked to my mother about this restaurant's food preparation.  I told her, "Can you believe that they served rice with cilantro and called it Mexican food?"  Her reply was "Yes, I've seen a lot of Mexican cooking shows lately where they are doing that."  Strike one.  I then tried with "Well, still, they put bacon bits in their beans!"  Mom said, "Most of the family makes their beans with bacon strips in it.   I'm about the only one who doesn't."  Strike two.  I have one more strike left.  But in my defense on the beans, I was such a picky eater as a kid that I wouldn't even eat my mother's beans.  It wasn't until I became an adult that I would eat refried beans, and I usually prefer the canned beans to homemade.  And since I was such a picky eater, I would rarely eat at someone else's house, so I wasn't exposed to the different styles of Mexican cooking. 

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TOKYO: Banh Xeo Saigon (Vietnamese) バインセオ・サイゴン 03-3211-0678

Website: http://vietnam-banhxeo.com/

Address: 〒100-0006 東京都千代田区有楽町2-7-1 有楽町イトシアB1.  Right next to Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the basement of the ITOCIA Building.   Click on the link map below for better directions.  


Map:  Scroll down to the bottom or click on the following link:  http://vietnam-banhxeo.com/access/

Open:  11:00 am – 10:30 pm. 

If I lived in Tokyo, Saigon would definitely make my “Favorites” listing.   I ordered the chicken pho set which came with three good size pieces of spring rolls, the pho soup, plus a small jelly like dessert: chè.

Chicken Pho Set

The spring rolls with avocado, cucumber, and shrimp were fresh, crisp, and delicious! 

The chicken pho was fantastic!  Just like when I was back in Vietnam!  It definitely was not missing anything, unlike Sendai’s Chao restaurant.  I couldn't stop eating the broth. 

My only “I’ll pass on this” moment came with the chè dessert.   To me, it seemed to have a hint of chestnut and cinnamon taste to it.  Despite those flavors being quite delicious separately, I really didn't care for them together in this gelatinous dessert, but my wife loved it! 

Oh, at first I thought there was something wrong with the water they served, but then I realized it was tea, akin to green tea.

Another plus, Saigon serves Vietnamese coffee!  But ... even though the coffee was reminiscent of authentic Vietnamese coffee, this was missing something.  Still, it was very good.

Vietnamese Coffee

The service was very attentive even though the restaurant was crowded.  We walked in on a Sunday evening before a holiday at around 5 pm.  We walked by later in the evening around 8 pm and there were people waiting to get in.

This was the second time I’ve been to Saigon and I look forward to coming again.  I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the neighborhood.  According to their website they have other locations that may be just as good … or not.

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Miyakoshiya Coffee 宮越屋珈琲 022-225-7111

UPDATE, OCT. 13, 2013:  UNFORTUNATELY, THIS CAFE IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS AS A CAFE.  I VISITED MITSUKOSHI DEPARTMENT STORE YESTERDAY AND I FOUND THAT IT NOW ONLY SELLS COFFEE BEANS.
I WAS SORRY TO SEE THIS PLACE GO.
OH, WELL.
If you'd like, continue to read the post to see what you missed out on.

Website:  http://r.tabelog.com/miyagi/A0401/A040101/4008025/dtlphotolst

Address: Located on the 1st floor basement of Mitsukoshi Department Store (the former 141).

Map:  Click the "Location" link below.

Open everyday from 10 am – 7:30 pm. 

I’ve seen this place crowded every time I’ve passed it by, as well as inhale the wonderful aroma of coffee that lofts through the air nearby.  Well, today I finally had a chance to stop and give their cup of joe a try, and I’m so glad I did!

Since it was my first time I didn’t know whether I would prefer the Mild or the French Coffee, so I asked the waitress what was the difference.  She said the French Coffee (525円) was a little more bitter and stronger than the Mild, so I went with the French.

It was good, very GOOD!   Not quite espresso, but pretty close.

I didn’t order anything else so I really don’t have anything else to write about.   They did have a honey-chocolate chip pound cake on the menu that sounds very delectable, but that’ll have to wait for another day.   

Chao Vietnamese Restaurant チャオ 022-211-8055

UPDATE:  CLOSED!  I WALKED BY CHAO ON JULY 5, 2014 AND THEY WERE CLEANING IT OUT.  OH, WELL!  IT WAS GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT, SO I CAN SEE WHY IT DIDN'T LAST.  
CHAO, CHAO!

Website:  http://tabelog.com/miyagi/A0401/A040101/4010922/

Address:  仙台市青葉区一番町4-2-12.   Located on Ichibancho between Hirose-dori and Jozen-ji dori about 50 meters from the Disney Store.

Map:  Click the "Location" link below.

Lunch:11:30 am - 3pm.

Dinner: 6 pm - 10:30 pm.

Closed Mondays.

If you’re looking for truly, authentic Vietnamese cuisine, well, … good luck, and let me know what you find.   In the meantime, if you’d like to eat a delicious meal that highly resembles Vietnamese food, then you’ll be quite happy with Chao!

I’m not Vietnamese so I cannot claim to be any type of authority on Vietnamese cooking.  But I have been to Vietnam and fell in love with the flavors of that beautiful country, especially their pho and Vietnamese coffee!  Like I’ve written before, it’s difficult to find “just like when I was in (fill in the country)” ethnic food in Sendai, so I guess I have to give some slack to Chao.

When I went for dinner I ordered the spring roll (生春巻き) with pho set meal (1180 円) .  The harumaki came with a ナン・プラー (fish oil?) sauce, which I didn’t like, and a miso sauce, which was good.  The spring rolls were agreeable and had a sweet taste to them.   My wife went with the pho set and the fried spring rolls (揚げ春巻き) which had a fishy taste to them that I didn’t care for.

Spring Rolls: 生春巻き

Fried Spring Rolls: 揚げ春巻き

The pho was delicious and I was quite happy with it.  That being said, it was NOT like I had when I was in Vietnam.  It was just missing something that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.  The pho had one meatball in it along with some shredded chicken, and the broth was very tasty.  I was also pleased with the generous size of the soup bowl.

Pho Soup

But I was hugely disappointed in that Chao doesn’t serve Vietnamese coffee!  I have a thing about good coffee, and while traveling in Vietnam I fell in love with the way they serve their coffee.  I just can’t understand how a “Vietnamese” restaurant doesn’t offer Vietnamese coffee.   

They do serve a nice, complimentary cup of jasmine tea at the end of the meal.   I’m kind of sitting on the fence when it comes to jasmine tea because I feel the fragrance is a little overwhelming.  But Chao’s jasmine tea was smooth, palatable, with just a hint of a jasmine scent, which created a nice, relaxing feeling after pigging out on the pho.

Besides the coffee, another thing that I didn't care for was that they had a quite attractive a la carte menu, but many of those dishes were NOT AVAILABLE that day, and they seemed to be the ones I would've liked the best.   I could understand if one or two items were no longer being offered, but it seemed like half the menu was scratched off.

And just for your info, this restaurant is small and the seating arrangement is a little strange.

I do recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for something different and delicious.  I know I will return every now and then to pho down, especially come winter time.


*For a recent update of Chao's, please click UPDATE: Chao's.

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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ぐるなび宮城 for Restaurant Coupons!!!

Website:  http://www.gnavi.co.jp/tohoku/miyagi/

Some of my posts will have a link to this site when I know of a coupon that is posted here for that restaurant.  But if there's a restaurant that you'll be going to that I have not posted on, I suggest you look here at ぐるなび and see if they have a coupon for your restaurant.

The coupons usually don't offer deep discounts, but something is better than nothing.

Let me know if you find anything special.

Casa del Sol (Mexican) カーサ・デル・ソル 022-265-7633

Website:  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/t042500/


To read a more recent update on Casa del Sol, please click HERE.

Address: 宮城県仙台市青葉区中央1-7-40 大野第一ビル5F.   Across from the AER Building.  There’s a little walkway entrance next to a gyoza restaurant (see photo).  Take the elevator to the fifth floor.  

The entrance is to the left of the column

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open:  5:00 pm – 11:30 pm.  Closed Sundays (except preceding a national holiday).

Their guacamole is the best I’ve had in all of Japan and compares with restaurants back in East Los Angeles.   Though it’s difficult for any ethnic restaurant in Japan to be completely authentic, Casa del Sol does a very good job of coming quite close … usually.

Guacamole and Chips

Reservations are recommended as the restaurant is small, seating only about 20 people.  Unfortunately it’s NOT a smoke-free environment, and with the small confines it can be a bit irritating if you’re a non-smoker.

My wife likes the margaritas but she’s disappointed in that they aren’t served in traditional margarita glasses. 

Half full or half empty margarita

We’ve been regular customers since they opened in August of 2003 and I probably rank this restaurant as my favorite of the favorites.  I grew up on Mexican food and if I was really critical I would have to say that this is nowhere near my mother’s cooking.  But, Casa del Sol still makes me feel somewhat nostalgic every time I eat here.  Go with an open mind remembering that you’re not in Southern California (or any place where Mexican food is abundant) and I think you’ll be pleased.  

If you happen to sit at the bar next to the kitchen, look across from you and a little to the left and you’ll see a picture of me and my wife on the wall.  No, not the little kid in the sombrero, the other picture.  About six months after Casa del Sol opened, the owner said that we were his good luck charm.   Apparently in the beginning, every time we ate there the restaurant had a busy night.  He asked if he could take our picture to put up on the wall for good luck.  Nowadays, I think he just feels obligated to keep the picture up.                                         

Recommended platters:                 

Guacamole w/ tortilla chips (780 yen):  FANTASTIC!!!        

Tacos (420 yen each):  Mexican (ground beef taco: my favorite!), Chicken, Beef (pieces of beef steak), Chorizo (not sure because I’ve never ordered this.  Chorizo in Japan is a spicy weiner,which is completely different than East L.A. chorizo), Tomato & Avocado.      

Mexican Burrito (880 yen): Chicken & Beef burrito that comes without beans.        

Chicken Fingers (700 yen): Okay, so this is definitely not Mexican, but the honey mustard sauce is really good!

Carne Asada (1750 yen):  This may not be worth that much but I still like it simply because it reminds me of home and eating with tortillas.

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

Mexican Burrito

Mexican Tacos: without cheese, because I don't like cheese

Click on the above ぐるなび website and they sometimes will have a coupon offer for a half price taco or 500 yen discount per person.

Disclaimer:  Okay, I admit, the rice, beans, and some of the other items aren’t authentic.  But no one matches my mom’s sopa de arroz so I can’t blame them for trying.  And I’d gladly take a can of Juanita’s Refried Beans over what they serve here but, hey, this is Japan.  Stick with the guacamole and tacos and you’ll be happy.

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