Mamma Viva マンマ・ビバ 022-249-9008

Website:  http://mammaviva.com/

Map:  Scroll down below.

Open for lunch Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.  Open for dinner Monday thru Saturday, 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

We happened upon this small restaurant by chance while strolling through this Nagamachi neighborhood, and we are so glad we did.  I’ve driven by this area countless of times but never noticed it before this day, yet, this restaurant has been in the same location for forty years. According to their website, Mamma Viva specializes in homemade dishes, sauces, and dressings using only organic vegetables, and this seems to translate well into their meals.

My wife ordered the hamburger patty lunch set for 1000 yen, which came with a carrot salad topped with sesame seed dressing, egg flower soup, rice, and dessert.  The beef patty was rather sizeable and thick!   I sneaked a quick bite and found it to be astonishingly creamy, something I wasn’t expecting in a beef patty.  My wife noticed the same thing and loved it!  Picky me that I am, didn’t find the creaminess something I wanted in a beef patty, but it was still flavorful, and I could see where a person with normal tastes buds would be quite pleased with this.

ハンバーグ　ランチ

I went with the beef curry lunch set for 900 yen, which also came with the above sides.  The sesame seed dressing on the carrot salad was delicious, although the egg flower soup could have used a bit more seasoning.   The beef curry platter had nice big chunks of beef with some pickled veggies.  The curry was deceptively sweet, as a couple of spoonfuls into it the sauce became quite hot and spicy.  Overall, I’d say this was top-notch curry, somewhat reminiscent of Curry House Sakura.

カレー　ランチ

Carrot Salad w/Sesame Seed Dressing & Egg Flower Soup 

The dessert was a delicious slice of roll cake.  We ordered their advertised 100 yen siphoned coffee which was well worth the price.

Roll Cake

Siphon Coffee

There was a third option available for lunch which was a salted seafood pasta for 880 yen that came with garlic toast, but since I don't do seafood this wasn't an option for me.  I thought it was interesting that Mamma Viva sells spaghetti sauces and salad dressing for take out.  They have a couple of parking spaces available but you'll have to run in and ask where they are.  

If you happen to be in the Nagamachi neck of the woods, I highly  recommend Mamma Viva.  We are definitely looking forward to sampling their dinner course soon.

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Gyuumao Yakiniku 牛魔王焼き肉 022-246-0054

Website:  http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000027184/

Address:  仙台市太白区長町南3-3-30扇ビル1F.   Located across the street from the Nagamachi-minami Subway Station on the other side of the bus pool.  

Map:  Scroll down below.

Open:  11 am to 1 am.  Lunch is from 11 am to 3 pm.

If you've ever exited Nagamachi-minami Subway Station by the escalators that lead to the ward office you've probably gotten a whiff of the succulent meats being grilled  at Gyuumao.  I’ve been coming to this place off and on for the past ten years.  It’s really nothing extravagant but I do like the lunch specials:  a variety of inexpensive lunch yakiniku sets, as well as lunch ビビンバ and ramen.  

I’ve become a creature of habit and always order theミックス定食 ”A” for a low 787 yen.  This comes with a small salad (that has a great tangy salad dressing), rice, kimchi, a very nice egg soup, after meal coffee, and the yakiniku platter of ハラミ、みそタン、豚ホルモン.  For those readers in the States, the Japanese above is harami beef (tender meat around the diaphragm.  miso tan (beef tongue marinated in miso sauce), and pork offal.  But I really don’t like the 豚ホルモ all that much, so I wonder why I don’t splurge for an extra 50 or 100 yen and get the all ハルミ or the all カルビ定食.

Yakiniku Lunch Set "A"

It’s not a lot of meat, and I’m not too sure if it’s of the highest quality, but with all the fixings’ it manages to satisfy.   

Close-up: Harami on top, Miso Tan on the right, the white on the bottom left is the Offal.

They have regular tables where you just plop yourself down and about four booths where you have to remove your shoes to enter.   There are a couple of parking spaces in the nearby parking lot, but there are five more on the street behind the restaurant.   Just run in and ask where the parking lot is.  They’ll give you a stick of gum as you pay which I always thought was a nice gesture.

I’ve never been here for dinner but I do recommend Gyuumao for its lunches.  So if you happen to be at The Mall and want to do yakiniku, this might be the place for you.

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Weekend Update: October 8, 2012

Just got back from another great feast at Saint Marc’s where I devoured three mini-croissants, two cocoa rolls, two melon pan rolls (my favorite!), a goma pan (sesame roll), a crispy goma stick, a yomogi roll, and a basil roll.  Yeah, I kind of took it easy today as I passed on the caramel rolls, the dinner roll, and the spicy chapata stick.           
       

This was all part of the 1290 yen女王 set lunch menu.  The appetizers included gobou soup (I don’t like gobou but this was good!) and a sliced roast duck salad with a tangy dressing (also quite nice).  For the main entrée I ordered my usual grilled chicken with mustard sauce, topped with a heavy dose of red onions that produced a wonderful aroma.  In choosing dessert I paid an additional 350 yen for the gateau chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.  The chopped frozen fruit (apple pear, raspberries, and kiwi) that was used as a garnish was just so-so but the raspberry sauce drops went well with the cake.  The Jersey ice cream was rich and flavorful!

My wife went with a fish dish that she was satisfied with and for dessert went for the simpler custard pudding with vanilla ice cream.

Yesterday’s lunch was fantastic fare at Bistro Ampoule.  They were very hospitable as we arrived a bit late in the day for their lunch set but they were still more than happy to accommodate us.  I went with my standard steak and fries while my wife ordered the pepperoncino and shrimp pasta.  She was quite surprised with the generous amount of big shrimp on her plate.

On Saturday before catching a glimpse of the Yosakoi festival, we gave Sasebo Burger yet another try.  I’ll be writing more about this visit soon but I must say we walked out of there stuffed to the gills.

But about five hours later we felt like having a snack, so we wondered down to Casa del Sol’s for a Mexican treat.  Luckily, we were able to get a table, unlike our two or three previous attempts within the last four months.   Of course we ordered the guacamole and chips that we love, while my wife went with the tortilla soup and I the Mexican tacos.  As usual, everything was good and the food brought back memories of my life back in the States.

All in all we had some great food this past holiday weekend.  And I wonder why I can’t lose any more weight.

Sasebo Burger 佐世保バーガー 022-721-1575

Website:  The website written on their receipt doesn’t work, so here is another site that has some info on them: 
http://tabelog.com/miyagi/A0401/A040101/4010472/

Address:  仙台市青葉区国分町2-14-25.   Located on Jozenji-dori about a two-minute walk from Kotodai-koen Subway Station.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open everyday from 10 am.  Sundays and Holidays open till midnight.  Mondays to Thursdays open till 2 am.  Fridays and Saturdays open till 4 am.  Lunchtime special is from 11 am to 2 pm.

My friend, Ben, and a host of others that swear by these burgers, recommended this joint to me.  My wife had dined here by herself sometime ago but didn't think much of it at the time, so it took a while to convince her to give it another shot.

Last month we visited there for the first time together and tried their lunch set for 880 yen.  It came with a choice of sandwich, fries, salad, soft drink, and dessert.  It’s a very good deal and quite voluminous!

The Lunch Set for 880 円.

Being the picky eater that I am, I don’t like a lot of extra stuff (avocado, bacon, cheese, etc.) contaminating my burgers so I chose the plain hamburger, while my wife ordered the Avocado Burger for her selection.  When the burger arrived I remember thinking “What a thin meat patty.”  The dressing on the burger was really delicious, so delicious in fact that it helped curb my disappointment in the meat patty (due to the beef's thinness and lack of substantial seasoning).  I asked my better half how her Avocado Burger was and she said it was “average.”

Close-up of the Plain Hamburger

Close-up of the Avocado Burger

I wanted to test the waters with the onion rings for an additional 390 yen.  The onion rings looked gorgeous and on the first bite you could tell they were fried to perfection.  Yet despite being very crispy they didn’t have a whole lot of flavor to them, either.  The salad that came with the set also looked quite nice, but as with the meat patty and the onion rings, there was nothing savory about it.  The dessert was cold banana pound cake with Hershey’s chocolate syrup on it.  Again, not bad but nothing special.  The fries were the saving grace as they were very good, crispy and salty.  We walked out of there full, satisfied with the value but not so much so with the taste.  We agreed that maybe since we had the lunch special that we didn’t get the best they had to offer.

Onion Rings

So last week, I decided to give this place another try and ran into my old friend, Iain, and his lovely wife, Kyoko, at Sasebo Burger.  They invited me to sit with them and we discussed our thoughts about the food.  Iain and Kyoko, both normal eaters, gave me some insight to the attractiveness of the burgers.  Iain said it was the dressing that was the distinctive characteristic of this restaurant.  Actually, he said it much more eloquently but I forgot his exact words.  I agreed that the dressing is great, but that I think the patty should be just as good.

I had missed out on the lunch special by five minutes so I went with a double burger in order to be able to really evaluate the flavor of the meat.  The patty was a little thicker than the last time and had a little bit more seasoning, but still not enough.  The onion rings were left in the fryer just a touch too long but they also seemed to have a bit more flavor today.

Double Burger

I can understand why some people love this restaurant as there are many good points about Sasebo Burger:  the sauce, the value, the location, and the fries.  They also have quite the variety of burgers and sandwiches to choose from.  But I’m going to upset those friends, and others, as I’m not putting this in my Recommended list.  I’ll list in the You Should Give This A Try category as you may become one of the many who end up raving about Sasebo Burger.  But I still have to go back to the beef:  the thin, not-so-flavorful beef.

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Patisserie Azerole パティスリーアズロール 022-395-8252

Website:  They currently don’t have a website but here’s one with some info:  http://ameblo.jp/patisserie-azerole/

Address:  仙台市太白区泉崎1-8-1.   About a ten-minute walk from Nagamachi-minami Subway Station.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open 10 am – 8 pm.  Closed Wednesdays.

Yesterday was the Grand Opening of this very small pastry shop.  I’m a huge fan of small business owners, especially when it concerns eateries, so I wanted to help it along on its inaugural day.  Though half the size of most bakeries, Azerole displayed a number of scrumptious looking fruit tarts, roll cakes, cakes, and castellas.

My wife and I both decided to see if they could do the basic things right and took home the chocolate cake (300 yen), however, we weren’t really in the mood for cake and it ended up in our fridge till today.

Well this afternoon we tried it and were delighted!  My initial impressions were that of lightness, and not very sweet.  But each bite seemed to be richer and richer.  The texture of the top decorative flower part was hard with full-flavored chocolate which my wife described by saying 歯ごたえがある！

Chocolate Cake

As an added bonus, we were given a small gift bag which included cookies, coffee, creamer and sugar.  Plus, they have a point card!

Gift Bag

We’ve already decided to go back and try the fruit tarts and castellas and I encourage you to give this place a try.  If you happen to drive they have two parking spaces available.

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CHANGES TO THE BLOG!

A "Search" function has been added.  Just type in the type of food you are looking for (Mexican, Italian, curry, etc.) or a location (Nagamachi, Izumi, Shiogama, etc.) and click.

I've also embedded Google Map locations to most of the restaurants, so there is no longer a need to open a new website for the map.

Since my “Recommended Restaurants (But Not Quite Favorites)” list was getting out of hand, I’ve made some changes concerning the restaurant classifications and here they are:

MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS!!!

Pretty self-explanatory.  These eateries are special to me and are places I would take friends out to dinner to or celebrate an event at.  For some reason or another I feel that they are a cut above the rest and I always look forward to dining at these establishments.

RECOMMENDED EATERIES

These are good, safe bets, which include places like Cappriciosa and Chuukaya Shokudou.  Nothing fancy nor extra special, but good food at a reasonable price.

Or they are places that I’ve tried once or twice and really liked them but haven’t frequented them enough to establish them as my favorites, such as Blair Marina or Kame House Burgers.  

YOU SHOULD GIVE THESE PLACES A TRY

These are places that I’ve tried once or twice and think they are worth a try.  I wouldn’t have any qualms about going back to them, but they are not high on my priority list.  If you are a normal person, perhaps you might like these much better than I did.

OTHER RESTAURANTS THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE ABOVE LISTS

Well, I don’t want to say anything too negative but you probably won’t be seeing me in these restaurants, unless I was dragged there by someone else.

If you'd like to see some other changes that would help your viewing of this blog, please let me know.   

And thank you for reading!

Osteria Bevitrice オステリア ベヴトリーチッェ 022-711-0670

Website:  http://osteriabevitrice.blog.fc2.com/

Address:  仙台市青葉区中央1-6-25クリニックビル１F.   Located on the small street between Chuo-dori and Hirose-dori.  The street runs parallel to ハピナ名掛丁.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Lunch: 11:30 am – 2:30 pm. Dinner: 5 pm – 12am.

We passed this place a week or so ago and what caught our eyes was the multiple bottles of the Italian beer, Moretti, that we saw all over the place on our recent trip to Venice.  
Thinking this was a good sign that authentic Italian food would be served, we enthusiastically entered. 

Osteria Bevitrice was quite busy the night we ventured in and we were seated at the counter in front of the kitchen area.  When I saw the Classico Spaghetti Sauce jars I then had a change of heart and thought, “That’s not a good sign.”   This is the same simple spaghetti sauce that you can buy in any supermarket in America.  I decided not to go with the pasta.

We were immediately served two pieces of toasted bread and a dipping sauce that was a mixture of balsamic sauce and olive oil.  I thought it was a nice gesture, but the balsamic and olive oil flavors didn’t really mix well.  It should have been one or the other.  When I got the bill I realized that this “nice gesture” wasn’t so nice, as they charged us 300 yen each for it as a coperto, or a cover charge.  

600円 for this

I didn’t see a whole lot of pizza options for me on the menu, but I went with the Meat Pizza (1000 yen).  I asked the waitress what kind of meat would be on the pizza and she said it was a variety of different meats.  That sounded good enough for me.  My wife was getting a strange vibe from this place and only ordered the Caponata, seasonal veggies boiled in tomato sauce (580 yen).

My wife’s veggies came first.  I took a bite and the first thing that flashed in my head was “Not fresh.”   It tasted as if it came out of a can.  It wasn’t bad tasting, but it definitely wasn’t good, either.  It was cold tomato sauce served on top of cold, canned vegetables.   

旬の野菜のトマト煮カポナータ

I started to get a bit hopeful as I saw one cook kneading out the pizza crust, indicating that they weren’t using pre-made crusts.  But, again after one bite I realized we had made a mistake coming here.  The “variety of different meats” ended up being ground pork, and not a lot of it nor was it bursting with flavor.  This should have been called a diced mushroom with a dabbling of meat pizza, as there was much more mushrooms than meat on this pizza.  And the pizza was not much bigger in diameter than the fork.  I tore off a piece of the crust and found that it tasted like a warm cracker with almost no taste whatsoever.  Crackers are good for car sickness, not for fine dining.

肉屋のピザ

I won’t be returning to this restaurant and I don’t recommend it.  In order to get this bad taste out of my mouth, my wife and I went to Amo La Pizza the next day for another flavorful lunch, the way pizza should taste.

While doing some research I found out that Osteria Bevitrice is part of a restaurant group.  I’m afraid that I’m going to play the “guilty by association” card with the other restaurants in this group.  Here’s the link to those restaurants:    http://hayashi-design-office.com/index.html

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UPDATE: amo la Pizza 022-395-5317

Website:  http://ameblo.jp/amolapizza/

For a recent update, please click HERE.

Address:  宮城県仙台市太白区鹿野2-14-14、グローリアス鹿野102.   Located about a four-minute walk from The Mall Part 2, next to the giant Paradiso Pachinko Parlor in Nagamachi-minami.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open:  Lunch: 11:30 am – 2:30 pm.                 Dinner:  5:30 pm – 9:30 pm. 

                Closed Mondays.

A bit of a switch here as I've posted this much more favorable UPDATE in "My Favorite Restaurants" column and have re-entered my original, less flattering review in the "Updates of Previously Reviewed Restaurants" here as the amo la Pizza-Original Post.

Amo La Pizza has now been elevated to my FAVORITES list!!!  This pizzeria should have been upgraded a long time ago, and I apologize to the kind owner, Yoshiki Katsuta, and his faithful assistant, Honami Suzuki, for not doing this sooner.  Katsuta-san is a neighborhood boy who grew up locally in the Nagamachi area.

We have dined here numerous times since our first introduction to their great pizza back in May, in fact, we just got back from there this evening (9/6/2012).  We would have dined here many more times had they not sold out of their pizzas (something they need to work on).

Mr. Picky Eater here usually orders a small grilled chicken with dried tomatoes on a tomato sauce based pizza (1000 yen).  This can be made with a basil sauce base or a cheese base, but I prefer the tomato sauce.  It’s wonderful!  The crust reminds me of a good Indian naan or a homemade tortilla:  able to be eaten all by itself, anything added on it is just a bonus.  And what a bonus it is with the delectable grilled chicken and sweet onions.

グリルチキンとドライトマト

I also highly recommend the ham with rucola (a.k.a. rocket or arugula) pizza on a tomato sauce base (1000 yen for the small).  I didn’t know this before but according to Wikipedia (so it must be true), rucola is considered to be an aphrodisiac.  Hmmmm.  But that’s not why I recommend it, although I guess it could be considered another added bonus.  

生ハムとルッコラ

My wife is more than happy to try any of the other wonderful varieties they offer.  Besides the Vegetable Pizza she ate in the original post, she has also partaken of the Margherita, the Four Cheese, and the Marinara Pizzas, each receiving the “this is amazing, two thumbs up” grade.

チーズ！チーズ！チーズ！チーズ！

マリナーラ

There are a couple of reasons why the pizzas at amo la Pizza are so flavorful.  First, they use a wood-burning stone hearth oven, instead of your average gas or electric pizza oven.  Secondly, the flour for the pizza crust is imported from Italy.  Since the flour is not readily available, they have sold out on occasions, especially Sunday evenings.  Because of this I recommend that you call ahead of your visit to ensure that they their fabulous flour is flowing.

Wood burning stone hearth pizza oven

And you gotta try the Genki Salad!  The organic vegetables (from nearby farms in Akiu and Zao) are crispy fresh, and with amo la Pizza’s wonderful miso dressing it tastes fantastic!

元気な野菜の農園サラダ

We’ve yet to sample any of the desserts but we have tasted the rice croquettes and the chicken with seasonal veggies boiled in tomato sauce and found them both pleasant enough.

ライスコロッケ

鶏にくと旬野菜のトマト煮込み

If you’re ever visiting The Mall in Nagamachi-minami, it’s only a five-minute walk from there for great pizza.  I’m sure you’ll come to love amo la Pizza as I do.

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Rigoletto リゴレット タパスラウンジ 022-716-0678

Website:   http://www.rigoletto.jp/

Address: 仙台市青葉区中央1-6-1.   Located across the street from the AER Building in between Hirose-dori and Chuo-dori.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open 7 days a week 11:30 am – 4:00 am.

Wow!  Just came back from having a great meal at Rigoletto.  If you've been a Sendaiite for longer than a week I'm sure you've sauntered past their plastic canopy and peeked into their inviting dining area.  I had been there before sometime back for a company enkai, and at that time I thought, “For enkai food, this is really delicious.”  I also remember the service being top-notch, which doesn’t always happen at a large establishment.  My friend, Tony, had told me that he had dined here for lunch and thought that it was pretty good.

Due to circumstances unforeseen my wife and I ended up at Rigoletto as the restaurant we intended to go to was unavailable.  What a pleasant happenstance it turned out to be.  We arrived just a little after 5 pm, which was a good thing considering that there is a cover charge of 300 yen per person after 6 pm.

For our appetizer we requested a small size of the sliced ham (800 yen) and for the main courses we ordered a pizza and a pasta and split them.   We went with the basics:  a small 6-inch Margherita pizza (950 yen) and the Bolognase (sic) pasta (900 yen).

When the ham appetizer came I immediately realized that small means small, as six small slices of ham were presented with a bottle of olive oil.  The salty, paper-thin sliced ham was reminiscent of Venice except that tonight’s ham was a bit tougher than what I ate in Italy, but still it was quite tasty, and quickly finished.

Jamon Serrano

Next came the Margherita pizza.  My first impressions on biting into this pie were that of lightness and non-greasiness, the exact opposite of a Pizza Hut pizza.  Rigoletto’s pizza was scrumptious with the crust being especially flavorful, almost like a tasty naan that can be eaten by itself without any curry.  My only complaint was that after finishing this pizza I thought that I should have ordered the larger 10-inch serving as this felt like an appetizer.

Margherita Pizza 

I was a bit surprised when our Bolognese pasta arrived:  first at the dwarfish serving, and secondly, by the thick, long noodles.  The pasta only comes in one size:  piccolo, and can be finished off in a couple of mouthfuls.  The accompanying meat sauce was very good but I would have rather been served the traditional spaghetti noodles.

Bolognase (sic) Pasta

So after the small ham appetizer, the small Margherita pizza, and the small serving of pasta, we were still hungry!  I ordered another small Salsiccia Pizza (sausage, mushroom, onion, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese) for an additional 1000 yen.  I assumed this would have tomato sauce as its base, but to my surprise it did not.  Still, the pizza was gratifying, having been filled with an abundance of mushrooms, onions, and sausage.  The onions had a pleasant sweetness to them and, again, the crust was wonderful.  After this, we were full.

Salsiccia Pizza

I’m looking forward to our next visit to Rigoletto, but next time I think I’ll order the appetizer that comes with five varieties of ham and I’ll be sure to order a large pizza off the bat.  This is a rather large restaurant with two floors to accommodate its guests.  We were able to get in without a reservation but I don’t know how you’d fare on a busy afternoon or evening.  The service was great and for the price I thought that it was quite reasonable.  As a small bonus the menus are also in English.  I think you’d enjoy an evening of fine Italian dining at Rigoletto.

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UPDATE: Bistro Ampoule ビストロ・アンブル 022-743-5785

Website:  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/t267400/

If you haven't read about Bistro Ampoule before, please read my original post at:  Bistro Ampoule.

Bistro Ampoule is now one of my FAVORITES!!!  When I first reported on this fabulous restaurant, I listed it under my Recommended list because just after one visit I couldn’t be sure if its greatness was consistent or if it was a one-hit wonder.  But I’ve been back again and again (and again) and I have confirmed its wonderfulness.  It appears that many others agree with me, as every time I venture in there always seems to be a crowd.  

From the “Evening Lunch” menu (this is different from their Lunch and Dinner menus), the “A” set for 1260 yen that I ordered came with an appetizer and a main dish.  It was tough to decide upon which appetizer to go with, as there were thirteen very different choices to choose from.  I was in a meat-eating mood so I chose the salad with homemade sautéed bacon and spicy mustard as the appetizer.   The two thick slices of bacon were amazingly delicious, with the German mustard complimenting them very well.  The fresh salad had a tangy Italian dressing.  This appetizer was absolutely delicious and I loved it!  With the accompanying toasted bread and zesty balsamic sauce, these alone practically filled me up.  As I mentioned before, the bread came with お代わりservice!  How often does that happen in Japan?

実家製ベーコンのソテー粒マスタード添え

Toasted Bread with Balsamic Sauce ... and a touch of house wine.

For the main entrée on this evening I went with the black peppered pork roast with lemon and vegetables, which costs an additional 300 yen.  The veggies consisted of eggplant, red and yellow bell peppers, sweet potato, and a carrot purée, all being served at room temperature making them, as a whole, seem more like ratatouille.  The pork steak was soft, tender, and peppery, with a thin crusty layer on top that added a textural delight to the senses.  This was truly scrumptious!  Although the pork came with the same spicy mustard that accompanies the beef steak they serve, it didn’t go as well with the pork as it did with the beef.  But the pork didn’t need any additional accoutrements to aid in its appreciation, it stood alone.

ロース肉の黒胡椒ステーキ　レモン添え

My wife’s bouillabaisse, with spinach, potatoes, eggplant and 鰈 fish (flounder), along with the  金目鯛  fish platter (1410 yen) appeared too much for her to eat.  Yet she happily obliged and stated that everything tasted just grand.

Seafood Galore!

On yet another outing to Bistro Ampoule we were served a sampling of carrot pottage on the house, which was very delightful.

Carrot pottage

My better half just loved her shrimp pasta and its creamy tomato sauce while I enjoyed the dinner variation of the steak and fries.  The dinner variation, unlike the lunch variation, came with a balsamic sauce topping that was very pleasing.  However, in my opinion, the tanginess of the balsamic topping did not mix well with the spiciness of the German mustard, so I kept those two apart.

Shrimp Pasta

Dinner Steak & Fries with Balsamic Sauce

The masterful chef, だいぞー,conjures up amazing dishes and a plethora of options with ingredients from local farmers.  My wife and I love Bistro Ampoule, and we think you’d love it, too.  

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VENICE - Al Vecio Canton Pizzeria Ristorante

Website:   http://www.alveciocanton.it/eng/index.php

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Address:   Castello 4738/4739, Venezia.  Phone: 0415287143.
Located about a 5-minute walk from the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop on the way to Santa Maria Formosa Palazzo, at the end of Ruga Giuffa.

This restaurant was recommended by Lorenzo, the owner of the Ai Tagliapietra B&B that we are currently staying at.  We figured that we ought to give this restaurant a try considering that it's only an eight second walk from our front door.

In my broken Italian I ordered the Prosciutto pizza for 8 Euros (778 円, $9.91),  a 30 cm. pizza with paper-thin slices of ham.  This was the third pizza I had eaten in less than 48 hours, and after the first bite it became the best pizza I had in Venice!  The sauce, the cheese, the crust, ... the ham!!! Each bite just seemed to be more heavenly than the last!

Prosciutto Pizza

My wife ordered a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, olives, corn, and tuna.  It came with no dressing but she still enjoyed it very much.

Salad:  Italian style

She also ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese, which she raved about!  I sampled and agreed that it was delicious; light and non-greasy, giving the effect of frehness.

Spaghetti Alla Bolognese

My wife also endulged in the local Venetian appertif, a Spritz, which is concocted with a bit of Prosecco sparkling wine, mineral water, and a bitter liqueur called Aperol.  She loved this, as well.

A Veneto Spritz

I went with a deep, rich Ialian coffee, one of the many flavors I've come to love here in Venice.

Espresso

Food, drinks, and cover charge came to a grand total of 42 € (4086 円, $52), which is a little bit higher than what we've paid for other meals here in Italy, but still not too bad for real Italian grub.

I know this is far from Sendai, but if you're ever out this way take a break from San Marco's Square and enjoy the Al Vecio Canton!

Their justification for a cover charge

I forgot this

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