Teddy’s Diner テディーズ ダイナー 022-223-9333

UPDATE, OCT. 13, 2013:  UNFORTUNATELY, TEDDY'S DINER IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS AT ITS PREVIOUS LOCATION, AND I'M NOT SURE WHETHER IT HAS MOVED OR GONE OUT OF BUSINESS.
On my last visit sometime ago, the owner had told me that he was thinking of moving to a new location near the kencho, but I have not tried looking for it recently.
If you know any information, please let me know.
Until then, you can still read this post to see what you missed out on.
Oh, well.

Website:  http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000689907/

Address:  宮城県仙台市青葉区一番町 4-3-3 KIビル2F.   On Hirose-dori across the street from Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream.  Look for their emblem which is the Grateful Dead Teddy Bear sign.  

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open from 5 pm – ?:00 am.

Today my wife and I visited an old favorite.  We haven't been here in quite a few months and we desperately missed these burgers.   Unfortunately, Teddy’s is no longer open for lunch, which is when we most frequented this diner.   But today we hung around downtown just long enough for some first-rate grub.   

Although my wife used to always order the hot dog, we both went with the standard Teddy’s Burger (750 yen) with a side order of onion rings (500 yen).   

The onion rings, about ten or so, were fantastic!  No need for ketchup with these rings.  But because we were so hungry we devoured them before I remembered to take a picture.   Sorry about that.

Since Teddy's is currently a one-man operation, it took quite a while before our burgers came, but it was definitely worth the wait.  The hamburgers were great!  I cut off a piece of the meat patty to judge its quality, and it was delicious!  I wouldn’t have minded just a serving of meat patty.  The hamburgers came with a few fried potato wedges, which were salted to perfection. 

Teddy's Burger

However, there are a couple of things that if changed would make this place superb.  One is that the hamburger patty, though tasty, is rather small.  I’m not a big eater but the single patty hamburger was not enough to fill me up completely.  They used to offer an extra patty in their toppings menu, but I didn't notice it this time.  Another thing is that you have to order a drink with your meal.   My wife and I aren’t big on soft drinks and we often just drink water with our meals.  Having to order a beverage rubs me the wrong way just a bit.  Also, Teddy's Diner is not a smoke-free establishment, and since this is a small place it can be a bit bothersome if there are smokers present.

On the plus side Teddy’s menu lists a variety of burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and even tacos, as well as a wide range of alcoholic beverages.  If you're hungry and brave enough, check out the Mega Burger for 1980 yen!

A word of caution if you plan on visiting Teddy’s:  As we left, the owner told us that he's planning on moving to a location near the Kencho.   He doesn't know the exact date yet but he says the phone number should remain the same, so you may want to call ahead to find out if it’s still at the above address or not.  I will keep you updated as I find out more information. 

I'm adding Teddy's Diner to my Favorites list partly for nostalgic reasons.   I've shared some great food with great friends there over the years, and when I think of going to Teddy's it brings a smile to my face remembering those times.  If they were open for lunch, I would once again become the regular customer that I had been. 

If you happen to find yourself one evening hanging around Kokubuncho or the Disney Store and feel like a burger would be a great idea, head on down to Teddy’s.

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Kame House Burger カメホウス ハンバーガー 374-5747

URGENT UPDATE:  PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT NEWS REGARDING KAME HOUSE BURGER.

Website:   http://www.sendai-burger.com

Address:  仙台市泉区中央１丁目22-1.   Located on Route 35, about a three-minute walk from Izumi Subway Station.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Weekdays lunch:  11:30 am – 2:45 pm.     

Weekdays dinner:  5:30 pm – 10:30 pm.

Sundays and Holidays:  11:30 am – 8:30 pm.   

Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

A great, big “THANKS!” to blog reader Crawford who recommended this hamburger joint to me (read Comments of the Freshness Burger post).  You were spot on with this, Crawford!

Upon entering, I immediately got a kick out of the American-style décor and the 50’s rock n’ roll music livening up the place.  It sounded like they had stolen my iPod!

Looking at the menu you see that Kame House offers a wide selection of burgers starting at 750 yen.  Crawford suggested I try the Avocado Cheeseburger with Bacon, but instead I went with just a basic hamburger.  I guess it’s the picky eater in me but I really don’t care for other “stuff” on my hamburger (Sorry, Crawford).  I feel a good hamburger should stand on its own laurels and not need any other “stuff” in order to make it right.  I love avocado and I love bacon!  But I’ve never really cared for either of those on my burgers.  My twisted taste buds feel that these great singular flavors taint the wholesomeness of the burger.

Sure it looks like a plain, but that's all I need

My plain, basic hamburger was good … very good!  Everything tasted fresh.  I tried a piece of the meat patty by itself to see if it was appetizing enough to stand on its own.  This piece of patty possessed pleasant and palatable flavors!  The menu states that the Kame House chefs make their meat patties from a mixture of Australian and Wagyu beef, which must be the reasoning behind this great burger.

My wife went with a BLT (750 yen), and although I didn’t get to taste it, she stated that it was really delicious!   All platters come with French fries, which I think is a good value, but we also ordered some onion rings for the side (but at five for 280 yen, maybe not such a great value).

BLT

The fries were cut too thin for my textural liking, but there was nothing lacking in their taste: crisp and salted to perfection.  The onion rings, at first glance, didn’t seem too appetizing either, but to my surprise they were great!  I hold a similar sentiment between hamburgers, fries, and onion rings:  they should be flavorful enough to be enjoyed exclusively, without any needed flavor enhancers.   The onion rings, like the French fries, were delightful with or without ketchup.  I did find it a bit strange that they served the onion rings with a spicy salsa that, my wife and I both agreed, didn't really didn’t go well.

And since I’m complaining, another thing I didn’t like was the pickled carrot slice that was on my plate.  Again, I got caught judging a book by its cover, but this time it didn't go in my favor.  I thought it was just a regular, raw slice of carrot.  Imagine my surprise when I bit into it and realized that it was a pickled carrot!  

Hamburgers + pickles = Good!  

Hamburgers + pickled carrots = No, thank you! 

Onion Rings with weird Salsa

This restaurant offers a point card but upon close inspection it really isn’t worth much as you have to spend at least 4200 yen before you get a 100 yen discount.

Kame House is really easy to find on foot and has two parking spaces for those who drive.  If I lived in Izumi this place would definitely make my Favorites list as I would be a regular diner at this diner.  I highly recommend this eatery and am looking forward to my next trip to Izumi.

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Oktoberfest in Sendai

Yodabashi Website:  http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120607-00000005-khks-l04

Nishikichou Website:  http://www.oktober-fest.jp/2012sendai/ 
Download the flyer from the Outline page for a 100 yen coupon.

Guten abend!  As of tomorrow, June 10th, 2012, there will be two, yes count them, zwei Oktoberfest events in Sendai running simultaneously.

Every year Sendai hosts two Oktoberfests, a small one in June and a bigger one in September.  I usually visit the one in September and always enjoy the food and the atmosphere.  Last year was especially enjoyable as it was heart-warming to see so many locals letting their hair down and having a raucous good time despite the hell that was endured during the year.

It's always a bit pricey, but when you're in the mist of a rollicking good time you really don't mind paying a bit (or a lot) more.  If I remember correctly the price of the special platter of spare ribs, sausages, and sauerkraut was 2500 yen.  Would I want to pay that normally?  Of course not.  But was it worth it then?  Definitely!

Oktoberfest 2011 platter:  2500 円

This year it looks as if three Oktoberfests will come to Sendai, two of them this weekend.  As you may have gathered by now one event is being held on the second floor of the old Yodabashi Camera building behind Sendai Station (in case you haven't heard, there is a new Yodabashi Camera across the street).  As I was checking out cameras today I decided to saunter over to the old building for some sausages and saurkraut, and to soak in some of that Oktoberfest festive feeling.  Was I in for a surprise!

The entire second floor was filled with tables and benches.  A three-piece female band was playing German music (I think), and the booths selling beer, wine, and food lined up an entire side of the place.  However, there were only about ten people in the place.  I blame this on poor PR, for even the Yodabashi Camera staff inside didn't know anything about this event.  On the outside of the entrance to the new Yodabashi Camera there is a woman who is handing out coupons for this Oktoberfest, but inside some staff didn't know what I was talking about.
The Yodabashi Oktoberfest is open Mondays thru Fridays from 4 pm till 10 pm and on weekends from 11 am.  This event will run till September 2nd.

An empty beer hall

But plenty of beer

Nishikichou Koen is opening their Oktoberfest tomorrow and it will run till Sunday, June 17th.  Click on the "Location" link below for a map to this park. This event will probably be more festive then the Yodabashi site, but the big steins will come in September.  For a peak at that Oktoberfest, please look at the following site:  http://www.sendai-oktoberfest.jp/

Just to let you know, since I passed on Yodabashi today, but still feeling in a German mood, I headed over to Brunenheim for another fantastic dinner!

Curry Shop Sakaiya カレーショップ酒井屋 022-227-7976

Website:  http://r.tabelog.com/miyagi/A0401/A040101/4000311/

Address:  仙台市青葉区一番町2-4-17　ブルーリボンビル２F.   Located on Ichibancho between Aoba-dori and Minami-machi dori, about 50 meters from McDonald’s and on the opposite side.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open:  Every day from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm.

If you’ve walked down this part of Ichibancho I’m sure you’ve seen this restaurant’s big, yellow, canopy sign staring down at you.  This mom & pop operation has been around for over 50 years, although I’m not sure whether the current mom & pop are the original mom & pop.  But they could be, as they have the demeanor of people who have been doing this same job, every single day, for their whole entire lives.  They weren’t mean to me, but nor were they what you would call friendly, either.  I think I’ve grown accustomed to the overly polite staff of Japanese restaurants who enthusiastically welcome you with a boisterous いらっしゃいませ！  That ain’t happening here, bud.   

But on to the food!  This curry house offers a number of curries including dry curries and some with brown rice, which seems to be one of their specialties.  Their set menus include a mini curry with a serving of soba.  

I went with the 中辛 chicken curry for 650 yen, which came with rice, a small cabbage salad and miso soup.  

The curry was just right, not too spicy where your mouth is burning but just spicy enough to get the sweat beads forming.  I was impressed by the amount of chicken that was in the curry, and by the wonderful taste!  I helped myself to some sweetened pearl onions and 福神漬け that were placed on the counters, and those flavors went nicely with the spices of the curry.

Chicken Curry

The miso soup was just okay, nothing special about it but at least they didn’t screw it up.

Fair to Middling Miso

Sakaiya also boasts of blending a variety of fresh juices including apple, carrot, and cabbage.  I felt a bit adventurous and tried the fresh apple juice (sad, really, when drinking apple juice becomes an adventure).  The apple juice was sweet, but not too sweet, and a bit foamy on top, which reminded me of an Orange Julius (anyone remember these in So. Cal?).

Fresh & Frothy Apple Juice

I enjoyed sitting by the window looking out on the pedestrian traffic walking along Ichibancho.  Actually, there aren’t a lot of seating options.  You either sit at the counter facing the window, or you sit at the counter not facing the window.  There are no tables.  Because of this feature, or lack there of, it appears that their demographic are students and salarymen, not couples looking for a romantic dinner (or someone who wants to sit at a table).  

I had always wanted to eat at Curry Shop Sakaiya, and I’m glad I did.  I walked out of their completely satisfied:  a good hearty meal for a reasonable price!  What more could anyone ask for?  Okay, maybe a table with some friendly conversation, but oh well.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of dough but want a decent meal, I recommend this curry shop.  It’s worth a try!

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Happy Happy Melon Pan Truck

Please read my previous posts on Happy Happy Melon Pan Truck HERE and HERE.

Location:  In front of Daiei Department Store on Chuo-dori.

Just a reminder that hot, fresh, mouth-watering melon pan will be available from tomorrow, Friday, June 8th till Monday, June 11th.

Hope to see you there!

Current Info as of Saturday, June 2, 2012

Some quick news about current foodie events.  Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream is running their Triple the Challenge campaign in which you can get a triple scoop of ice cream for the price of a double.  I believe that the small triple scoop is 400 yen while the regular size (which is supposed to be 1.5 times more ice cream) is 570 yen.  Add in a waffle cone for only 30 yen more.  I believe this campaign will run well into July, so no need to hustle over.

Today I tried their new Chocolate Oreo flavor and I think it will be my new “go-to” ice cream along with Rocky Road.  By the way, when I was a child my family referred to this ice cream shop as “31 Flavors,” but as a teenager my friends called it “Baskin-Robbins.”  What did you call it?  Seems like every Japanese person I’ve met refers to it as “31 Ice Cream.”

Another campaign that is currently running is Fujisaki Department Store’s Okinawa Fair, which I believe runs till June 5^th.  Sure, every depato seems to run an Okinawa, Hokkaido, etc… fair every weekend, but the Okinawa Fair on the 7^th floor of Fujisaki’s is quite extensive with samples of food (including マグロ), sake, and other tidbits!  Plus, I found one of my favorite desserts:  fritters!!!  Okay, that’s what I call them.  When I was a boy there was a local buffet style restaurant named Sir George’s.  I only ate there a few times but I still remember the wonderful taste of their sweet, corn fritters.  Well, there’s an Okinawan specialty called サーターアンダギー that’s almost exactly the same as what I remember at Sir George’s.   Actually, they are nothing more than fried, brown sugar doughnut balls, but I love’em!

Fritters?

Preparing マグロ(tuna) sashimi.  The sample was delicious!

And the big news … the Happy Happy Melon Pan Truck will return to Daiei NEXT WEEKEND, Friday, June 8^th till Monday, June 11^th!  I actually dropped the ball in March and missed them when they last came around, so I’ll definitely be making a trip downtown next weekend.  

Hope you enjoy these current finds!

amo la Pizza 022-395-5317

Website: http://ameblo.jp/amolapizza/

Please read my updated post here at UPDATE and amo la Pizza.

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.

Amo La Pizza is still celebrating its grand opening after its initial start earlier this month.   It advertises itself as a Neapolitan style pizzeria, and after reading some info on the owner he states that he lived for four months in Naples studying the art of pizza making.

They offer three different lunch sets that come with a pizza (margherita, vegetable, or four cheese), salad, soup, and drink, and range in price from 900 yen to 1100 yen.  I went with the “A” set margherita, while my wife went with the “B” set vegetable.

First, we were served the mizuna salad with homemade miso dressing.  This was quite nice and refreshing!  Next came the spinach and bacon cream soup.  My wife liked this saying that it was light with a smooth taste, but being Mr. Picky Eater, I don’t really care for cooked spinach or cream-type soups.  I didn’t finish my soup much to the delight of my wife who gladly devoured the remaining portion.

Mizuna Salad w/Homemade Miso Dressing

Spinach and Bacon Cream Soup

My wife’s veggie pizza consisted of broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, carrot, and radish.  She raved about the vegetable mixture and especially about the homemade pizza crust!  She also stated that it was quite filling.

野菜たっぷり菜園風ピッツア

My margherita pizza was good, filling, thin but not crispy.   I think I’ve grown accustomed to Pizza Hut pizza and that it has tainted my taste buds, so that the crust of Amo La Pizza definitely tasted different, good, but different.

マルゲリータ

My wife also loved the coffee, and though I thought it was good, it could have been a little stronger.

We passed on the orange tart dessert for an additional 200 yen, but the table next to us ordered it and it looked pretty tempting.

We had a peak at the dinner menu which showcased twelve different pizzas with four different pizza sauces (cheese, basil, cream, and traditional tomato), along with extra side dishes and desserts.

The service was excellent and it was interesting to watch the pizza chef make our pizzas behind a glass partition.  There are four parking spaces available.  They also offer take-out pizza, and when you compare this homemade pizza to that of Pizza Hut, amo la Pizza seems to be the better deal (and better tasting).

I think amo la Pizza makes an excellent choice for lunch and I’m looking forward to sampling from their dinner menu.

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La Pausa ラ パウザ 022-224-8122

Website:  http://www.lapausa.jp/

Address:  宮城県仙台市青葉区中央4-6-1SS30ビル29F.   Located on the 29^th floor of the SS 30 Building next to the Kokusai Hotel and across from the Westin Trust City Buildings.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open:  11 am – 9:30 pm but closed weekdays from 4 pm – 5 pm.                 

I’m really excited about my latest find!  Last weekend while strolling around the SS 30 Building we just happened upon a restaurant whose desserts caught our eye.  Hot apple strudel with vanilla ice cream topped with caramel sauce for only 390 yen.  They also offered a chocolate sundae for the same amount and for those prices we figured we couldn’t go wrong.

We walked in and were seated at a table where we could look out on a fantastic view of beautiful Sendai; all the way to the ocean!

The apple strudel was warm and, with the vanilla ice cream, was the closest thing to hot apple pie a la mode that I’ve had in Sendai.  I really didn’t taste the caramel sauce too much but that was fine by me as I’m not a huge fan of caramel.  The dish was a little on the small size but I felt I definitely got my money’s worth.  My wife’s chocolate sundae was a bit bigger and definitely would have sold for more at another restaurant.  My only complaint was that they added Frosted Flakes, which seems to be the Japanese thing to do with ice cream (if not that, then Corn Flakes).  The coffee that we ordered was also a plus.  I was thinking of recommending this place purely as a nice place to see a great view of the city and have a very reasonable, yet tasty, dessert.

Apple Strudel w/Vanilla Ice Cream

But while we waiting for our order we perused the menu and came upon something that didn’t seem quite right.  It appeared that La Pousa was offering a two-hour all-you-can-eat menu for only 1490 yen per person.  We asked if this was correct and the waitress said that it was.  I told my wife, “We got to try this next weekend!”

Chocolate Sundae

So today we returned for lunch and again were seated at a window table.  We ordered their tabehoudai lunch, which came with a couple of stipulations.  First, a single diner cannot order the all-you-can-eat; there must be at least two people.  Also, since there were only two of us, we were only allowed to order one pizza and two pastas at a time.  When we finished those platters, we could then order more.  The more people there are in your party, the more platters you are allowed to order initially.

The tabehoudai menu came with a Caesar salad and French fries (more on the fries later) and offered eight different kinds of pizzas and seventeen different varieties of pasta to choose from.  Sure they had everybody’s favorites like tuna curry with mayonnaise pizza and fish egg with natto pasta, be we went with the simpler fare of pepperoni pizza (called イタリアンサラミ), eggplant and meat sauce pasta (for me), and baby clams with pasta (for my wife).

The dressing on the salad was okay, but maybe a little too … plain, but still not bad.  The pepperoni pizza was very thin but crisp and tasty.  It was definitely not the best pizza I’ve had, by far, but it’s hard to screw up pepperoni pizza, and they didn’t.  My meat sauce pasta was a little weak in the meat and tomato flavor department, but it was a little buttery so it still had some taste to it.   My wife said her pasta was quite good but lacking in the quantity of clams (we counted three).   

Caesar Salad

イタリアンサラミ

茄子のボロネーゼ

ボンゴレビアンコ

After devouring these dishes we ordered a マルゲリータピッツア.   This wasn’t as good as the pepperoni as it was limp and not very flavorful (but probably still better than the 温泉卵 pizza).

And within that thirty-five minute period we were done ordering … pretty much.  We were full … pretty much.   Why so soon?  The fries!!!  I haven’t eaten fries in quite a while, and these were really delicious!  We couldn’t stop eating them!   That’s probably their ploy.  Let’s offer a wide variety of dishes but have them fill up on our cheap, but irresistible taters!  Well, they hooked us.  The fries were crispy and salted to perfection.  

You can't eat just one!

But because I have deep pockets I said, “The hell with the cost!  I want dessert!” and splurged for the classic chocolate cake for an additional 150 yen.  And it seemed like I got what I paid for.  Quite good for 150 yen, but probably not for 500 yen.

Classic Chocolate Cake

Taking everything into account, I was more than satisfied with La Pousa.  The food was pretty good, the service was very good, the price was great, and the view was fantastic!  

The View:  Can you see the bullet train?

There is paid parking available at the SS 30 Building and La Pousa gives a 400 yen parking voucher for orders over 2000 yen.  With the voucher we still ended up having to pay 200 yen for parking.

If you and your friends are looking for a cheap yet enjoyable place to eat, I highly recommend La Pausa.  And if you have a group of big eaters, this is the place for you!  Sure it’s not gourmet food, but it’s tasty and has a great view.  

Oh, I forgot to mention their nomihoudai deal.  It appears that for an additional 1200 yen you can imbibe on their all-you-can-drink beverages for two hours,  too!

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Cocofrans Sweets ココフラン 022-722-3933

UPDATE:  FRI., JULY 25, 2014.  CLOSED!!!  I was in Sendai Station last weekend and was surprised to see that Cocofrans Sweets was no longer in business.  Oh, well.

Website:  http://www.cocofrans.com/

Address:  仙台市青葉区中央1-1-1.   Located on the second floor of Sendai JR Station in between the JR ticket machines and View Plaza.

Map:  Click the “Location” link below.

Open:  8:30 am – 9 pm.

Two weeks ago while riding the subway into downtown I noticed an advertisement for a grand opening of a bakery in Sendai Station named Cocofrans Sweets.  The ad had tantalizing photos of various desserts so I thought I’d give it a try.

When I arrived I had to line up behind the twelve or so other people who were just as eager to get their hands on the new goodies as I was.   As I slowly inched towards the counter, I noticed that there were just as many workers as there were customers, but a lot of the workers just seemed to be moving without really doing anything.  To add to the confusion the customer before me paid for her order, received her box of desserts, and took off, which left me next in line.   Four young female employees stood in front of me placing the next batch of freshly baked goods in the display case as I stood waiting for someone to take my order.  I stood there for about thirty seconds or more when another young employee came up to the register and held out a box and said that it would be 1310 yen.  I told her, “I haven’t ordered yet.”  With a shocked expression she asked me “Whose is this?”  I just gave her the international symbol of “I don’t know” and then chaos broke out.  All the employees started asking each other “Whose is this?  Whose is this?”  After about another fifteen seconds or so, with about another twelve or so people behind me in line, I said, “I’d like to order something.”  They still didn’t get it and just gave me the deer-in-headlights look.  An older employee from the back heard me and rushed forward to ask me what I’d like.

I ordered two of their apple rings, as they certainly looked tempting in the display case, and for only 170 円 each, how could I go wrong?  I went outside and devoured one instantly.  It was delicious!  Fresh out of the oven, the apples were sweeter than I imagined they would be with just the right amount of cinnamon added.  The cake part had a bit of crispiness that added a pleasant texture to it.  I took the other ring home and ate it much later, and it tasted just as good as the first one.

アップルリング

I returned to Cocofrans last weekend for another tasty treat, but things looked a bit different.  There were still a lot of workers moving to and fro, but apparently the glitz and glitter of a grand opening had already faded as there was no longer any line of customers.  On the bright side, at least it didn’t take forty-five seconds to take my order.  The apple ring was still delightful, and I hope I’ll be able to enjoy them for a long time to come.  But if they are already scarce on customers this place may not last long.  

I encourage you to try Cocofrans while you can.  And if you do, let me know if you had to wait in line.

Koan Bakery & Café こうーあん 022-365-8383

Website:  http://www.just.st/?in=305891

Address:  宮城県多賀城伝上山3-1-25. Located on Route 45 on the left-hand side going to Matsushima from Tagajo.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Open weekdays:  9:00 am ~ 6:30 pm.  

Sat., Sun. & Holidays:  8:30 am ~ 6:30 pm.

I was turned on to this bakery by my boss who had bought me a scrumptious chocolate croissant a week or so ago.  I pass Koan on almost a daily basis but have never had the pleasure of tasting their specialties until partaking of that croissant.

Today on the way home from a pleasant drive to Shiogama I had a bit of a sweet tooth and decided to give this bakery a try, and I was sure glad I did!

I ordered the gateau chocolate cake set for 500 円.  It’s normally 600 円 but they are running a Golden Week discount.  My wife didn’t go with a set but instead just ordered a fig and cheese pastry with a coffee. 

I was quite surprised when I received my cake, as there was a macha ice cream シュークリーム along side of it.  The waitress told me that it was a special Golden Week service.  What luck!

Macha Cream Puff & Chocolate Cake

The chocolate cake was great: deep, rich & flavorful.  The coffee was quite nice, as well.  The pastry portion of the cream puff was extremely flaky and the macha flavoring was quite mild and pleasant.  My wife was very happy with her pastry and glad that we had stopped in.

Fig & Cheese Pastry

We thought it might be prudent to take a couple of samples home just in case our sweet tooth returned.  The crescent bread with butter and natural salt was fantastic and didn’t make it home as we devoured it on the drive.  Later that evening I ate the 黒糖デニッシュ, but it was a little too sweet for my palate.

黒糖デニッシュ

Koan advertises as a “natural yeast” bakery which I don’t know too much about but by the results I’d say it’s a good thing.  They offer lunch sets of pizza or pasta for 1000 円 and apparently offer live entertainment from time to time.

If you happen to find yourself in this neck of Tagajo I recommend you stop in just as we did.  I know I’ll be back.

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Barbaresco Pizzeria – Café 022-722-2670

Website:  http://www.stillfoods.com/barbaresco/index.html

Address: 宮城県仙台市青葉区一番町1-9-1、仙台トラストタワー1F.  Sendai Trust Tower 1F, 1-9-1, Ichibancho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi.  First floor of the new Westin Towers on Higashi-nibancho Dori across from the Kokusai Hotel and SS 30 Building.

Map:  Scroll down to the bottom.

Lunch:  11:30 am – 4:00 pm

Tea Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Dinner:  5:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Sorry, no pictures today.  I forgot my camera.

Went in for lunch and walked out quite satisfied.  It was good, not great, but I still felt that it was worth the money and that Barbesco makes a nice choice for lunch when wanting something different.

Barbaresco offers a Pizza or Pasta Set Lunch.  Pizza lunches come with salad and coffee or tea, and range from 900 yen to 1300 yen.  Pasta lunches come with salad, small focaccia bread, and coffee or tea, and range from 900 yen to 1100 yen.

I ordered the Diavola (salami) Pizza Lunch Set and my wife chose the 自家製サルシッチャとひよこ豆のトマトソース　スパゲッテッィ.  The menu’s translation states that all of the different pastas are “Spaghetti Carbonara with Anchovy & Broccoli,” but my wife’s pasta was meat sauce with garbanzo beans.  The pasta and the pizza were both a little salty but still not bad and the serving sizes were suitable.  For some unknown reason they served the pasta before they served the salad. 

The salad was nice in that none of that cheap, nutrition-less iceberg lettuce was used.  Instead, it was comprised of fresh green and red romaine lettuce, red onions in an Italian dressing.

The coffee was good and strong and tasted a little like espresso, which to me was a plus.  

As we walked in the restaurant we noticed the tempting desserts in the display case and early on decided on ordering dessert, though it did not come with the set lunch.   My wife ordered the banana-walnut tart which was tasty but had a hint of rum, which I don’t care for (I’m picky that way).  I went with the gateau chocolate cake which was quite good although it had a mint leaf and some type of cream on top, which I also didn’t appreciate.

It’s a big restaurant and it was quite packed when we walked in.  Also they have outdoor seating that I imagine to be quite nice with the weather warming up.  

I liked the fact that the lunch set is served until 4 pm, unlike many restaurants that stop at 2:30.  The service was good but they didn’t pre-cut the pizza.  I don’t know if the cook forgot to cut it or if that’s the way they serve it but we asked for a pizza cutter and the waitress came back and cut up the pizza herself.

If you’re a picky eater I think you’d enjoy Barbaresco!

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