There was a place in Tsukishima I’d originally meant to go to, but even though it was late at night and right up against last order, the line was long -_- Some days are just like that. So the place we headed to instead was Sanzoku, a yakitori specialist. The name is written 山賊 and read “sanzoku” in Japanese. It’s a regular haunt of someone I know, so the mood was warm and friendly from the moment we walked in. The great thing about places like this is that you don’t even look at the menu or the prices; you just ask the owner what’s good that day and order loosely.
Otoshi (the complimentary starter)
A simmered dish of meat and vegetables. It came out cold, so it didn’t do much for me. Overall this place makes its food carefully with good ingredients. I liked the family atmosphere too, and considering the very low prices, I don’t think there’s any reason to go anywhere else for yakitori. At this place I had a lot of blurry shots, maybe because I was pleasantly tipsy. Proof that my discipline still needs work. Recently I had a chance to meet some young power bloggers, and their attitude toward food is different from someone like me who just scribbles a blog casually. I should really up my game, but I’m just too lazy. It’s not for nothing that I call myself lazy..
Mizuwari of Isamai, a sweet potato shochu from Kagoshima
I was told it’s an inexpensive shochu on about the same level as the premium ones, so I tried it, and apart from the aroma being a little weak it was fine. For a drinker, this is just right. Besides, once you get into the premium class the prices go up.
Sasami and reba
They grilled chicken breast with wasabi on top, and chicken liver. I once went to Isehiro, one of Tokyo’s top yakitori places, and this was hardly any different. Maybe because we ordered in a hurry right before closing time, they had cooled down by the time we ate them, but I think if you order with time to spare you can enjoy them at their very best.
Negima
With negima, the green onion charred just right is the real point, and they really brought out that key flavour. I hear the owner has been grilling yakitori for 50 years, so this level of skill is only to be expected. I haven’t taken such badly blurred shots in a long time, but I guess I was in too high spirits that day.
Asparagus
I absolutely love asparagus, and it came out with its fresh aroma and flavour nicely preserved. It’s best eaten in spring, but winter isn’t bad either. It’s a shame the spears were a bit small, but I suppose that makes them easier to grill and tastier.
Garlic
This is the house special, garlic. It’s nothing special in terms of cooking method; it seems to be just a whole bulb of garlic steamed in oil, but because they use such good produce, they apparently make almost nothing on it over cost. How are they supposed to run a business like this.. Expensive ingredients should come with an expensive price.. Feeling sorry for them, I polished off every last clove. The oil-soaked garlic has a nutty, clean flavour almost like chicken, and the slightly spicy miso cuts through even the last trace of richness. I’m naming it the best dish of the day.
Ginkgo nuts
Since it’s the start of the year ^_^ I ordered a skewer of ginkgo nuts too, osechi style.
Reba
Ordered it once more. This time I sprinkled on a little shichimi.
If you’re thinking only of yakitori, I don’t think there’s a better place than this. Even after eating all this, it came to just over 2,000 yen per person. Still, it’s true that it felt a little lacking as the end of a night of drinking. You want to finish with something like ramen or soba, but apparently this neighbourhood is short on good noodle places. And it’s not like we could go eat monjayaki, right ^_^ Not wanting to just head home like that, we went on to a third round at a regular bar near my place for a drink. The time there was great fun too, but it’s so tiny and there’s the matter of privacy, so I didn’t take photos. It was an enjoyable day of good food after a long while. It’s days like this that make life worth living. My sincere thanks to the person who organised the gathering.