夏の間しばらく日本におり、また随分ご無沙汰をしてしまいました。何をするということもなく過ごしましたが、やはり故郷というのは良いものです。ゆったりした気持ちになりました。東京にも短く滞在し、とても良いお店を見つけましたので、お店をご紹介したいと思います。
日本には最近また、外国の有名な菓子屋の支店が増えてきました。ピエール・エルメやジャン・ポール・エヴァンが日本に入って久しいですが、マカロンで有名なラデュレやバター・ブランドのエシレも最近東京に店を出しました。いろいろと食べてみたものの、私が一番好きだったのは話題の新しいお店では無く、もう長く自由が丘に店を構えるフランス菓子の名店、パティスリー・パリ・セヴェイユでした。クロワッサンはサクサク、ケーキも季節の果物を使った繊細な味わいでありながら、食べ応えもあり、価格も相応です。焼き菓子も美しく、食べてみたいものが沢山ありました。非常に総合力が高いお店だと思います。東京に行ったらまた必ず寄ることになりそうです。パリ・セヴェイユとオー・ボン・ヴュータンさえあれば、他に東京にケーキ屋さんが無くなても困らないだろうなあと思う程でした。
次の発見はおそば。東京の下町にまたひとつお気に入りのそば屋を見つけてしまいました。それは池之端薮蕎麦です。薮といえば浅草が有名で、東京に住んでいた時には私も何度となく、その洗練されたそばを味わいに行ったものですが、こちらの薮も負けず劣らず。池之端薮のそばはつるりとのどごしが良く、噛むとそばらしい香りがほんのり口の中に広がります。気取らぬ味わいで、量も適度。またビールに付いて来るなめみそも絶品で、丁寧に練り上げられた甘めの味噌に良く煎った胡麻が香り、酒のつまみに最高です。サービスも皆てきぱきとしており、客を待たせません。これから上野駅を利用する際、絶好の待ち合いになりそうです。
そして最後に、今回の旅最大のご褒美は八つ目やにしむら。目黒不動前にある有名なうなぎ屋で、長い事気になっていましたが、やっと行くことができました。結果は予想以上。こんなにうまいと知っていたら、アメリカに越す前に行っておくのだったと悔やまれます。ここのうなぎの特徴はしっかりとした焼き。店頭では職人さんが汗を流しながら、もうもうと上がる煙の中、うなぎを焼き上げています。うなぎの食感は中はふわり、外は炭火独特のいい焦げ目で、それにぴたりと合う甘過ぎない濃いめのたれで仕上げてあります。竹葉亭のうなぎを上品な上町の味と例えるなら、こちらのうなぎは最上級の庶民の味。ただこの格別な焼きたてのうなぎを食べるためには、炎天下長いこと並ばねばならず、また私は一階席に座ったのですが、食事中うなぎを焼くすごい煙に耐えなければいけません。それでも東京に行ったら、また必ず行くだろうと思います。あるいはまた、それを超えるうなぎにいつか出会ってみたいものだと思います。
以上！嗚呼、今回もまた食べに食べました。日本の食べ物は本当においしいなあと遠いクリーブランドで思うのでした。
パティスリー・パリ・セヴェイユ
住所：東京都目黒区自由が丘２–１４−５館山ビル１階
電話：０３−５７３１−３２３０
営業時間：午前１０時〜午後８時
住所：東京都文京区湯島３−４４−７
電話：０３−３８３１−８９７７
営業時間：午前１１時半〜午後２時、午後４時半〜午後８時、日曜祝日は
定休日：水曜日
ホームページ：http://www.yabu-soba.com/
住所：東京都目黒区下目黒３−１３−１０
電話：０３−３７１３−６５４８
営業時間：午前１０時半頃〜午後７時頃まで
定休日：水曜日
Its been quite a while since I wrote my last article. I was in Japan this summer and haven't had a chance to write a new article. Visiting Japan means always a lot to me. This visit was wonderful as always. I had a very good time with my family and friends. I also got to enjoy fresh seafood and top-noctch pastries in Tokyo. Most of the food is impossible to get in the States. I want to write about some of the best food I had during the trip.
Not so many people know that Tokyo is one of the best cities to taste sweets in the world. My Parisien friend said, "You don't need to go to Paris to taste good pasties because you can get much better ones here, there, and everywhere in Tokyo. Why bother going such a long distance for what you can get here?" I don't know if what my friend said was true or not, but the fact is that Tokyo confections are absolutely fantastic. They are superbly made with high quality ingredients and seasonal fruits. I am really crazy for this kind of sweets in Tokyo. I found a very good pastry shop during the trip, named "Patisserie Paris Seveille." It is in the Jiyugaoka area and is an authentic French style pastry shop that offers fantastic classic cakes and pastries. The pastry chef, Yoshiaki Kaneko, trained at famous pastry shops in Paris over many years, and then finally opened his own shop "Paris Seveille" 7 years ago. All of his cakes looked just so good and beautiful. All of the pastries I tried were very delicious. I had two kinds of cake and a chocolate croissant. The croissant was especially impressive. It was the perfect croissant that I had been wanting for so long. It had a nice buttery flavor, a perfectly baked golden brown flakey layers of dough, and a light texture. It was no doubt the best croissant I have ever tasted yet. I am so happy that I have "Paris Seveille" in Tokyo. I would be addicted to it if I lived in Tokyo.
The next discovery was "Ikenohata Yabu Soba." I love traditional Japanese soba noodles so much, so I have tried numerous talked-about soba restaurants in Tokyo. The best one I've found so far is "Asakusa Yabu Soba," but "Ikenohata Yabu Soba" was actually as good as "Asakusa Yabu Soba." Their soba noodles had an aromatic and rustic buckwheat flavor of buckwheat with a silky texture. Their service was excellent; fast and friendly. This is how a good soba restaurant should be. Also, their sweet miso that came with beer was very good. It was a good accompaniment to beer. "Ikenohata Yabu Soba" is located walking distance from Ueno terminal. I use Ueno terminal at least two or three times whenever I visit Tokyo. This soba restaurant will be where I pass extra time in the Ueno area.
The last and the best food I tasted during the trip was grilled eel at "Yatsumeya Nishimura." I've been interested in this eel cuisine restaurant for a long time, and I finally had a chance to try their eel. I have heard that they have a good reputation, but it tasted even better than I expected. It was seriously good. Their eel had such a nice smokey flavor because their eel was grilled with high quality charcoal. The outside is nicely crusty, yet the inside was fluffy. Their sauce went just perfectly well with the texture of their eel. It had a good balance of sweetness and savoriness. I had to wait for nearly an hour to take a table because they don't accept reservations during lunch time. Plus, the location is a bit inconvenient, but it's well worth it. I am so happy that I discovered this eel place. I can't wait to come back to "Yatsumeya Nishimura" again to savor one of the best authentic Japanese food I have ever met.
Patisserie Paris Seveill
Address: 2-14-5 Tateyama building 1F, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5731-3230
Hours:10AM to 8PM
Address: 3-44-7, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Phone:03-3831-8977
Hours:11am to 2PM and 4PM to 8PM, no break on Sundays and holidays, closed on Wednesdays
Address: 3-13-10, Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3713-6548
Hours: 10:30AM to 7PM, eat-in 11AM to 2PM (first come, first served), after 2PM reservation required, closed on Wednesdays
